A marine upholsterer who says business is thriving is planning to lay off workers as he struggles to cope with a forced move and difficulties in attracting staff.

Roland Plathe, general manager of The Fairylands Upholstery which incorporates Marinelands Covershop, must leave his premises in Woodlands Road after 16 years after the building was sold to make way for a gym.

Margaret Every has applied to planners to put in a fitness centre but a spokeswoman said she did not want to discuss plans at this time.

Mr. Plathe said the chances of finding another 3,000 square-foot property for his business by the end of September are slim while getting skilled upholsterers is another nightmare.

He plans to axe up to five of his current staff roll of six at the firm which specialises in upholstery for boats.

He said two overseas workers were heading home while other local employees were assessing their options.

Problems in hiring new staff had made the business increasingly difficult to run, said Mr. Plathe.

"Anybody here capable of doing it is doing it for themselves."

He said apprentices were difficult to attract because it took three or four years to get trained.

But he said locals could earn more in the building industry rather than get by on low wages while they learned the upholstery skills.

He believes more help was needed from Government to help training but he admitted he had not explored the options with the National Training Board.

And he said getting trained overseas workers was a big headache.

"Getting good tradesmen is getting more and more difficult, if people come here they get hit by high rent - that's the number one killer.

"If you are not working for the exempted companies it's very difficult. People come here for a year or two want to make some dollars.

"You cannot build for the future here so foreign workers want to save money to go back. I was always having to find places for them to live, that's a struggle.

"I think in the labour industry it will get very tight, getting professional help will be more and more difficult. I think it will create big imbalances."