She was 18 at the time and was among the 4,425 apprentices from the western region prior to 2019 that were being taught skills by TAFE to bolster a pool of disappearing local workforce that was worrying business owners.

The Stevensons' apprenticeship meant Ms Barnes and 10 other local youths were learning and earning at the same time, and last month that opportunity paid off for the forward-thinking young woman.

That's just one bit of the inspiring story of the pink-themed Sugar Lane Cake Designs that recently opened on Wingewarra Street, next door to award-winning Peter & Angela's.

"I love making desserts, cake decorating and all that...and I found out that Dubbo needed a place like this for more upmarket desserts and cakes, sort of bringing the city to the country a little bit, and a little bit more modern," Ms Barnes said.

"We are making wedding cakes and expanding our happy birthday cakes and catering as well, and maybe one day I can expand into a coffee and cake shop."

Prior to opening her own handcrafted sweets shop, Ms Barnes first completed a combined Certificate 3 in cakes and pastry making and food processing while working at Village Bakehouse owned by the Stevensons family.

The Stevensons - Phil, Rob and John - are the fourth generation of one of Dubbo's pioneers, Francis Oswald 'Aussie' Stevenson who started making bread with a bag of flour and selling it on the back of a horse in a cart during the first World War.

"The Stevensons are very hands-on. They have built a foundation to let you [as an apprentice] build your skills and career all the way to supervisor and beyond that," Ms Barnes said.

She built her skills further by working with bakeries in Sydney and Orange where she stayed for some time to help out local bakeries needing her skills that were hard to find.

In 2013, she was Rhino Awards Apprentice of the Year and soon began making plans to open her own business, saving every penny from her weekly pay packet and obtaining a small business loan to open up Sugar Lane.

"I learned a lot [during my apprenticeship] as well as from TAFE bookwork, but the hands-on experience we got was incomparable.

"The TAFE teacher from Sydney comes to Dubbo and spends the day with us, one by one for an hour. He would come down to the bakery floor and watch how we work, and how our skills were improving."

The National Centre for Vocational Education and Research has shown NSW has been recording the highest number of completions among its apprentices compared to other states and territories.

Ms Barnes is among the 21 per cent of young women apprentices in various trades in NSW whose number is increasing in the latest NCVER report.

"It's great to see the number of women undertaking apprenticeships and traineeships continuing to surge," said minister for skills and training Alister Henskens.

He said they are pushing to "turbocharge the take-up of vocational education and training to get more young people skilled up, get jobs and help grow the state's economy".

To build the pipeline of skilled workers in NSW, lifting the number of young people in apprenticeships and enhancing vocational training is the key, Business NSW chief executive officer Daniel Hunter said.

"Options for those looking to upskill or explore another career is just what the doctor ordered to address the state's skill shortage."

"Helping someone get a job and get skilled is not just great for business and economy, but is a positive step for young people and their families."

The latest Business NSW workforce skills survey in western NSW has shown that 47 per cent of businesses in the Central West, Dubbo-Orana, and the far west towns are finding it difficult to fill entry-level positions, Business NSW western regional manager Vicki Seccombe said.

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But since the pandemic, the survey found a 32 per cent increase of local young people in apprenticeships and training which is a positive step for the region, Ms Seccombe said.

There are currently 3,100 local youth apprentices and traineeships in various industries in the western region and businesses can't wait to recruit them to fill an acute skills shortage.

Ms Barnes said being an apprentice was "an amazing experience as I was earning money as well trade [qualification]...those skills will last me a lifetime".

"If you love it and want to follow what you want to do, work hard and be patient, but also be persistent. The harder you work the further you're going to get it," she said.