CIG must put ‘foot down’
(CNS): The former education and employment minister has warned that government must do something soon to prevent employers from avoiding hiring local people. Reflecting on his time in office, Rolston Anglin said he was disappointed that changes at the labour agency did not move as quickly as he would have liked during his tenure, but in order to prevent spiralling unemployment the new government will need to “put its foot down” and ensure employers started to hire those Caymanians who are out of work before work permit holders. He said that Cayman had to face the fact that too many employers actively avoid taking on local workers.
“With the economy and population growing so much, we have now reached a point where there are large numbers of employers who simply don't want to hire Caymanians,” he said. “It is happening. Quite honestly, it is why I supported the move to restrict certain categories of employment for local workers. It was not about keeping the low paying or poor jobs just for Caymanians, it was about genuinely protecting them. Many countries have strict criteria on job visas in certain areas of employment, as employers will choose cheap foreign labour whenever they can.”
Anglin said that the government he was a part of made more strides with the labour agency than people will give them credit for, but he said there were issues regarding the implementation. If the groundwork that was set during the previous administration was built upon, he said, people would see some improvements, but warned that there was no “magic silver bullet” to address the issue in the short term.
However, he said government must “put its foot down" and put Caymanians at the forefront of the labour market.
Given the difficulties of being able to ensure that vacancies are filled by local workers, Anglin questioned whether government was the best agency to find jobs and place people in them. The former minister suggested government should be giving some consideration to privatizing the function of job placement.
“It is possible that a revamped labour unit may function better out of government hands and in the private sector,” he said, reflecting on the failure of the unit to match Caymanians to the many, many job openings in Cayman that were filled by work permit holders.
According to the compendium of statistics released last week by the Economics and Statistics Office, there were more than 1,900 unemployed Caymanians at the end of 2012 in the local labour force, with a 10.5% unemployment rate among local people. However, as of 31 March, more than 20,400 work permits had been granted.
Matching the two together has been a continuous problem for the government as the job agency does not actively seek to match its data of unemployed Caymanians with the permits that are passing through the boards. The ongoing lack of connection and political will to truly act on the situation as a result of government’s dependency on the revenue has led to the increased unemployment figures and the mounting frustration in the community that the simple enforcement of the immigration laws over permits could address the unemployment situation.
Category: Politics
Rolston, thanks for all the hard work you have done for the past 12years. Great job.
That's what's wrong with you all Caymanian's……. Ungrateful. Always looking at people lives/business, then focusing on the really issues at hand!!! What Mr. Anglin do with or in his personal life has nothing to do with his job. All of them…… Drink/party and woman so that's nothing NEW with MEN in cayman.
"Caymanian's" stay FOCUS here and let's not judge Him as we all are humans and not one of us is perfect.
keep up the good work Mr. Rolston.
Hello 07/25/2013 – 03:19. You are not a real Caymanian. Why do you choose to single out the crooked Caymanians to 06:16 to make your moot point? Those types of Caymanians that you speaks on, are just a pebble in the ocean. Look around you and see the Caymanians that are real and upright citizens. They are educated and hard workers. They do not interfere with anybody or steal from others. And they are also some who fits the same profile but cannot get a job because people like you refuse to employ them because their national says 'Caymanian'. Listen to me man, get your facts straight. Derrick Thomas is not a CAYMANIAN. He is from my country where we have decent and honest natives that do not associate with the types like Derrick. And, since you know so much, go tell Derrick to come pay mi my $2800.00 whey him owe mi. By the way. Do not for once, think that I am defending the Caymanians because I need Cayman Status. I already have it. I got it 38 years ago who came here by PLANE but feels the PAIN that 98% of the good Caymanians endure daily from people who choose to look down at them because of an offense that another fellow Caymanian may have committed.
Have a nice day and leave the Caymanians alone. From a Jamaican woman with Cayman.Status
Prepare the students/unemployed to work, no problem!! I am certainly not speaking of everyone but we seem to have completely lost a generation. Do you remember when the education in public schools was better than private? We need back to work programs in industries where we need people….training and not just in the function but about responsibility and accountability of an employee. No more free hand outs
Business is hard enough without making it worse.
Pardon me Honourable Mr. Anglin, but was it not you that told the world that some Caymanians were "Unemployable"? The world don't need to hear the rest of the sentence, they just needed to hear that one sentence. Remember when the Caymanians were crying out here on CNS, but all you UDP'er were told by McKeeva is to not read CNS, as it was a PPM Propoganda machine and not to go on Rooster 101.9 as that was a C4C radio station? Now you all are using these media outlets and telling us "should had, could have and would had"…You had years to rectify the labour situation and you did nothing. You even contributed in creating this monster, by not allowing some children to acquire a scholarship with a 2.5 – 3.0GPA and guess what? They fell through the cracks and is now the unemployed. How do you feel now, knowing you created this monster. What goes around, comes around.
06;16
Why you all keep pounding up Rolston for the truth? We Caymanians just cant handle the truth!
There are a few, yes that are unemployable and these are the ones Rolston spoke of. One example… Derrick Thomas..every establishment he tried to work for, he stole their money. He has scamed everyone he came across.
Check out the white colour workers (Caymanians )that are now in court, or in jail for fraud or stealing.
Most of these people will always repeat their nasty habits…I personally know of a few that can't be trusted. They are born crooks.
So give it a break, and accept the truth.We have to face the fact in our country, and stop burying our heads in the sand.
Rolston is correct in what he said. We just can't handle the truth.
'….white colour workers…' Is white a colour?
Rolston's attitude towards his constituents over the closure of part of the WB road in particular I found to be totally unacceptable. A representative? Hardly. Does he understand about sincerity? I doubt it. What about behaviour in public life? Evidently not (repeatedly!). Rolston, please cease taking the public for a bunch of idiots you can manipulate at will. We ain't that stupid, and you ain't that smart.
He’s a fart in the whirlwind lol!
Rolly Polly: Yessum, methinks Caymanians need to be woking harrrd – we needs to give'um jobs, employment…
Anyone with a brain: But weren't you in office until recently? I mean, did you not have 4 years to address this problem? And you did what about it – Jack Scheisse? Is that right?
Rolly Polly: Yessum, methinks Caymanians need some money, some dough, some hard cash from jobs and ummm employment…
Anyone with a brain: And your plan to achieve this is…? Ah yes, the same as the last four years. That's right, there is no plan, just more lip service and more Jack Scheisse!
Rolly Polly: Yessum, methinks Caymanians needs wok I say, wok, wok, wok!
Anyone with a brain: Easy there Rolly Polly – Wok is good but too much wok makes you crash your car from lack of sleep.
As of9:46pm there are 950 jobs advertised on ecaytrade! I have one observation on this matter: I previously worked in middle management for a Caymanian owned company and the base level employees were paid a reasonable wage. Positions were often available. There were very few Caymanian applicants when positions became available. The applications received from Caymanians were often littered with spelling mistakes and written with no concept of grammar. Although this may seem a minor point, these employees were expected to write reports for clients, so on this basis alone the applications found their way to the trash. It's not a difficult concept, if you're applying for a job then show the company your best self. If you submit a well written (spell checked!) application form / CV you will most likely get an interview. Turn up to the interview on time and looking sharp and you are 50% of the way to getting a job before you've even said a word to your potential employer. In my experience there ARE many young Caymanians with a sense of entitlement and will not work their way up from the bottom of the company BUT I have met a great many more that work extremely hard and were willing to start at the bottom.
I am so confuse .. Was he not the last minister of education … Was it not his job to indentify and if these problems he is address now …… It's like me going in to work tomorrow and telling my boss all my flaws and what I fail at in doing my job for the last 4 years. Thanks Mr Anglin for confirming that we did not get value for money in paying your salary as minister of education.
As bad as Aldin was (and he was) at least he defended his position no matter how delusional he was
Cayman's Anthony Weiner! Lol!
The fact is that the government does not enforce its own laws. I am a Caymanian accountant with several years of experience but unable to find work. I went through the employment agency still no luck. Starting with Dart management, every employers know how to avoid Caymanians. Its a shame but the so called head hunters knows and assist these employers to avoid hiring Caymanians. You have to make the enforcement really work and punish those employers who bypass the system by supporting the politician to avoid getting caught. That is why Mr. Anglin start talking now and not when he was in power.
Last time I looked, (and no I don't work for them) Dart employed a very high percentage of Caymanians…
We said Rollie. Let those idiots that still thinks politic continue to talk rubbish
CNS, you need to add a WTF?! button.
I was shocked the other day. After writing a business here on the Brac to try to find part time work for my daughter who had just graduated from school, and getting a reply back that times are too slow and no work available etc, then low and behold, a couple weeks later seeing a new face waiting tables, an expat I may add. This just sickens me!!,!
Perhaps if your daughter had applied for herself, rather than you applying for her, the employer would have seen that she was actually prepared to do the job. If she wants a job, she might do well to get off her butt and look for one.
I respectfully suggest that employers are not impressed when they receive a letter from "Mom seeking employment for their children. It will be more beneficial for your daughter to actually seek employment herself. Employers get the feeling that the daughter doesn't want the job very much if she can't even ask for it.
Did you apply for your daughter because you know the owner of said business and it backfired?
Maybe the reason there was an new expat working there a few weeks later was because their work permit had abeen approved. It takes weeks if not months for that to occur.
Ten year work permits, increase in cost of living and for the first time in 40 years unemoyment and street vending where do you believe this country is headed? let me tell you THIRD WORLD STATUS. We are no longer in the same league as Switzerland, Monaco, Channel Island, Luxembourg, Bermuda or even BVI. If we keep letting our standards slip so will our clientele. Our natives must come first as is the case in any first world country and until this happens in Cayman we can only expect more of the same or worst. Our government cannot afford to payout more for welfare to able bodided citizens because they are unableto find suitable employment willing to pay a livable wage as natives are not used to survival/communial living 10 – 20 to a 3 bedroom house.
17.45 Quite clearly you have never visited the places mentioned…and you got your priorities a$$ about face…you have to be suited to teh job, not the job suited to the person…big difference, go and look at the places you mention, you will start to get it..
Really 13:58? go get a job in Bermuda over any qualified Bermudian and let us know the results.
Ummmm…you have obviously not kept abreast of developments in Bermuda where unemployment is just as bad, cost of living is higher and govt. debt is even worse and continuing to get worse. They just got downgraded by the credit rating agencies.
a lifer politician at work.. Beware!
He did make a couple of minor amendments to the Labour Law however, the government he was a part of, nor the ones before, nor this one or any to come will be serious about labour issues in this country. Why? It's simple, the main supporters financially and otherwise of any government are the same large companies who pillage employees while filling their own back pockets and the pockets of politicians. Look at the current Labour Law and one will see that it has been amended about 3 times in the past 10 years. The bottom line is that labour legislation is NOT important to ANY government and this is sad. The current law has about as many gray hairs as Colonel Sanders (of KFC fame) and quite frankly EVERY Minister, Chief Officer and Government in the past 12-15 years should hang there head in shame that the workers in this cou try have been overlooked. What the employees need to do is form a union and get it structured properly so that employees can bring about change themselves. In the current state of affairs in this country, we have organized slavery !!!! As an employee and an employer, I see both sides and without hesitation, employees arethe exploited, manipulated, frustrated and used ones…NOT the employers. This might get many thumbs down, but this is exactly what obtains today on this little rock.
Rolli must be still drunk from lastnight country & western happy hour! Did him & the udp address this issue? No!!!!! They sold the country out!
Braca
I'll drink to that
I love that radio ad… on rooster… in the old caymanian accents… it suggests that one dolphin park hires locals and the other dolphin park hires "low paid foreignors"
lets give kudos to businesses that hire locals – some kind of award and public recognition and lets name and shame companies that don't…it is a flipping disgrace… our youth deserve better !!!
if companies would just pay a little hire many young caymanians will work hard and show up and do a GREAT job… but it is evry discouraging when the money hungry greedy ba#$@rds only offer $5 CI an hour…i can't pay my AC bill with that…. or my car insurance…
maybe you could stop thinking of possible employers as bastards. just sayin
Wow….
Guess what, now instead of the MASS exodus of employees on roll over leaving, Government has chosen to fix thier problem first by abolishing rollover, giving them another 3 years instead to be told to leave.
I guess he's going to pull another Mckeeva at that time, and grant all those who can't get Permanaent Residence, Caymanain Status to keep them from leaving.
The perception is that the 1,900 Unemployed Caymains are Unemployable, they are also professional with experinces; electricians, mechanics, gardeners, receptionist, helpers and all the other low income positions that they deem are fit for the 1,900 strong.
They also include College Graduates, High School leavers, Financial Service Professionals, Teachers, Laywers, secretaries, yes believe it or not they are out there with out jobs.
Not to forget the Caymains that are already employed that will never move forward with thier company regardless of experince or education becuaseof 5 and 10 year contracts for Superviser and Mangerial positions "because of lack of experince from another country"
Enough with the BS
Thier is NO enforcement what so ever, companies barley advertise for the position in the news paper REQUIRED BY LAW and they are 20,000 permits on island…… That is one large News Paper to have all those positions posted at any one time.
Here's an idea, maybe 20% from every work permit fee for jobs over 36,000 a year should go to Social Services to pay out for unemployment, education and training. After all expats are here because they are better than Caymanians, so if they are also the cause they should also be apart of the change.
I would like to think of these Caymains as 1,900 Strong, how else could they survive on this island jobless.
If your first answer is because they are criminals then you take a moment to think about that, about what that means if they stay unemployed. Make sure you lock your doors at night.
Just one minor, itsy bitsy, tiny, hardly worth mentioning in fact at all point my dear 15.58- it is Caymans immigration service (quite definitely run by Caymanians) that have to enforce, and our experience is that they do and quite well too. Sitting your side of the fence, you probably do not see that.
By the way, last night in Snug Harbour I witnessed some one climbing over the fence and stealing fruit from my very pleasant Caymanian neighbours fruit trees. I did chase him off, but not before he had managed to steal some fruit. I informed my neighbour this morning, who without me saying a word was able to describe the thief accurately, and identify him as a local"weed head" who sells his plunder in westbay for "weed" money…
Expats are not the cause of unemployment..please stop blaming everyone else for those very few that do not want to take responsibility for their own lifes, but to live off the handouts that you suggest are increased…handouts to the lazy few are the worst thing you can do…UK learned that lesson years ago (by the way, I do not include, disabled or people with real issues in that group).
If the 1,900 unemployed Caymanians think, express themselves and write like you do, that would be a starting point as to why they are unemployed.
Mmmm…. I've seen much worse fromexpats who are employed.
"20% from every work permit fee ….. should go to Social Services" – 100% of every work permit fee already goes to government; perhaps you should ask them what they spend it on.
I would like to see these 1,900 Caymanians get off their asses and assert themselves… go out and seek these jobs. Show the establishment that you are capable. Show up every morning at 7:00 am.
Im in the construction business for 35 years. Recently i had two Caymanians approched me, and now they are hired.
I cant believe these 1,900 really want a job that bad, that most of them will stay in bed and complain.
Why is it that political representativeslack common sense and good governance while in office and have lots when they are out. I guess it’s like when you tell some don’t look for Jesus in the outside world he is not there but in the prisons, cause that seems to be where everyone that goes there finds him. sad sad
20/20 hindsight
Quote: With the economy and population growing so much….
Not sure where this is happening but it sure isn’t Cayman!
But…isn't this your fault?
Actually what Rollie is saying is right…
Just that some of us cant forget that night – and stop wondering what would have happened to the mystery lady if he had not remembered that he had to turn around to buy dog food…
There's a little fairy that has been visiting this man constantly for twelve years, and every now and then he whispers in his ears, something like: "Hey Rollie" you know how smart you are, and how the people need you because you were the smartest one in the whole house. and because so many were jealous of your accomplishments they rigged the elections to get you out, so that people like T.R. could get in and take your seat. The people are crying for your return, so speak up and let them know that while you were in office you wanted so much to do all these things they are now talking about implementing, but was prevented from doing any of them, because Mac had tied your hands and you were thrown under the bus. But even though you may have sustained some reasonably bad bruising to your ego, after being thrown under the bus, you are "NOW" free to express your thoughts. So go get um Rol!
Mr. Anglin, for the last eight years, people who really cared have been trying to tell you not to listen to this fairy who's name is "Ego last name Narcissism" and that you should at all costs avoid him and not listen at all to anything he may say to you, but he kept telling you what you wanted to hear Rollie so you continued to listen not noticing all the outward signs indicative of your eventual fall from grace. Now today he's looking for others in the new government who are of the same mindset as yourself. So while he's busy with others do yourself a favor and take "Ego Narcissism" of your face book page, and invite a good friend of mine I call "Humi" real name Humility to be your friend. And one day, who knows!
I cannot deny that there are employers who refuse to hire Caymanians. I cannot deny that there are employers who refuse to promote Caymanians they have already employed. I cannot deny that there are jobs currently being held by foreigners which could be done by Caymanians. However, for the long term good of the country, the emphasis for all Caymanians has to be on education and training. If the career you want calls for a Bachelors, get a Masters. Go above and beyond. Spend some time working abroad to get wider experience (though don't try to run for office after doing so I guess?). Caymanians should strive to go above and beyond. And I can hear the complaints: This is our country why should we go above and beyond what the foreigners have to do? Well guess what? We compete in a gobal enviroment whether we like it or not. Let's be the best anyone can find just like our seamen were so many years ago,
The employers will still say they are over qualified for the job and hire the expat that the Caymanian would have to teach. Ask anyone working in the private sector how glorious it is working alongside an expat. They always undermind the locals.
Pretty hard to 'undermind' a local.
Why is Cayman News Service giving this man a platform to share his opinions? He lost in the election which indicates that the masses don't care what he thinks. At this point his opinion really isn't relevant.
What about all those non-contentious amendments to the labour law that he was promising to bring for 4 years.
Mac snatched them on one of his around the world tours.
Well he finally talking sense. too bad he didntdo this when he was elected to the position. LOL
We have a gap between Caymanian job skills and these job requirements…We need to properly educate ourfolks…just being Caymanian only gives you first shot at the job…it is not the only requirement. Additionally too many Caymanians are too proud to do some jobs but are not educated or trained to do the ones they want- catch 22. I met a young ladty on a permit a few weeks ago and she was making $4 per hour plus grats–her take home pay actually worked out to $10.15 per hour…no Caymanians wants her job waiting at the restaurant!
Given our economy and the jobs created by it we need to seriously educate Caymanians to fill these jobs…just getting a 'school leaving certificate' is not enough…not these days.
Our economy shrank since 2008…we lost 5,000 permit holders and we lost 1000 or so Caymanian jobs….notice anything..yep…1:5 ratio in a shrinking economy…even if we try to get rid of permit holders we are going to lose Caymanian jobs as well….this idea that we sinply get rid of 2000 permit holders and all Caymanians will have a job is nonsense.
Fellow Caymanians, get up off your butts, get training and take your jobs…stop playing dominoes under the grapetree and complaining. Your forefathers never did that. They got up and went to sea in fair weather or in hurricane but they did not sit around and complain.
I don't know which Cayman you are referring to 11:43. The one I live in now does not care that I have a masters degree from a reputable university and am capable of doing the job currently filled by a less qualified expat. What the employer wants is the expat not me. I have applied for the waitress jobs you refer to only to be told I am overqualified! So, what do I do? I play dominoes under the grape tree rather than taking a gun and robbing tourists or shooting people i am pissed off at. I figure the grape tree game is probably the better job for society don't you? In the meantime, instead of you jumping on here bad mouthing me perhaps you will join up now with Rollie since he seems to see the light nowadays and see what might be the real answer to this situation we find ourselves in. For once I think Rollie might be right, government needs to put its foot down.
Wrong. There are plenty of educated white collar Caymanians willing to work, but the system is broken!
1,900 unemployed Caymanians at the end of 2012 in the local labour force, with a 10.5% unemployment rate among local people. However, as of 31 March, more than 20,400 work permits had been granted?
The numbers speak for themselves and he admits the NWDA is not recruiting or placing quality Caymanians. We do NOT need to source this out. We simply need to have all applications go through the proper channels instead of under the carpet and behind doors.
Stop thinking work permit fees will cover social services for the 1,900 unemployed, it won't!
The answer is clear…. Hire and promote hard working Caymanians like we used to. Caymanians can and do work hard, but the stereotype was easier to believe than giving us a chance.
18.30…do you actually live here?
All the hard working willing Caymanians (or at least 95% of them) are employed…half our office include those and we have a great and respectful relationship between Caymanian and expat..what is left (with a few notable exceptions) is the mostly unemployable due to exact same attitude and lack of ability to see the real picture you so admirably display..
Rolly needs to shut the ( Insert whatever you want here) UP! Talking stupidness!!
His view about the amount of people there are might be hard to accept at face value since he spends so much time seeing double . . .
Hmmm, Rollie is either looking for work or is running for re-election in the possible upcoming by-election.
Either way, he definitely needs protection.
OH Please, put your foot down????? How about when you hire Caymanians, they don't show up for work or refuse to do the job? How about not showing up for the interview cause they think the job is below them? Really?? Do you not think businesses would hire locally if they could? How come we have a commissioner that is from the UK? How come the majority of the police force is from other countries ? How come ALL THE FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS their workers are majority work permit holders? Housekeepers, etc. Answer that question then you can "Preach" your put your foot down and hire Caymanians. I for one am not going to hire someone who is a repeated offender. The construction industry is hiring Caymanians "no drug test, no police record"? How the hell can you not drug test someone who is building someone's house or business? That gives me alot of confidence on the buidling codes here…..
You go work in fast food. I am a qualified 32 year old accountant and all the Canadians have my job. I'm tired of fake job interviews and expats on permits. My old company left and references are great, but I am passed over. What about that?!?
I will tell you what the real issue here on this Island is, Caymanians are simply undesirable in their own country ! Its all about who you know !
They're NOT building a house. They're building a freeking hospital!
And what makes you think that someone that is not from here, is not a criminal. Not because you don't see their names in the news means they are angiels.
you're speaking a foreign language!
One answer..the reason these low paying jobs are taken by foreigners is because most of them live 8-10 to a house and share all the expenses and whatever savings they have, they send it home to their families. They have come here for economic reasons because they could not survive on the same wages back in their home country. If you are a Caymanian as you portray yourself, can you and your family live off US$4.00 per hour…Notice that i s not Cayman dollars that is United Staes dollars.
We Caymanains are going to have to start doing the same thing. We all thought this was over when our seamen came home and this became the land of milk and honey. Well "Honey" it ain't so anymore. Somebody else is drinking or milk and eating our honey and we are starving to death.
Stop trying to generalize every Caymanian and paint us with the same brush. I am a Caymanian with a Post Graduate Degree. I am not lazy. I have worked hard all my life and got my education through blood, sweat and tears and I don't regret a moment of it. Recently I was forced to close my business after running it successfully for many years. The cost of doing business in Cayman coupled with the down turn in the economy completely wiped me out. I have been searching for a job and have even been willing to take lesser paid jobs for which I am overqualified just to put food on the table for my family but each time the door is shut in my face and a work permit is approved for someone off island to come in. I have even complained to the immigration board and they simply turn a blind eye. They have a job to ensure Government coffers take in the maximum of fees through work permits to meet its revenue requirements. Good for the politicians so that they can get their fat salaries but no good for the man on the street without a job.
I never voted for Rollie or the UDP. To be honest I ddin't vote for anyone that was a party member this time around. Both parties have failed our country and continue to do so. Until we have good strong Caymanian men and women that will stand on principle rather than party line, Cayman will never change for the better.
Alden has decided to start off his four years by ensuring another 2000 expats that they will get to stay for ten years and that they will be allowed to apply for permanent residency..Think of the dollars this means to the government coffers and ask yourself how many permanent residency applications have ever been turned down. It is a business to make money. A business that needs to refocus its attention on what it was originally set up to do and that is to protect Caymanians and the jobs they have and want, not to facilitate every expat that wants to come to the island simply because they will pay and can afford the going rate.
Caymanians wake up!!! Smell the coffee before they take that away from us too….
LIke Mr. Anglin or not he is right. The unemployment situation is more than a topical issue, it is one which is affecting the lives of our own people and has far reaching implications for the present and for the future if we dont stop and think not just of today but of our future.
The pundits that continually voice opinions on the subject of labor and unemployment have never asked the question of what skill sets do our unemployed people have and what work permit jobs are available that match those skill sets. This indeed is the first step in determining what action can be taken in terms of placement of Caymannians, in terms of retooling and retraining Caymanians or Government creating other labor opportunities on a long term basis.
We continually tie the unemployment of Caymannians to the roll over policy, but, the reality is that we have failed miserably in creating a proper Immigration Policy that deals effectively with the self created monumental expansion of Business and Laws created to support them. This therefore has created the present dilemma that leads us to pandering for pandering sake without a realistic approach as to why and how do we afford the Universal right of permanent abode. Immigrant workers were initially considered transient workers., and it is only recently that we have been forced to examine,understand and give due consideration to the respect for their rights to acquire citizenship in a country which they live for an extended period of time, added to which is the need for appropriate and permanent laws of the country and the present and long term goals of the Cayman Islands.
It is because of the lack of foresight and the accomodating nature of old that we are faced with this dilemma and "now" not later is the time to chart out (in conjunction with our people, the Economists amongst us and the Business sector) as to where and how we want this country to go forward. With the understanding of how all of the industries perceive either future growth or further down side effects based on their particular business sector as well as the factors that affect them and; what the Government understands of the desires of the people and its own financial predicaments over the next 10 years. Based on this a full and comprehensive plan can be developed for these Islands. At the forefront of the plan and/or thrust has to be the essentiality of havingour people fully trained in he industries that are here ( with combined support of Government and the Private sector) but also those of the future, science and technology amongst them. Obviously inward investment plays a big part in the scheme of planning and there will be elements of negotiation that must beundertaken in goofd faith and which should always take into consideration the greater good of the people of the Cayman Islands.
Until we stop decrying administration after administration and do not call for a formal and effective national dialogue on our needs and of thsose who we have opened our doors, for and thise which are to come immigrant and native, we will be continuosly looking for the "answer that is blowing in the wind".
That was my first thought too…. he's preparing himself for the by election. They may not believe in transparency – but we can see right through them!!
Imagine if Rolston had expressed his displeasure with the progress at the labour agency while he was the responsible Minister! I feel that the possibility of joining the ranks of the unemployed, would have galvanized some of those so securely and comfortably employed at that agency, into action and producing measureable results!
His comment is a head in sand comment, designed to stir up feelings without actually looking at the issues at all..typcial of what he did as a minister..
Another Rolston Advert.
I guess he really think Tara will lose her seat and wants another chance.
Otherwise he’s just starting to spew his many regrets, in which case this will be an ongoing daily news brief.
Wasn't he the same one , who, when he chose to address unemployment, simply said that Caymanians were unemployable. He did absolutley nothing about getting Caymanians employed, in fact, everything he did around this issue was just a pile of hot air, designed to fool people into thinking he was doing something about it. If he had done his jobthat we paid him to do he might have accomplished more on this front. After all, there is only so much you can get done at the 'office'.
He got more done at the Bar or Crashing.
Yeah Rollie, time to move on now.
Campaigning has officially started again…!
Here's merely singing a song, trying to gain popularity again by making noise about stuff he knows we're all passionate about. The usual lip service.
Please try not to put your foot down on your other foot!
Can we make it easier to get rid of poor performers? Then there would be more hiring.
Yes, but it would be hiring more poor performers
'…because all Caymanians are poor performers'.
You are a part of the problem.
We all know that it's not that simple. The unintended consequence of the immigration policy is that Caymanians are protected employees. Protected employees are not subject to the same competitive pressure as a normal workforce and have less incentive to perform. When you take away incentives to perform, performance drops.
On the other hand expats can be terminated easily. They have to prove they are better at their job than a Caymanian in order to get work permits. If they don't perform they are gone. So the non-performing expats generally don't last.
This has created a gap between expats (generally) and Caymanians (generally) in terms of ability and performance.
As an employer I want nothing more than to find motivated, loyal, experienced Caymanians to hire. A Caymanian with a good qualification that has spent time working outside of Cayman (ie. in a more competitive market) and that will be loyal to an employer and not seek to change jobs every year is extremely sought after. They do exist but are not easy to find.
What a load of hogwash.
to Tues. 97.23.2012 – 10:46
I take it then you don't want to employ Caymanians, because how many of us get the opportunity to work abroad, However you are happy to employ someone from overseas even if they have only been employed in one country with the same company, as long as they are not from Cayman. There are those of us here who have sacrificed to get a degree while working full time, hence gaining experience while getting qualified, but you all are not willing to give us a chance because we haven't worked abroad.
So much BS on here…how can you get any relevant experience in a country of 50,000 people…that whilst it is a major finance centre is actually a pimple in the ocean..you want to see the real world..go to UK, France, Germany, Japan, USA, Brasil or Korea and watch them work their asses off in a highly competitive community where there are 60-300,000,000 people competing against a similar number of competitors..then you would understand competiton. And it is dog eat dog out their, survival of the fittest.
Someone I know describes the financial services sector here as having a big city job in a small community and he is right…however we have to perform to those big city standards, even if that means weekend working, late nights and whatever else. You cannot just slide in with ONLY local knowledge and expect to be a top dog..you got to fight, win earn it and I really believe CIG should be encouraging younger people to go get their education and first jobs overseas. It is impossible to understand otherwise here.
Well why don't you put your name and contact information on your posting and ask those "Caymanians that are hard to find" to contact you for a job.
Well said. Very true. There is a reason why Caymanian Employers avail themselves of the workmpermit system. That's the question that needs to be dicussed. Painful, but needs to be aired.
Yep, cheap labour that they can control.
Slavery was abolished, but $3 an hour is still slave labour.
To:Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 07/23/2013 – 10:46 I think it is safe to say that for most foreign workers ,their first taste of international work experience ,is working in the Cayman Is.Yet you want to introduce another hurdle for Caymanians,by insisting that they have international experience before being considered for a job locally.Rubbish,utter rubbish.When are we going to stop pushing Caymanians aside ,when?
Anon 1625 there are a lot of them coming fresh from college.
However in their eyes a Caymanian coming fresh from college needs work experience while an expat does not.
Amen on that one.
They do have international experience by the simple fact that they are coming from overseas. Their last work experience is not in Cayman so it must be international.
Where is the statistics to qualify your lame statement? How many expats are teminated for non-performance?
Goverment themself do not always hire Caymanians. Check out the HSA they have many foreigners filling positions that Caymanians can fill and I dont mean doctors and nurses. Just do an FOI request of the positions at the HSA and see how many foreigners are in positions that Caymanians can fill. Come on Ozzy do the right thing.
And almost all of these positions require years of training and experience..working long hours, weekends, holidays. Not only HSA but if you look in the newspaper there are pages of jobs there. They also all state years of experience required. Caymanians can and should have the jobs but if they are not trained/ certified they need to be filled by someone who is.
The HSA HR is the worst! Likes crabs in a bucket the Human Resources team discriminates even against their own locals based on what church you belong to….
HSA hellloooooo? We have SEEN the most recent adverts you ran and are WATCHING to see WHO you put in the jobs? Qualified locals? I heard they got over 40 applications for one job in May?
One of our biggest problems is our own local overpaid HR Managers. They get to a position of power and play the game. The bigger the firm the more HR games played. Shame on you (mostly ladies) you should be ashamed!
There is a new circle in hell for local HR Managers. Go on, ask yourself….Did I give that qualified Caymanian every chance over an expat? No way.
1,900 unemployed Caymanians at the end of 2012 in the local labour force, with a 10.5% unemployment rate among local people. However, as of 31 March, more than 20,400 work permits had been granted.
Civil Service and HSA – hire an expat every time while we stay on the bread line?!?
Yes Rolston sounds like you need to get yourself a little Pow pow to deal with your financial problems?? Well you can check to see if they have any Christmas clean up coming soon too?The average Caymanian has been struggling out here for a very long time and it is nice to see that you the unemployable finally have sobered up enough to figure this out "welcome to the real world" or is it just the sweet talk of a hypocrite. Well i know one thing Joe & Al ain't giving u any pocket change from their No hand out campaign, that they now are running after winning cause they finally making a big time salary after all these years of peanuts!
You clearly don't know how much more "Joe & Al" were making as private citizens.
Joey and Al never campaigned on the notion that they would give away their salary after they were elected. They campaigned on trying to put the country in a position that any Caymanian
who really wanted a job would be able to find one and that is still their position. Personally I wonder where the money really did come from that some of the politicians had been handing out year after year. Seriously some one must have been funding their charities and those benefactors must have been getting "a lot of favours" done, which is nothing but corruption- plain and simple. IT WILL TAKE THE PPM 4 TERMS TO STAMP OUT CORRUPTION- BUT IF THAT IS ALL THEY GET DONE- THEN WELL DONE. IF YOU WANT TO FEED A PERSON FOR A DAY GIVE HIM/HER A FISH BUT IF YOU WANT TO FEED THEM FOR LIFE TEACH THEM HOW TO FISH.
When they are ousted its much easier to take the veil off their eyes and see where Government really falls short. Thats life, you have a big position with a nice title, then its taken and you find yourself in the same boat as the rest, now its your turn to complain – I see it happening with quite a few who thought they were exempt from unemployment ! Joey Ebanks is now doing the same thing but when he was MD of the ERA, he always had negative things to say about his own Caymanians but now that the shoe is on the other foot, he now wants to be an advocate for all unemployed and underpriviledged Caymanians. Ahhh the joys of trying to be somebody when nobody really cares!
Funny. He now knows that govt must put their foot down to put Caymanians at the forefront of the labour market, but when he was in office he was saying that there was not an unemployment problem in Cayman but an unemployability one. http://centos6-httpd22-php56-mysql55.installer.magneticone.com/o_belozerov/31115drupal622/2010/11/26/ci-has-employability-problem. You arejust trying to remain relevant, Mr. Anglin; you are fooling no one.
Glad you remembered that story 10:01.
"Rolston Anglin said he was disappointed that changes at the labour agency did not move as quickly as he would have liked during his tenure"
Is that because he was off-island with MacTravel or perhaps becasue his attention was on other things like Happy Hour, Mysterious Women and a DUI?
He must be applying to head up the Unit of Employment!! I hope to God that the Government won't be so stupid!!
Thank you Mr. Anglin, and you had 4 years…I doubt will happen with this government either. Gov't heaviles relies on the revenue the from WP's to begin with and honestly, do you think that a Caymanian will work for $3.50/hr?
Really? Because I wrote directly to the Minister, while he would have plenty of time to enforce compliance with laws that would have benefitted the local employers and the Cayman Islands, and the Minister chose politics and his own personal interests over his obligations to the people of the Cayman Islands. You can't talk out of two sides of your mouth.
employers looking to maximize profits and having more control over their employees, nothing new Rollie government should have put their foot down long ago ,having said that caymanians that get a job must realize that performance counts and most jobs are at least 5 days a week .
"…most jobs are at least five days a week". Exactly! And that's one of the reasons most Caymanian (repeat, Caymanian) employers, including present and past MLAs and Ministers do not have a majority of Caymanians in their employ (if any at all). Too little productivity, too many days absent, too poor an attitude, too often late for work, too many hassles, too difficult to get rid of them. Too sickening for words.
yo rollie…what time is happy hour?
12 years in office and now he says something must be done?? Typical politician. Only good for feeding himself off the taxpayers dime.
Hey Rolly….sshhhhhh…The big people are talking now.
Sure sounds like you Rolston had a confrontation with the truth yourself and sound like you lost? Wha Bite you mann!