The first of a series of roadshows between the new department Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman (WORC), and industry stakeholders was completed last week.
Invited to the meetings were leaders of local business and industry associations; including the Cayman Islands Society for Human Resources Professionals (CISHRP), the Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA), the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce (CICC), the Cayman Islands Small Business Association (CISBA), the Cayman Islands Law Society (CILS) and Caymanian Bar Association (CBA) as well as representatives from recruitment agencies.
"The positive feedback and support from these stakeholders has been encouraging," said WORC Interim Director Sharon Roulstone. “It was good to know that the comprehensive effort we put into identifying the challenges of the current system resulted in commendations rather than criticisms, for our new employment processes.”
CISHRP President Chris Bailey commended the department for being "exactly what Cayman needs".
"The arrival of WORC could not have been better timed," he observed. "CISHRP shares its vision of collaboration within the local business community to ensure that Cayman's job market remains relevant and competitive."
CITA President, Theresa Leacock-Broderick, added that CITA also looks forward to growing Caymanian employment, particularly in the tourism sector.
Baraud founder, Betty Baraud, also pledged to support to the new department: "We are fully supportive of WORC's mission to achieve economic prosperity through full Caymanian employment. We will work together to ensure Caymanians receive preference in the workplace."
CISBA President, Dawn McLean-Sawney, praised the efforts of WORC and said she was looking forward to future developments: "Cayman has what it takes to be globally competitive. We are already there; this will just take us to the next level."
With external stakeholder meetings now complete, Ms Roulstone explained the next steps are to introduce WORC to the rest of the community.
"Public town hall meetings are scheduled to take place after the summer break," she confirmed. "We will also appeal to job seeker groups in the next round of engagement meetings, where we plan to test WORC's business processes to ensure the system is efficient and effective for them as well.”