Business staffing applications lag

Friday, July 30, 2004

Click here for full article

Reader comments:

• Those of us who have worked in the Cayman Islands in senior management levels in the finance industry are well aware that your average Caymanian is not terribly competent and is not keen on work but does expect to get a large salary for doing as little as possible that he/she can get away with. On the other hand it is very expensive to bring in labour from outside so we land up employing and promoting people who a) should not have been employed in the first place; b) are not really capable of holding supervisory jobs; and c) do not provide the level of service to which international clients expect - Don Lever
  
   
• Pardon me, Mr Lever. There are many expatriates at work in the financial and tourism industry in Cayman who arrived here as green as grass. They did not have a clue what to do on the job. They received on the job training, a luxury that is denied the Caymanian job applicant, who is expected to have a degree and 5 years experience for an entry level job.
  
  I work with many expatriates who hold big job titles in Cayman, but back home they were nowhere near what they are in Cayman. They were allowed to train on the job in Cayman. In many instances, their company paid for them to go to school to further their education… this benefit is not offered to the Caymanian. Why is it okay to give the expatriate a break and train them on the job and school them, but we can't spend money and time on training Caymanians?
  
  Caymanians are smart; we can do the job just as well as any expatriate. The myth that is propounded by an ignoramus such as Mr Lever is just that… a myth, and it is designed to keep Caymanians out of the very lucrative jobs that are being offered on this island. The expatriates intend to keep those jobs for themselves and their little clique.
  
  It is way past time for the Cayman Islands Government to wake up and have a roll over plan whereby an expatriate is only allowed to stay for a certain amount of time on island. Every expatriate worker should have a Caymanian understudying him.
  
  Mr. Lever, I dare say you are one of the many expatriates who didn't see the light of day until coming to Cayman. Be fair. Allow this country's people to reap the benefits of their homeland. Stop selling the stupid myth that Caymanians are incapable of holding jobs. This sweeping generalization is so stupid that it makes you look stupid for saying it - Direct Current
  
   
• I would agree with both sides of the argument, but does the government not have in place a quota system that forces employers to employ Caymanians in the workplaces? Does this not suffice? - Expat

Back...