LOCAL COMMENTARY

Employment Control Through Recruitment And Selection

By Oliver Mills*

Thursday,  November  24, 2005  

In recent weeks, there has been a number of reports in the Cayman Net News regarding the issue of immigration, and the right of the authorities in the Cayman Islands to decide who should be admitted into the country. Every country has an inalienable right to control who enters it, since it has to protect its citizens from any untoward consequences that may result from this.

There has also been a recent report in the Cayman Net News concerning the high number of expatriate workers that comprise the workforce, and the implied necessity to manage and regulate this situation, so as to offset any imbalances which may operate to the detriment of the local workforce.

These issues reflect the need to carefully examine the idea of exercising control over employment through the mechanism of  a recruitment and selection process which would determine who comes, when, and for what purposes into the country.

Recruitment and selection is a management strategy which aims at obtaining the number and quality of employees which satisfy the human resource needs of the organization. This involves carefully preparing job descriptions and specifications, and deciding on the terms and conditions of employment. There is then the process of  evaluating applicants, and selecting candidates through interviewing, testing, psychological assessment, and obtaining references.

The job description sets out the details of the job, defines relationships, the terms and conditions, and career development opportunities. The job specification includes the competencies required, qualifications, experience, and the expectations the organization has of the candidate.

It also indicates what the corporate culture is like, in order to obtain an organizational fit between the values of the applicant and those of the company.

Recruitment and selection are very important processes to a company and a country, if the latter is to manage and control who enters, and the qualities they bring, as well as have updated information on who is where and doing what.

These processes are a first line of defence, and serve as a gatekeeping mechanism, deciding who is legitimately entering the country, and who comes for other purposes. Here, documents could be produced to the immigration authorities, certifying the purpose for coming, and this gives the Government an initial grip on the numbers entering and the reasons for which they have come. This means close co-ordination between companies and the immigration authorities.

In the case of the Cayman Islands, a recruitment and selection strategy would be an excellent mechanism, which seeks to manage and control the labour force, so that not too large a percentage of persons from overseas, particularly from any one country, dominates the labour force.

This strategy would also provide the Government with  statistics indicating  what categories of employment exist, the requirements for the various jobs, and the levels of vacancies.

The Government can then plan a training and development programme for its citizens for the jobs that are currently being done by expatriates, providing the necessary incentives for them in terms of pay, and career development opportunities. The Cayman Islands has attained developed country status, and this factor attracts persons from regional territories, and  from elsewhere.

However, the Government has the right to protect its citizens and the country’s culture from either being swamped by others, or from the undesirable influence of the habits and behaviours of some  outsiders.

This country has achieved developed country status precisely because of the intelligence and sophistication of the indigenous population, and the foresight of its able leaders. Others have played only a peripheral role.

The culture of the Cayman Islands with its unmatched politeness and friendliness, is a big attraction to the outside world. The political system of the country is stability at its best, and these are treasures that the islands must protect. The authorities should therefore guard these assets carefully, and protect them from those, who by their behaviour,  would tarnish this image.

There are some countries whose economies and social systems are not delivering to its citizens the quality of life they seek. Many of these persons therefore come to the Cayman Islands to improve their prospects, but they also bring many unacceptable behavioural traits which could impact in an unhealthy way on the culture and institutions of the Cayman people.

Some governments also encourage migration, since their citizens send back remittances which alleviate conditions in these countries.

A recent report in a regional newspaper states that one Caribbean country receives annual remittances of about two billion United States dollars (US$2 billion). Another receives US$1 billion, and yet another US$190 million dollars. It is even said that remittances to some countries exceed that of their major exports. It can therefore be seen why some countries are not pleased when legitimate actions are taken to restrict some of their citizens from entering countries from which large amounts of remittances are received.

Restrictions on entry to  a country have nothing to do with prejudice, but with entering and remaining over illegally, and displaying unacceptable conduct. As a matter of fact many persons from some countries display prejudice against the citizens of the host country, even telling some of its citizens that they have to be here because no one is qualified for the jobs.

Any Government therefore reserves the right to manage the immigration process, and the strategy of recruitment and selection would go a long way towards achieving this.

*Oliver Mills is the latest columnist to join Cayman Net News’ impressive list of commentators.

He is Head of the Department of Humanities at the Turks & Caicos Islands Community College and a former lecturer in education at the University of the West Indies Mona Campus, and also a former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education in Turks & Caicos

He holds an M.Ed degree. from Dalhousie University in Canada and an MA from the University of London as well as a Post Graduate Diploma in Training and Human Resource Management from the University of Leicester, UK.

He has published numerous articles in human resource development and management, as well as chapters in five books on education and human resource management and has presented professional papers in education at Oxford University in the UK and at Rand Africanns University in South Africa.

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