Editorial
Will the Kidsfind Work?
A combined total of nearly 1,000 local kidsand young adults will be graduating from local High Schools, theInternational College of the Cayman Islands, the Community Collegeand overseas institutions this year. These graduates face a dauntingtask of finding that first job this year in what experts callthe tightest job market in the Cayman Islands for over a decade.
Company layoffs, a slowdown in hiring andother lingering effects of the past two years recession have significantlyincreased the difficulty of finding even entry-level positions.
Unlike Cayman's previous stature of over-employment,whereby there were more jobs than bodies, the availability ofjobs have dried up tremendously, as many companies continue todown size and Government still has a moratorium on hiring. Thereversal now is, there's not a lot of jobs available this yearand the students have to compete with those laid-off.
In the past, Human Resources managers mayhave had a vacancy and received, say, five résumés.Today for that same vacancy, they are receiving 5 to ten timesthat amount.
And since September 11 of last year, employershave been cutting costs and delaying expansion plans - even thoughthe US has been saying that their recession is over.
The Labour Relations Office is now takinga pro-active approach in trying to place the registered unemployed,reputed to be officially in the 400 range. However, as addressedpreviously, this figure could be at least three times this amount.Add to this the kids graduating in a couple of months, the healthysum which have been made redundant including some three dozenfrom Cable & Wireless with more layoffs to come, at least500 graduates who will be looking for jobs, the eventual reductionof staff which will come about because of the merger of Barclaysand CIBC plus the unknown future of Cayman Airways, thetruth is, the unemployment picture keeps getting bigger.
Another concern to be addressed is, whenthere is a downsizing, especially in funds or the obvious lackof facilities for training, the employer looks more for staffwho already has been in the work world. Where will this leavethe graduating students who have entered the market without technicaltraining? No place but out in the cold.
It is predicted that job searches couldlast for as long as four to six months for new grads, who alsoface stiff competition from recent classmates now back in thejob market. Even new mothers are returning to the job market earlierbecause of the difficulty of a significant portion of the communityto make ends meet.
College graduates who have been away willalso most certainly be returning to compete with young peoplewho have already been in the workforce for one or two years butare unemployed due to downsizing. Some of these individuals mayeven be more inclined in this uncertain economy to accept entry-levelpay.
With the private sector cutting costs andGovernment's revenue earning departments expected to have a shortfallin their projections, what can parents do to help a graduate?
It is recommended to give practical giftsthis year. Students can also make productive contacts by joininga community campaign, working at a special event or festival,or volunteering at a local charity.
Taking all of this into consideration, itmight be conservative to say that as many as 6 to 8 percent ofthe employment age population is at present out of work.
Perhaps, this situation is a time that hadto come, so that many who previously thought that they could securea job and make frequent changes without repercussions, will nowrealize, that it is better to have a job in hand ratherthan one in the bush.