Up Front
Minister To Explore Trainingand Employment Partnerships
Minister for Education, Human Resourcesand Culture, the Hon. Roy Bodden, will visit Jersey in the ChannelIslands later this month. He leaves on Saturday, 10th Februaryand returns on the 17th.
He will look at that island's eight year old National TrainingInitiative, as well as their Investors in People (IIP) programme.Jersey was the first international partner to complete a fullIIP pilot study and then sign and launch a main programme.
The visit is at the invitation of Senator Corrie Stien, one ofthe State of Jersey legislators. A packed programme of talks andvisits has been arranged, with particular emphasis on the Trainingand Employment Partnership (TEP). The TEP falls under the Employmentdivision of the Employment and Social Security Department.
Also on the minister's Jersey agenda are visits to the EmploymentService Centre, Jersey's equivalent of a job centre and JerseyBusiness Venture (JBV). This privately and publicly funded organisationprovides advice to small businesses having fewer than ten employees.A visit will also be made to Jersey Advisory Conciliation Service(JACS), a recently established development that supports the introductionof employment laws.
Commenting on his trip, Mr. Bodden said, "Employment relationsin the Cayman Islands are becoming increasingly complex. Whilethe present Labour Law has served us well over the past ten years,now the emphasis needs to be on assisting employers to complywith the law, rather than adopting an adversarial position."The minister explained that he hoped to see how Jersey, a smallisland nation with several similar problems to ours, has beenaddressing training and employment.
Mr. Bodden also said that he is aware that, according to Chamberof Commerce statistics, 80 percent of businesses in Cayman employless than ten people. Many of these small businesses and entrepreneursdo not have the resources to develop systems to meet the reportingrequirements of the various labour and pensions regulations.
He noted that while the law provided sanctions, and these wouldbe enforced against blatant labour and pension violations, theexpanded Human Resources Department would provide support andbe user friendly. He said that his ministry's philosophy is toassist employers and employees in understanding and using thelaw in order to comply, and that electronic means would be usedas far as possible. He did not rule out face to face sessionswhere electronic means were unavailable, but he hopes to see Internetaccess provided in public places such as libraries and communityhalls.
While in the United Kingdom, the minister will call on the OverseasTerritories Department and visit the British Council, the CommonwealthSecretariat and the Commonwealth Institute. His visits have beenarranged through the Governor's Office.
Mr. Bodden will also lunch at the House of Lords and meet withvarious Members of Parliament. During his trip, he will attenda number of cultural events and host a reception for Caymanianstudents in the UK, at the Cayman Islands Government Office.
Mrs. Jennifer Dilbert, Cayman's representative in London, willarrange the reception.