Job Expo 2002- A Successful Event
Samantha Bennett,Chairperson of the Job Expo 2002 with Tom Blume, Training Managerat Foster's.
Cayman's job market is still is in goodshape as there are not many people out of work as was assumed.
This is the opinion of Chamber of CommerceChief Executive Officer Wil Pineau during the Chamber of CommerceCareer, Education & Job Expo 2002 which was held 7 to 9 Marchat the Marriott Hotel.
Mr Pineau based this conclusion on thatfact that although the event was of a high quality and well attended,there were suggestions that not many people were job hunting butlooking to advance careers.
The motto of the Expo was "Your futureis within your reach", and the organizers of the 3-day eventclearly did their best to bring career and education tools tothe students and job seekers who attended the forum.
With 41 booths in all, the event offeredinformation on a wide range of career opportunities.
In his message for the event, the Hon. RoyBodden, Minister for Education, Human Resources and Culture said:"This is the first time that Government has been a majorsponsor of the function and I believe this event is an ideal exampleof a successful public and private partnership. Together, publicand private organizations have worked to give young people anopportunity to learn about local employment choices".
At the opening ceremony of the 2002 JobExpo, several officials representing the Chamber, the EmploymentRelations Department and the Immigration Board spoke on the goalsof the 3-day event, the new initiatives taking shape, and theway forward.
Mrs. Samantha Bennett, Chairperson of theCareer, Education and Job Expo Task Force reminded the audiencethat the event has a "continuing focus on students and thosepersons already in the work force seeking growth and opportunity".
Mrs. Sherry Bodden-Cowan, Chairman of theImmigration Board spoke on the importance of private and publicsector cooperation to "ensure that each Caymanian has theopportunity to be educated and trained to the best of his or herability".
She said: "In the past year as Chairman,I have seen many important initiatives both from the private andthe public sectors which should give us hope for the future".
One of those, she said, is the new EmploymentRelations Department: "The new Employment Relations Departmentis a positive move. In conjunction with the Immigration Boardand with the input of valuable information from the private sectorwe hope to create a comprehensive data base of all members ofour community who are seeking employment".
Mr. Walling Whittaker, Director of the EmploymentRelations Department called the Expo both a "forum to showcasethe numerous career opportunities for our youth, career changersand unemployed" and an "opportunity to highlight keyattention areas that are important to our overall objective".
The key attention areas he outlined includedthe importance of vocational and technical training, as well asproviding career awareness, approved systems of certification,and professional and curricular development.
Ms. Patrice Donalds of the Ministry of Education,Human Resources and Culture, gave the example of her own educationaland career development to encourage young people at the openingto take advantage of the opportunities offered to them.
She said: "I challenge all of you tovisit each and every booth; ask a lot of questions about the differentcareer options you may have, based on your areas of interest;sign up to be mentored so that you can be guided in your careerpath; and make sure that you are fully prepared to grasp the futurethat is within your reach".
Following the opening cocktail receptionon Thursday night and the Friday morning opening ceremonies, the2002 Job Expo was structured to facilitate the needs of the varioustarget groups taking advantage of the event's services.
On Friday, 8 March, Year 11 and 12 highschool students, as well as college-level students, were the focusof the day, as they looked at the opportunities available to themlocally after graduation.
On Saturday, March 9th, the event was opento the general public. Attendees were invited to tour the booths,be interviewed for jobs and receive job training information.
At the 7 March opening, guests also witnessedlaunching of the National Mentoring Partnership Programme anddistribution of the Financial Assistance, Scholarship and TrainingGuide 2002.
The National Mentoring Partnership is ajoint initiative between the Chamber of Commerce and the Government,which will assign private and public sector mentors to the Islands'top performing high school students to give students "a betterunderstanding of business leadership".
The Financial Assistance, Scholarship, Trainingand Education Guide is a Chamber publication that compiles themajor scholarship and financial assistance opportunities availableto local students.
The combined launch of these programmespointed to the ongoing cooperation of several non-governmentaland Government bodies, as well as the importance that is currentlybeing placed on education and career training and placement inthe Cayman Islands.
The various branches of the Cayman IslandsCivil Service had a strong presence, with booths representingthe Department of Tourism, the Royal Cayman Islands Police, theImmigrations and Customs Departments, and the newly formed EmployeeServices Center among other Government departments and offices.
The Islands' utilities companies, CaribbeanUtilities Company, Cable & Wireless and the Water AuthorityCayman, were out in force for the Expo. Visitors to the Cable& Wireless booth could get a hands-on idea of the work thecompany does thanks to Internet kiosks set up for the event, anda display of telecomm cabling and equipment.
The local finance industry was well-representedby KPMG, one of the primary sponsors of the event, as well asFortis Bank, Price Waterhouse Coopers, and CIBC. Law firms Hunter& Hunter and Walkers, along with the Cayman Islands Law School,presented the legal profession to curious youngsters and otherjob seekers.
The tourism industry was also very muchpresent with the Cayman Islands Tourism Association, the HyattRegency, Red Sail Sports, Island Companies, and the Westin, Marriottand Holiday Inn hotels encouraging young Caymanians to enter thehospitality field.
Hurley's & Cayman Imports and FostersFood Fair represented the Islands' supermarkets and other fieldsrepresented were realty and insurance by Century 21 andCayman General respectively.
CITN and the Cayman Contractors Associationwere also on hand to promote the broadcasting and constructionindustries, fields not traditionally popular choices for Caymanianyouth but which both attracted a number of Job Expo attendees.
Rounding out the group of companies in thecareer sector of the Expo was event sponsor Baraud International.
The education sector of the event includedlocal educational institutions the International College of theCayman Islands and the Community College of the Cayman Islands,as well as information on the Chamber of Commerce's own educationand training programmes.
The event was judged a success by both organizersand participants, as well as a useful tool for companies seekingto acquire and develop a Caymanian work force.
Speaking as a sponsor and exhibitor at theevent, KPMG Human Resources Manager, Stacey Goubault, outlinedthat firm's reasons for supporting the Expo: "KPMG has alwayshad a strong commitment to the training and development of Caymaniansand over the years have successfully sponsored a number of Caymaniansthrough scholarship and training to realize their career aspirationsand gain valuable experience in the public accounting field. Asone of the largest professional services firms on the Island wenow offer a wide range of career choices, outside of accountingand auditing for bright and aspiring Caymanians. For us the Career,Education & Job Expo was mainly about the awareness affordedby educating the youth of the current career and training possibilitiesavailable to them by affiliating themselves with our global firm".
While the benefits of taking advantage ofa resource like the Job Expo are obvious for the attendees, Ms.Goubault also outlined the benefits to participating companies:"The Career, Education & Job Expo is a very well organizedevent hosted by the Chamber of Commerce and thereby a simple forumfor capturing the attention and interest of our school leaversand younger Caymanians," she said.