Cayman’s fledgling trade school is offering scholarships to help kick-start a retraining programme for residents left jobless by the coronavirus crisis.
Inspire Cayman owner Michael Myles said he had raised $30,000 to offer the first 10 scholarships to the trade school.
Myles said that would be enough to take 10 students through core training classes that will qualify them for entry-level jobs in the construction industry.
He is working with the Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman agency and hopes that it will be able to find jobs or sponsor further training for his graduates.
“Once they complete their courses, WORC is responsible for helping them get employment,” he said.
Myles believes the COVID-19 crisis is a chance for both the government and for Caymanians to re-evaluate their approach to training.
He says there are thousands of well-paid jobs available in trades and construction, and he is urging government to support people who want to retool to work in those fields.
Some of the students he is sponsoring in the first wave of scholarships lost jobs in tourism and retail because of COVID, Myles said.
He said the current crisis could be transformed into an opportunity, if it is handled right.
“We need to get people thinking about careers, not just jobs. It is a pathway,” he said.
Myles said many skilled trades were taken up by guest workers, largely, in his view, because there has not been sufficient vocational training on island for Caymanians.
“Which industry has come back the fastest? It is construction,” he said.
“Drive from Prospect to George Town and you will see a dozen construction sites. How many Caymanians are on those sites? Call to get your air conditioning fixed and see if it is a Caymanian that shows up.”
Myles said the immigration laws had been recently reinforced to ensure a Cayman-first policy, but he cautioned that anyone applying for a job had to have the right qualifications.
“If you don’t offer people training, they still can’t be a priority because they are not going to get the job,” he added.
“We should use this time to invest in our people and get them ready for careers that can sustain them.”
Inspire Training is continuing to teach courses through Zoom during the COVID-19 crisis. The school is affiliated with the US-based National Center for Construction Education and Research and uses experienced workers to help teach a variety of different trades.
The Caribbean Utilities Company is a sponsor and its trainee employees go through some of the school’s programmes.
Myles said there are three mandatory courses for students at the trade school. These are the core curriculum, which teaches the basics of the construction industry; ‘tools for success’, which teaches basic employability skills’ and the ‘Financial Peace University course’, which teaches personal money management.
Beyond that, depending on student interest, the school has options to specialise in trades ranging from auto mechanics to scuba diving.
Ultimately, Myles hopes the government will offer scholarships to students to attend the school and he can expand into various districts across the island. He hopes COVID-19 will provide a new impetus for this to happen.
“We should use this time wisely to invest in our people,” he added.
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