Hundreds of residents, students and school leavers gained insight on career paths across Dart’s hospitality portfolio at the annual job fair held at Kimpton Seafire Resort on Wednesday, 11 Oct.
The event attracted 400 registered attendees, who met with representatives from The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman; Kimpton Seafire Resort; Hampton by Hilton; and the Hotel Indigo, which is set to open in April 2024.
Dianne Conolly, Dart hospitality programme manager, explained there are some 400 jobs available. Pre-screening interviews were held at the job fair, where registered persons locked in direct interviews within the hotels or were referred to other Dart initiatives such as the hospitality training programme.
“A lot of people don’t realise there are positions in engineering, accounting, marketing; usually it’s front desk and food and beverage that they hear about, so this gives them an opportunity to learn more about what careers are available,” Conolly said.
“Hotel Indigo has about 80 positions available for servers, another opportunity to get your foot through the door if that’s what you’re interested in. We’re ready to start staffing that up, getting them trained, ready and prepped for that opening,” she said.
Conolly explained the fair is a great opportunity to attract more Caymanians to the industry. “We want them throughout hospitality and to have a better understanding of what the roles are. We do have Caymanians in the front line, but we want to train more people, utilising and better involving our Caymanians in these positions,” she said.
Students from John Gray High School, Clifton Hunter High School, Cayman Islands Further Education Centre, Cayman Prep & High School and the University of the Cayman Islands Hospitality School were among those attending the fair.
Ian Taylor, human resources coordinator at The Ritz-Carlton, said he was happy to see the younger generation show up at the fair and interested in the industry. “I like to see the new generation willing to grab the world by the horns. Dart is doing an amazing job on exposing them to different ideas, that hospitality isn’t only a ‘server’ or working on the beach, but so much more,” he said.
Having worked in the Cayman hospitality industry for many years, Taylor said it is what represents the Cayman Islands and it was good to see young people interested in those careers.
Among the students meeting prospective employers was Riley Corbin, 19, who attends the UCCI Hospitality School. “I’ve been interested [in the culinary industry] for five years now and I just like the whole creativity and everything else that goes behind it,” he said.
Corbin, who wants to be a chef, said he worked at Abacus restaurant for three weeks this past summer. He hopes to better his chances in securing employment. “Being here helps me by seeing what job careers there are and just understanding a whole bunch of opportunities, not just certain jobs that people can get into,” Corbin said.
Illiana Romero, 17, also a UCCI student, said the fair is what she needed to get her foot in the door. “I really want to be a flight attendant, but I came to find a pathway in hospitality. It’s important to have options. Maybe I might like my ‘Plan B’ better and succeed more in that, so it’s important to have options. I’m really happy I came,” she said.
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