Business Staffing Plan accreditation scheme back on the cards

Companies that recruit and promote Caymanians instead of filling posts with work permit holders could be in line for a special seal of approval.

Michael Myles, the employment and immigration minister, signalled the possibility as he unveiled changes designed to streamline the work of the Business Staffing Plan Board by freeing it from routine work permit processing so it could concentrate on getting more Caymanians into work.

“This evolution of the Business Staffing Plan Board is about results,” he said.

“We are putting the board’s energy where it can have the greatest impact, ensuring that employers are genuine partners in developing and promoting Caymanian talent and that every Caymanian who wants to work has a real path to meaningful growth and development.”

The present Business Staffing Plan Board will stand down, with replacements expected to be announced in the next few weeks.

Myles said that about 90% of work permit applications were already handled by Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman, part of the Department of Immigration, and it would take over the Business Staffing Plan Board’s work in that area.

He explained the 10% dealt with by the Business Staffing Plan Board took up too much of its time and kept it from devoting full attention to “diagnosing and addressing the structural factors that contribute to Caymanian underemployment and unemployment … ”

Companies with 15 employees or more have to draw up a business development plan, which is scrutinised by the board.

But Myles said, “These plans are not often reviewed because the board spends an overwhelming amount of time processing work permits.”

He said that meant the government was not on top of how Caymanians were being trained or progressing through companies.

Under the new system, employers could earn accreditation from the board, which Myles said could mean not only public recognition, but a streamlined process if they needed work permits.

“We won’t have so many work permits in the pipeline. We can stamp these work permits and move on,” Myles said.

“That’s pretty much what we’re moving towards, and we’ve implemented an accreditation programme for the business community, a programme that’s really honouring good corporate citizens.

“The Business Staffing Plan Board will see good corporate citizens and they will select these particular companies.”

He added the board would be able to better spot companies aligned with government goals and that “when they submit, say, 10 work permit applications, we don’t need to focus on them”.

“The initial part of it is to get the programme up and running and then we can add more things like ‘trusted employer’,” Myles said.

“If we don’t fix the system, we’re always going to have employees who experience delays. The goal is to provide a better service for the business community.”

Accreditation requirements

Qualifications for company accreditation include providing Caymanians with internships, scholarships and a track record of promotion up the corporate ladder.

Myles said the coalition government also planned to improve the government scholarship scheme, which costs between $37 million and $40 million a year, to ensure the money was targeted at jobs with a future.

“We need to understand how business is changing and the Business Staffing Plan Board will be meeting with business to understand how they are changing,” Myles said. “There are changes in terms of their workflows, like accounting firms, for example, who have business that needs actuaries.

“We need to be looking at how to start training for our people to become actuaries.”

He added the board would also help to inform how the government should spend scholarship cash to ensure Caymanians return to the islands with strong prospects of landing good jobs and forging worthwhile careers.

“We’ve never really focused on the $37-$40 million for tertiary education and every year young people are coming back and finding it difficult to find employment in their own country – we need to change that.”

The ministry highlighted that the work permit process would not be interrupted by the changes and that additional staff had been deployed to cover board applications to avoid any delays.

An accreditation scheme for Cayman businesses was first proposed in 2008 as a way to create incentives for employers to train and hire Caymanian workers. The proposal was never fully developed, although it was generally supported by both political parties at the time.

In a future story, the Compass will look deeper into the previous attempts to implement an accreditation scheme and the reasons they were unsuccessful.