The Cayman Islands job market is proving strong in some areas, reaching ‘full employment’ by global standards, as noted by the Office of the Auditor General in a new report.
However, the office shared concern about needing to better protect and predict employment prospects for Caymanians.
The Cayman Islands has met the threshold for efficient labour use every year since 2019. The report, ‘Improving Employment Prospects for Caymanians‘, published on Monday, also indicated that unemployment among Caymanians went down from 5.6% in 2019 to 5% in fall 2023, at 1,143 people.
Still, Auditor General Sue Winspear spoke of hurdles for those seeking work, especially for higher-paid positions.
“Despite meeting the definition of full employment, there are a number of barriers to employment that need to be addressed,” she said in a press release announcing the release of the report.
Chief among these are the need for greater academic attainment, higher minimum wage, apprenticeships and childcare.
The report said about 83% of minimum-wage jobs advertised from 2020 to 2023 required a high school diploma.
“Most unemployed Caymanians have a high school diploma or lower, and while there are plenty of available jobs that require only this level of education, they tend to be low paid,” she said.
Winspear, who is leaving her position later this year, lauded recent efforts to push forward training and education opportunities for technical and vocational fields. But she called on the government to develop a holistic national employment policy looking toward the long-term development of the workforce.
The government spent $144 million on improving Caymanians’ employment prospects between 2019 and 2023, according to the report.
Advice for WORC
In addition, Winspear recommended that Workforce Opportunities & Residency Cayman create a forecast for long-term employment needs and examine the effectiveness of its job-placement programmes.
Since WORC began operating in February 2019, the report said that it has seen “numerous changes and gaps in leadership since its creation”. The auditor general’s office criticised some aspects of the department’s performance as it failed to provide mandated labour market demand assessments during its first three years.
The auditor general, however, did credit the department’s efforts to help residents participate in training.
The report indicated 83% of Caymanians started WORC programmes and finished the courses. But that didn’t always translate to job acceptances.
The report says WORC told the Office of the Auditor General, “the low acceptance rate is due to a lack of places. In addition, WORC has not set targets for placements, internships and apprenticeships.”
Winspear added in the press release, “[The low rate] is evident for the national apprenticeship programme, where less than one in ten were accepted because of limited places.”
Future of IT
Looking ahead, the Office of the Auditor General said 46% of jobs will likely be in information technology-related fields. But only 8% of Caymanians expressed interest in such jobs, according to a 2023 University College of the Cayman Islands report.
“If Caymanians cannot fill these in-demand jobs, employers will need to fill them with work permit holders or outsource them overseas,” the auditor general’s report stated.
The office said WORC-produced forecasts over the next five to 10 years would provide valuable guidance for employment policy moving forward.
“Improving employment prospects for Caymanians requires a holistic approach, and WORC cannot do it alone,” the report said, calling on the public and private sector to get involved.
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The government spent $144 million on improving Caymanians’ employment prospects between 2019 and 2023, according to the report. Hard to believe It would have cost less to just pay these people not to work. There are over 30,000 work permits so there are plenty of jobs for locals. People have to want to work. Everyone can’t be a rocket scientist but anyone can clean a hotel room or wash dishes or or or. The government should spent this money getting each unemployed person into a job
Ms. Winspear has been outstanding in the performance of her duties and will be sadly missed. The position of Auditor General is of utmost importance in identifying problems in Government and the Civil Service as well as elsewhere. It is to be hoped her successor will be brought in rather than hired locally to maintain an arms length perspective which is vital in this position.