The Progressives’ Ambition
The Progressives are committed to full Caymanian employment. However, this must mean not just that Caymanians can get a job but that those are well-paid jobs. Routes to promotion and advancement must be open to Caymanians in all sectors of the economy. The key to achieving our ambition is to ensure that Caymanians have the skills needed to be successful in a highly competitive jobs market.
The Current Situation
As the economy has re-opened following the Covid pandemic, more Caymanians have been able to find work. The current low level of unemployment is a good thing. However, too many of those jobs are part-time resulting in a high level of ‘underemployment’ of Caymanians. Those part-time jobs also tend to be lower paid. Meanwhile, numbers of work permits have sky-rocketed to record levels under the PACT government.
More important for the long term is that PACT has no plan and is taking no action that would improve the position of Caymanians in the labour market. The pledge made by the government to promote skills development in the workforce has been abandoned.
The Progressives’ Agenda for Action
- Raise standards in education to ensure young people can compete in the jobs markets
- Expand technical and vocational education and training
- Expand the availability of appropriate work placements, internships and apprenticeships
- Develop a new National Workforce and Skills Development Strategy to ensure that we are training Caymanians for the jobs of the future
- Work with the private sector to create programmes of training and development for Caymanians so that they can develop their skills
- Further develop the ability to match Caymanians looking for work with available opportunities
- Establish an Employer Accreditation Scheme to recognise and rewards companies to employ and develop Caymanians
