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WORC Director Jeremy Scott, who opened the Networking Expo and Construction Showcase at the Sir Vassel Johnson Hall at the University College of the Cayman Islands, said he is hoping the event will ignite interest among young Caymanians and they will choose a career path in construction.

“We know that from our own data that the labour demands do identify that the [construction] industry is thriving. There’s a lot of opportunities. We want to actually promote that to our young Caymanians and have them truly understand that there are so many different opportunities within the construction industry that they can actually further their education,” he said.

Generating more interest

Cayman’s construction industry, he said, is the largest employer in the country. However, the number of Caymanians in the field remains low.

According to statistics from the Economic and Statistics Office’s Spring Labour Force report, only 29% or 2,487 employees in the construction industry are Caymanians.

Scott said he is hoping that the expo, and the networking opportunities it provided, will change this statistic over time.

Students heard from Caymanian industry leaders Garth Arch, of Arch and Godfrey, as well as architect Michael Meghoo of architecture firm MJM Design Studio (standing), who spoke at the expo on their work experience and their career success. – Photo: Reshma Ragoonath

“We know that we have a beautiful problem, and that beautiful problem is that we have much more opportunities than we have actually Caymanians here. We are charged with the responsibility of identifying those who are still interested in aligning, furthering their education, and, at whatever level that they want to enter the industry, we are here to support them,” he said.

Cayman’s construction industry has seen a 191.7% growth in construction job ads between January and September 2023, compared to the same period in 2019, which Scott said is indicative that there are work opportunities open to Caymanians.

He said more than 300 students visited the expo in the morning session and the feedback has been positive.

“I’m really inspired by seeing the young Caymanians here. I’m also very interested in seeing what is the result of the expo and hearing back from our partners who are here,” he said, adding that the expo is “a drop in the bucket of what we have to do and we have to continue to do”.

The expo featured several local construction and design companies, including Dart Property Management and Davenport Developers, as well as electrical and air conditioning experts from Polar Bear Cayman and Corporate Electrical Ltd.

Employees from government departments like Lands and Survey, Planning, and Public Works were also on hand to advise students on career paths they can consider when plotting their next steps after high school.

Career paths varied

Cayman Academy student Mikael Hall, 15, said he was excited to be part of the expo and see what opportunities exist for young Caymanians like himself.

“I came here to learn because I want to learn a new trade and I’ve seen what different trades are [out there] and which one I’d be interested in [gaining] expertise in,” he said.

Hall said he was interested in a career in air conditioning and he was able to connect with a firm at the expo that offers training.

“This [expo] exposes you to more than basic knowledge because, in some schools, they might not teach you the different trades,” he said, adding he was grateful for the chance to attend.

Michael Myles, managing director at Inspire Cayman, welcomed the expo, saying that it was something he has been pushing WORC and government to get done for some time.

“Construction is the biggest industry, and it has to be promoted more often,” he said. “The career path has to be promoted more often because it’s never going to end in our country. Even if buildings slow down, we’re talking about property management, sales, real estate, all of that’s under construction. We never talk about those things, and it’s now time. I think this has been phenomenal.”

Consistency is key

Myles, who is working with government on a number of training programmes at Inspire Cayman, said he is hoping that government leaders are seeing that young people want to be in construction industry careers, and they will push harder for programmes to train them.

“This can’t be a one-hit wonder. … Every quarter, or at least a minimum of every six months, we should be putting on a forum like this. We also need to start to do it in the districts, even if it’s on a smaller scale,” he said.

Myles said 20 students had already signed up for training programmes at Inspire Cayman, and he was excited to see the interest.

Students also got to see heavy equipment from McAlpine in action, and even tried their hand at working the machine.

They also got to see the Inspire Cayman vehicle training simulator in action.

At the event, industry leaders hosted discussion sessions with students, sharing their work experience and their career paths.

Developer Garth Arch, of Arch and Godfrey, and architect Michael Meghoo of architecture firm MJM Design Studio encouraged students to look to careers within the industry since those jobs pay well.

Naila Aini, 17, of Hope Academy, said she learned a lot at the expo and is considering the various opportunities in design and architecture.

She encouraged fellow students to absorb as much information they can at the event.

“Use this opportunity to learn more about your interests and just to see what you like and get the most out of it, because they’re giving really good information,” she said.

For more information, contact the National Training and Development Unit of WORC at worc.training@gov.ky, 649-4053, 649-4051 or 649-4052.