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For Stephen Ebanks a life on the water is all he has known; straight out of school he started working on boats, but today he is making strides to upskill himself academically to grow his water-sports business.

“The opportunity came up where I could further my captain skills and get more information about captaining. It’s a good thing to have and it would push people like us into the water-sports industry,” Ebanks told the Cayman Compass on Monday as he commenced his studies for his international yacht training certificate.

Stephen Ebanks, of Reel Vibes Charters, is looking to upskill huis captaincy through his Inspire Cayman scholarship. – Photo: Reshma Ragoonath

Ebanks is one of 24 recipients benefitting from scholarships at Inspire Cayman Training, funded by the Tourism Ministry.

He said being a part of the programme gives him the chance to grow his Reel Vibes charter company.

“It’s a passion that I love, it’s something that I grew into and it’s my life and I love it,” he added.

Grab the opportunity

Deputy Premier Chris Saunders, speaking at the official training commencement ceremony at the Grand Harbour facility, called on the young Caymanians present to grasp opportunities open to them within the tourism industry as there is “money to be made”.

With Cayman’s tourism numbers looking positive, he said there are jobs available to those who are willing to grab the opportunities.

Deputy Premier Chris Saunders speaks to the Inspire Cayman scholarship recipients. – Photo: Reshma Ragoonath

He added that with all the turmoil in Europe, visitors are looking to the “safety” of the Caribbean and that means a greater demand for destinations such as Cayman.

Saunders told the students, some of whom are already working within the industry, that Cayman’s tourism numbers are nearing pre-COVID levels which means having them in the boats and on the beach will translate into earnings.

“The quicker you guys can get through this course, the quicker you guys can get to the beach… there is a lot of money to be made. At the end of the day, this is what this government wants – people making money so they can take care of their family, have fun and do want they want to do,” he said.

Scholarship recipient Jodi Aguilar. -Photo: Reshma Ragoonath

Scholarship recipient Jodi Aguilar said she always loved the water and this is her chance to pursue a career in water sports.

“I have a great passion for the ocean, and I feel like having a skillset like that under my belt would be something that I would be proud of, especially being from the Cayman Islands,” she said.

Aguilar said she is looking forward to learning about the modules under the international yacht training certificate and encouraged fellow Caymanians to consider tourism jobs as an option.

“The main thing is to not care what anyone thinks. It’s about you and those after. Go for it because the opportunities are endless and this is a great opportunity,” she said.

Ebanks agreed, as he encouraged his fellow boat captains to get certified as well.

“Further your skills, get involved in the programme, it’s a good thing to have. I would encourage everyone to come out and get certified and do whatever else you need to do to get the skills going,” he added.

Creating a skilled workforce

Inspire Cayman managing director Michael Myles said when he approached Saunders and the government for support he had a mission to ensure that Caymanians return to their seafaring heritage.

“We have a lot of young people that want to become boat captains. They want to become deckhands, they want to be on the water. They want to own their own water-sports business. We decided to look at a pilot programme to train those people up.

“Then, on the other hand, we have a lot of young people who are on the water already, who are captains of their own boat, but they don’t have an actual qualification,” he said.

The 12 people who are now entering the water-sports field and the 12 who are already on boats working full-time, over the next month will receive training and international yacht certification, Myles said.

This certification verifies recipients are able to operate a commercial boat up to 48-50 feet.

Myles said the scholarship recipients are also going to get an emergency rescue certificate, which is a PADI certification.

“This will also help a lot of our people that are on the water to ensure that we start to reduce some of the accidents and incidences that happen on the water. The Cayman Islands, unfortunately, is also known for a high rate of water-sports accidents so by certainly arming a lot of our people we’re hoping to also reduce those incidences as well,” he added.

Parliamentary Secretary Dwayne Seymour shared his personal story with recipients as he urged them to make use of their opportunity. – Photo: Reshma Ragoonath

The students on the full-time scholarships, he said, will also get career development training.

Parliamentary Secretary Dwayne Seymour, speaking to the first cohort of scholarship recipients, urged them to take advantage of the investment government has made in them and give it their all.

He said though he is not happy with the existing minimum wage, which government is reviewing, he urged the group not to see that as an impediment to their success as that is just a start.

There are some within the industry, he said, who started as waiters and are now managers.

He reminded them that success takes persistence and showing up for work every day even when they did not feel like it.

Seymour shared his own personal experience of having to get up at 4am when he worked for Cayman Airways in the 1980s and had to “hitch” a ride with garbage truck drivers in his neighbourhood to get to work.

He said back then he had a dream of owning his own business and though it took some time, he was eventually able to make that dream come true.

Parliamentary Secretary Heather Bodden, speaking on Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan’s behalf, urged the scholarship recipients to give the programme their full commitment and make the team supporting them proud.

She reminded the students that attire, attitude, honesty and integrity are key components when it comes to being successful in any career.