By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The hotel industry faces “a real challenge” in finding enough Bahamians to fill the 21 per cent of jobs accounted for by managerial positions, a senior hotel executive has warned.

And Baha Mar has “just one bite at the apple” to recruit the 6,000 Bahamians it needs by 2014, the $2.6 billion resort developer acknowledging it will “have failed” if customer experience fails to match expectations and the project is not recommended to others.

These issues were outlined by Frank Comito, the Bahamas Hotel Association’s (BHA) executive vice-president, and Robert Sands, Baha Mar’s senior vice-president of government and external affairs, during the HVS Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference and Operations Summit (CHICOS).

And their fellow panellist, David Kosoy, chairman of Bahamas-based Sterling Financial Group, suggested that Baha Mar’s operational start in 2014 might create a ‘brain drain’ at Atlantis, with Kerzner International staff leaving to work at the new operator.

And he also warned that many Bahamians were either “unemployable” or could not be trained for the jobs and skill levels required by Baha Mar and their hotel brands.

But, on a brighter note, Mr Kosoy said the Bahamas had “one up” on Caribbean rivals because its people “were happy to be in the service industry”. Recalling his time in the Turks & Caicos, he added that residents there would “rather work for $10,000 with a suit and tie on than work in the service industry for $30,000”.

“That is a plus here. Bahamians are happy to work in the service industry, whereas many places aren’t,” Mr Kosoy said.

Meanwhile, explaining how Baha Mar would recruit its workforce, Mr Sands said: “We’re looking for clean, unadulterated minds to be the new employees at Baha Mar.

“Our focus in the last year, year-and-a-half, has been Grades 10, 11 and 12 at the high schools, where we inculcated in their minds a positive attitude. We’re not necessarily looking for specialist skills; we’re looking for persons with a sense of hospitality, a sense of service delivery, and can train them in the skills to occupy a certain position. We’re going to equip them with skill sets.”

Mr Sands said Baha Mar had also conducted college ‘roadshows’, and encouraged existing hotel industry workers to upgrade their skills and abilities. “Because we need to find 6,000 local new jobs come 2014,” he added.

“That’s not going to be an easy task. We’re not creating jobs; we’re creating vocations. We don’t intend to recruit someone who warms a seat; we want someone who can contribute to the success and reputation of the company. Once we have persons with the right attitude and philosophy, we will train them to whatever is needed in the resort.”

Noting the investment made by Baha Mar and its hotel brands, Mr Sands added: “When you’re trying to create an iconic destination, and be the best of the best, all of these things have to be done.”

In response, Mr Kosoy said targeting ‘clean minds’ was “a great idea”. But, having spoken to Atlantis staff, he added that many had told him they were waiting to apply for jobs at Baha Mar.

“There’s going to be a drain here [Atlantis] that will have to be filled,” he added. “There’s a lot of people in this country that are unemployable, or can’t do what they need to do. You can’t train a labourer to be a manager or server unless he’s young enough..... The Government should be aware you may need a combination of outside people to come in and train.”

In response, Mr Sands said the Government “does not have its head in the sand”. While Baha Mar had encountered numerous Bahamians in top hotel positions in the US and Europe, given the standards of its hotel brands, both developer and government knew that some expatriate staff would be required to fill managerial/training positions.

Mr Comito added: “For national development, we recognise it’s in the nation’s best economic interests to maximise the number of Bahamians that can fill these positions.”

Pointing to the BHA’s school outreach programmes that started nine years ago, and initiatives such as Junior Hotelier; the 900 teachers who had gone through a two-week summer internship; over 90 scholarships; and certification based on American Lodging Institute standards, Mr Comito still recognised labour challenges remained.

“Twenty-one per cent of the jobs in the industry are supervisory and managerial level jobs,” he added. “We’re going to have a real challenge to get all those filled with Bahamians. We’ve got to put more people in those areas.”

Acknowledging the Government’s awareness of the problem, Khaalis Rolle, minister of state for investments, said the issue had to be tackled jointly with the private sector. He added that the problems stemmed from the education and “developmental” systems in the Bahamas.

Noting that the Government had identified a person to head its proposed National Training Initiative, Mr Rolle said: “We understand there’s a skills gap and more has to be done. The problem will not be solved overnight.”

The Minister added that the Bahamas had to address the true underlying problems with its workforce and education system, having instead in the past focused on the symptoms

“and made decisions on that”.

Mr Sands, though, said talent location and recruitment were among Baha Mar’s top priorities. “We’re going to get one bite at this apple to get it right, and really no matter how much money we put into design, construction and marketing, we realise that if the customer experience is not as promised, and they are not willing to recommend this iconic resort to people, we will have failed,” he added.

“That is our significant goal, and we will be unsurpassed in talent selection to ensure that is achieved.”