By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A NEW Bay Street tourist attraction will later this month seek to recruit 100 Bahamians to staff its operations, the Government’s labour director, said yesterday, after this weekend’s job fair produced “a significant number of hirings”.

Robert Farquharson told Tribune Business that the Department of Labour is teaming with the new business, I Dream of Sugar, to hold a March 25 job fair at its premises specifically to hire workers for that operation. And further Labour on the Blocks-style job fairs are planned for the Freetown and Fox Hill communities on April 1 and June 17, respectively.

Disclosing that Saturday’s ‘Labour on the Blocks 2.0’ event has likely resulted in several hundred persons finding fresh employment, he also disclosed that Disney Cruise Line has asked the Department to help with finding Nassau-based construction workers willing to help build its Lighthouse Point project after running into labour shortages on Eleuthera. Abaco, too, is seeking more workers in the construction field.

Mr Farquharson also told this newspaper that his agency plans to hold a workshop in the upcoming weeks to help ready job seekers to be interviewed, disclosing that employers have voiced concern that a number of potential recruits are “not prepared to enter the labour market”.

“On March 25 this month, in a couple of weeks, we have a specific job fair from 9am to 5pm,” he revealed. “A company, called I Dream of Sugar, a new tourist attraction based on Bay Street, they’ve asked if we can find 100 people for them.

“Then, on April 1, we will be partnering with the Freetown community and having a job fair at the Pilgrim Baptist Church from 9am to 2pm. All the major employers have agreed to come. Then, on June 17, we will be in Fox Hill.”

Again asserting that there is “plenty of work” available for Bahamians seeking employment opportunities, Mr Farquharson said the strategy of bringing prospective employers to communities where they can meet multiple potential recruits and interview them en masse at one time appeared to have paid off again.

He asserted that this weekend’s ‘Labour on the Blocks 2.0’ in Carmichael had gone “extremely well” and was “a very, very event”. Mr Farquharson said: “We estimate we had about 450 persons attend the job fair, and we had about 40 employers. Persons were lined up from 6.30pm. We opened at 9am and closed at 3pm.

“We have a number of employers who would have identified persons and hired on the day. We know a significant number of persons were hired. Blue Lagoon came there looking specifically to hire about 100 persons. They got a good number. We know Wemco Security hired 40 persons. Sysco Bahamas, Fidelity and Sands Brewery, all of them would have identified and hired some persons. They’re waiting for background checks on others.”

However, finding sufficient labour to meet employer needs in the Family Islands - especially those with major foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in the build-out stage - remains a challenge. As does luring workers in Nassau to work in the Out Islands, with the result that developers and companies are often left with little choice but to import expatriate labour on work permits.

“We’re still busy looking for people interested in working in the construction industry and looking for job opportunities in Abaco and south Eleuthera,” Mr Farquharson said. “They’re looking for young men and women to come down and do construction in those areas, and also Norman’s Cay in the Exumas.

“We want to focus on people coming to the island. We have significant construction going on in those islands. The Disney project in south Eleuthera is having challenges finding people in Eleuthera to work, so they’ve asked us to look in New Providence.” Post- Dorian reconstruction work in Marsh Harbour and Baker’s Bay is also driving labour demand that Abaco’s workforce cannot meet.

“After they hire, these companies gave accommodation and food included in the package,” Mr Farquharson said of Family Island construction employers. “If you go, these companies are offering accommodation and three meals a day.”

Reiterating that the ‘Labour on the Blocks 2.0’ series has resulted in more than 3,000 Bahamians finding work, the Government’s labour chief added: “One of our biggest concerns is that many of these persons are not prepared to enter the labour market. They don’t have the interviewing skills.

“In the next couple of weeks, the Department of Labour will be holding a workshop for job seekers so they can be properly prepared for interview. That’s some of the things we’ve been getting from employers; people entering the job market do not know how to interview properly, so we are looking to assist them in that area.”