By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE British Colonial Hotel anticipates reopening the doors of the renovated hotel in December and plans to recruit more than 300 staff.

The Department of Labour, in conjunction with the hotel, will host a job fair, recruiting for supervisory roles, hotel management, line staff, and front and back-end roles.

The fair will be held at the Andre Rodgers Baseball Stadium on September 26 and 27 from 9.30am to 4pm.

Newly appointed Labour Minister Pia Glover-Rolle said the initiative would reduce the need for foreign labour by allowing qualified Bahamians a “first shot” to seek employment in the hospitality industry.

“As always, the Department of Labour’s mission is to foster good industrial relations between employees and employers,” she said yesterday at a press conference.

 “Our Public Employment Services’ primary duty is to assist job seekers with obtaining gainful occupation.

 “One of the main vehicles for achieving this objective is the hosting of job fairs through our Labour on the Blocks 2.0 initiative, which was launched on May 7 2022.

 “These job fairs are critical to linking a pool of potential qualified candidates with recruiters and employers. Job Fairs also offer job seekers the opportunity to build a network, meet industry professionals, enhance their interviewing skills, and improve on presenting and selling themselves in an informal setting.

 “In these fairs, the Department of Labour can better identify and ensure qualified Bahamians are given first priority in evaluating and securing employment.”

 Craig Martin, managing director of The Point complex, said the British Colonial Hotel has been reimagined.

 “Our corporate parent has put in over $100m into this project to not just paint the project but to do a complete renovation,” he said.

 “So, I think people are going to be surprised when this opens up in the beginning of December this year, that they’re going to see a brand-new hotel inside.

 “It’s just not a quick fix-up to this hotel. This time, it’s a complete renovation. Brand new lobby, five new restaurants in the hotel, brand new meetings space and completely renovated guestrooms and hallways. So basically, it’s going to be a new package.”