Director of Labour Robert Farquharson appealed once again yesterday for Bahamians in need of jobs and professional training to reach out to the Department of Labour to be listed in its database, lamenting that his department recently had to approve 29 work permits for foreigners to work in The Bahamas as lifeguards.
Farquharson has been very vocal about Bahamians registering with his department through its portal jobseekers.bahamas.gov, so that when a permit is requested for a foreigner, there is a Bahamian that exists for the job that can be found.
He said the department is currently looking for qualified air condition specialists, qualified welders, teachers, engineers and pharmacists, among other professions.
“We want to encourage members of the public who are seeking a job to register with the department of labor online,” said Farquharson.
“We will do our best to find you a job. There are many job opportunities out there. We can only help you if you register with us.”
He implored Bahamians to not be afraid to relocate to a family island, revealing that just last Thursday, Sandals, through its database of employment seekers, hired 52 people to work at its resort on Exuma and its private island, Fowl Cay.
“There’s construction going on in Norman’s Cay. There’s construction booming in Abaco,” Farquharson said. “Grand Bahama is now calling us to say, come we need to hire people.”
He said the Department of Labour recently put out a special call last week for restaurants on that island that are seeking Bahamian cooks to cook Bahamian food.
“They can’t find anybody,” he said.
He added that Bahamians interested in being trained in a field can access that education free through the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute and the National Training Agency.
