With the Inter-American Development Bank reporting a boom in tourism in the country, and a corresponding uptick in economic growth and decrease in unemployment, the CEO of a regional recruitment firm says now is the time for jobseekers to take advantage of job opportunities that are available.
“What’s happening right now is like the exact opposite of what happened when COVID first struck,” said Joseph Boll, CEO of Caribbean Employment Services Inc. “Whereas tourism previously dried up and took jobs with it, now we’re seeing the opposite and the IDB has confirmed as much.”
Caribbean Employment Services Inc. is a market-leading digital talent acquisition service that aims to connect the top talent from the Caribbean with hiring managers, HR professionals and decision-makers in companies both within the Caribbean as well as abroad. Further, it aims to provide the region’s jobseekers and those who are already employed with news and resources related to Caribbean labour.
Boll noted that his organization has seen an increase in job postings for The Bahamas as of late, and encouraged jobseekers or those interested in feeling out the market for new opportunities to sign up to become notified of new opportunities as they arise.
“Higher tourism numbers of course mean more than just tourism jobs because it has a spillover effect,” the CEO said. “More tourism means more economic growth and that means more growth for indirect industries too. You might see companies that had to downsize during the pandemic starting to rehire or offer new positions.”
Additionally, Boll said not to ignore MSMEs, which employ a large share of people throughout the Caribbean. “The smaller, local businesses may likely also start hiring more right now, so anyone who’s looking to get a new job should keep their ears to the ground especially right now.”
With resources like Caribbean Employment Services Inc., Boll said jobseekers have ample resources to make that happen. His organization’s website lets jobseekers create an account for free, apply for jobs that match their interest and skillset and sign up to be the first to know when new opportunities become available, putting them in the best position to be among the pool of candidates chosen first. It operates similarly to the Bahamian government’s own in-house skill bank, but for positions in a specific country, across the Caribbean or jobs anywhere in the world that are open to Caribbean applicants.
Boll urged jobseekers not to wait until the proverbial well runs dry to start frantically applying. “By then,” he says, “you may have missed the boat. Take advantage now.”
