Islanders queue to get into jobs fair

FRIDAY, FEB. 24: Hundreds of jobseekers looking for work in construction yesterday flocked to a jobs fair.

Tradespeople from across the island queued outside the Bermuda College event before the doors opened at 10am.

Shannon Somersall, a skilled carpenter, not only turned up with a resume, but an example of his woodworking skills to show potential employers.

Mr Somersall, 45, from Pembroke, said: “I just have side work at the moment — I’ve been looking for something since last November.

“I think the fair could be very helpful. I’ve had a good response and I’m hopeful I will get something out of this.”

Sinclair Ball, 50, also from Pembroke, added: “Work is very slow at the moment — I think everybody here is hopeful that jobs will be available.”

Mr Ball attended the jobs fair with two fellow-carpenters, George Braithwaite, from Southampton, and Ray Virgil, from Warwick.

Big projects

Mr Braithwaite said: “We all do high end work and I’ve spoken to about five different firms.”

Mr Virgil added: “Not everybody will get jobs out of this and there might be nothing available immediately, but maybe in three or four months.  What we really need is some more big projects.”

Tom Sherratt, a quantity surveyor with major construction firm BCM McAlpine, the main contractor on the new hospital project, manned his firm’s stall with two colleagues.

Mr Sherratt said: “There have been lots of people looking for work – we’ve given out about 150 application forms and the day isn’t over yet.

“At the moment we don’t have any direct employment opportunities, but we subcontract a lot of work. We’ve taken a lot of details and we will be passing them on to subcontractors as we pass on jobs on the hospital contract.”

He added: “These are hard times – we have people constantly coming to our job sites and our head office looking for work.

“We are definitely committed to hiring Bermudians at every opportunity – any Bermudians who are qualified and capable of doing the work will always be looked at first.”

Victoria Anderson, of Bermuda Air Conditioning, said: “We’ve been very busy and we’ve received lots of applications – we don’t just do air conditioning, but things like IT and engineering.

“We’ve also seen a lot of women, which is good. We don’t have any vacancies right at the moment, but we have a couple of areas which will be opening up.

“Some of these very experienced people we have seen, we will definitely be contacting in the future.”

The jobs fair was organised by Employment, Trade and Industry Minister Patrice Minors, with backing from the Construction Association of Bermuda and the Bermuda Woodworkers’ Association. Around 20 different firms took part in the event.

Surprised

Charles Dunstan, president of the Construction Association and owner of roofing and plastering firm Kaissa, said: “I’ve been surprised at the number of unemployed people.

“There are a large number of people out there – some have shown up who are presently unemployed, some are self-employed and they’re looking for more mainstream employment.

“We’re also seeing a lot of labourer applications and that indicates a lack of qualifications in any particular area.”

He added that his firm was not recruiting at the moment – but was keen to establish a bank of qualified personnel.

Mr Dunstan said: “As projects start to open up – things like the hospital – that will mean that more work becomes available and we will have to ramp up. We will be looking for qualified people.”

Ms Minors spent time at the fair yesterday, backed up by Premier Paula Cox.

Ms Minors said: “One gentleman I saw today is very popular and a good painter and he said he hadn’t had a job since he painted my house a year ago.”

She added that numbers who attended the event was a reflection of unemployment figures in the construction sector – and the fact that some companies did not want to employ Bermudians because of perceived reliability problems.

Ms Minors said: “I have challenged people to rip that label off their foreheads so Bermudians aren’t regarded in that way. I want employers to recognise that Bermudians are willing to do a good day’s work and give them the opportunity.”

She added that data on the jobless numbers in construction would also help to structure work permit policy in the future and that her team would be following up on the fair to see how many people had found new jobs.

Ms Minors said: “It’s concerning that so many people need to be here, but I’m glad to see the Ministry team turn out like this. I’m particularly impressed by the partnership involved. The real thrust and where the rubber meets the road is what happens next.

“People have come out of genuine belief that this is not an exercise in futility and that they will be able to secure employment from this.”