Mr. Speaker, Between the commencement of the new financial year in March and November of this year, according to the figures in the supplementary appropriations, there were over $3,43,281 unspent funds due to job vacancies that are waiting to be filled. This represents some 387 positions. This has to be the highest number of job vacancies at any one time on record for the Government.
Mr. Speaker, despite many claims of extensive advertising, job vacancies are just not being filled quick enough, so why is this? One has to ask, “are these Jobs really needed? And if the Ministries, Departments, and Units could have functioned Eight months with the vacant positions not being filled, are they really necessary for the work to get done?
Mr. Speaker, we are seeing some 64 vacant positions in the Police Force, with 20 of those post being actively recruited at this moment.
In addition, Mr. Speaker, I spoke to many persons who had applied for jobs in the Public Service, and for the most part, they heard nothing back, regardless of whether or not being reasonably Qualified, or as with some who are highly qualified for the advertised positions. Nonetheless, the disclaimer that is always given is that; “Only successful candidates will be notified.” So the individuals wait for months wondering if the process is taking this long awaited length of time, or if they were not successful.
Meanwhile, Mr. Speaker, headlines are flaunting a record number of job openings, both in the Public and Private Sector. Government Ministers have boasted in the House of Assembly about the amount of Jobs in the Public Service. Many employers, including the government, are saying they are doing everything in their power to entice potential employees.
Mr. Speaker, for persons who are seeking jobs, and those looking for better jobs, the situation just does not make sense — there is an incongruity between what they are hearing about jobs and what is actually happening.
For some of the jobs available in the public Service, it was said that people who have applied did not have the right skills, nor all the qualifications they are looking for. On the other hand they are hearing that they lack the desired years of experience.
In some cases, there are a host of perfectly acceptable candidates and jobs out there, but for a multitude of reasons, they are just not being matched Mr Speaker. There is a disconnect somewhere. Mr speaker, where there is a Turks Islander with the skill sets and experience they should be promoted to the position, and not have the position advertise and force the local to compete with persons outside the Turks and Caicos. Mr speaker in the USA or Canada the local residents are given priority over someone from another country for jobs. And Mr. Speaker if the local is not sufficiently qualified he/she can still be promoted on a probationary basis and encourage to pursue the necessary educational opportunities to upgrade him/herself.
Mr Speaker the notion that Turks Islanders do not have the experience and being denied a job is an injustice. How will they get the experience if not given a chance in their own Country? Mr speaker in some departments over 50% of the posts are expatriates, when their tenure comes to an end, locals are not moving up. The post is re advertised and another person from outside is recruited. Mr Speaker what should happen is that for every position that has an expatriate, there should be a Turks Islander shadowing that person, so by the time he/she leaves, the local will have the experience and the skill sets to do the job.
Hence Mr. Speaker, we are seeing a disconnected environment that does not add up, though it feels like it should. The Department of Labor Statistics says there are a large number of workers who are unemployed, but the Government is also says there are a record number of jobs available. There must be a disconnect somewhere Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the rate at which unemployed people are getting jobs is lower than it was pre-pandemic, and it is now taking much longer to hire people. The evidence speaks for itself Mr. Speaker, it is presented here today in this supplementary appropriations booklet printed in red. Therefore Mr. Speaker, as much as Ministries and departments say that they are looking hard for employees, but they may not be looking in the right places, or in the right ways, or presenting the right inducements. Perhaps HR personnel in the Ministries and Departments are leaning too heavily on technology to weed out candidates, or they are just not being creative enough in terms of how they consider applications, and what criteria is used to determine whether or not a candidate is the right fit.
Making things worse, Mr. Speaker, both the Public Service and private companies have the tendency to add to job descriptions rather than subtract from them, meaning job requirements have ballooned beyond people’s ability to actually meet them.
Mr speaker one of the reasons why the Government have so many vacancies is because there is no succession in place. If the law has to be changed to ensure this is possible then let us do so to ensure our locals are not disenfranchised. Mr speaker another reason why these posts are not being filled is because some salaries are too low. The work load and the salaries are not equal. The cost of living in the TCI is high, and getting higher. That’s a fact! therefore people must be properly compensated for the job that they are doing. Mr Speaker the cost of recruiting someone from overseas is 2x higher than doing so locally. Also to attract expatriates we are willing to pay them housing, and other benefits but not offer the same for a Turks Islander who is applying locally. Mr Speaker we are not looking out for our local when we continue to allow this to happen.
Mr. Speaker I also think that the existing hiring and recruiting systems are also not good at understanding what a person might have the potential to do. I will give the example of a former Police Officer applying for jobs as a Prison Officer and an Immigration Officer. While the Police Officer would be perfectly capable of doing the technical part of the job, if they didn’t have the required Exam Passes, of the necessary training in customer service, they might be overlooked, even if they actually are a good fit for the job.
Mr. Speaker, it appears that People are expected to come onto the job and have the experience, have the skills, have everything, but few people do, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, it appears that the endless quest to make hiring efficient has rendered it inefficient. Candidates who are great fits for ninety percent of the job are screened out, and not shortlisted, because they are not perfect for the other ten percent.
Mr. Speaker, we need these jobs filled, and filled now. We need not to be back here in the next few months with many jobs still being unfilled, and some millions of dollars being taking from personal emoluments, because it was unspent, due to positions not being filled. Many of our People are looking for jobs, and there are many jobs available.
The bottleneck that is preventing the timely filling of these jobs must be identified and eliminated immediately. Though I do not blame the Premiere and his Cabinet for creating the occurrence, I would surely call them into question if it is not rectified immediately.
Mr. Speaker, we cannot Leave our people where they are, we must change their reality, and get them on jobs that they so greatly need and deserve, let’s put our people first.
Hon Edwin A. Astwood
Leader of the Opposition
