NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Labour Director Robert Farquharson yesterday confirmed some 1,500 people attended a weekend job fair at Anatol Rodgers High School.
Farquharson pointed to several factors lead to the high turnout rate, including the covid-19 pandemic which caused mass layoffs.
“The last job fair we had on May seventh at Columbus Primary School we had about 1,200 persons […] and obviously the response [this time] was overwhelming,” he said.
Farquharson told Eyewitness News the department is partnering with various entities in the sector to identify job vacancies and match job seekers.
Long lines on Saturday extended out of the school’s campus and onto Faith Avenue, where many attendees were young adults in pursuit of work.
Farquharson said organizers had to make adjustments to the process by relocating some of the job seekers to the Kendal Issacs Gym, nevertheless, he said he was pleased with the turnout. He added that businesses expressed that they were also pleased with the quality of applicants.
“Many young people showed up yesterday I would say the average persons who showed up was in their early 20’s in particular a large amount of young men showed up properly dressed and properly clad for interviews […] seeking employment opportunities in all sectors, particularly in the hospitality and construction sectors and I’m pleased to say that a lot of them found jobs yesterday.”
Forty-six employers from various sectors; tourism and hospitality, banking, construction, retail and security to name a few, set up on the campus in hopes to hire new talent; and hundreds of people were interviewed.
Farquharson said some applicants being hired on the spot.
“One of the ladies who came there she had her resumes, she had her police record, she had everything there, her NIB card. The employer told her to report to work two o’ clock (Saturday),” he said.
“We had one employer who was not originally on the list he called me on Saturday morning saying he needs to hire two persons to work in his mechanics store. He came there, I set him up at a table and he hired five people.”
Farquharson told Eyewitness News that there is a need for more job opportunities to become available and they have to work with the job seekers. He added that they do not intend to be Nassau-centric in their approach and will be hosting fairs in various islands.
The next job fair is set for Grand Bahama, where officials are currently in conversation with multiple employers about taking part in the event.
“As early as the end of November, the beginning of December we have a major job fair because we have a number of investment opportunities that will be available […]
“And so the department of labour will be in Grand Bahama by the end of November hopefully, if all goes well.”
Farquharson said he could not give the exact date for the next job fair in New Providence, but they will know how to structure it after completing assessments with the results from the fair at Anatol Rodgers on how many people were hired, and what more is needed from businesses.
“Rather than people having to come to our office we brought the department of labour services right to the heart of the people so they were relatively closer to home they were able to get dressed quickly and come out and I think that’s one of the things we have to do more,” he said.
The labour director encouraged job seekers to follow the department on social media for updates on events.
