News
Tourism Industry Bounces Back, Stipend Recipient Numbers Reduced
The next disbursement date for the Displaced Tourism Employees Stipend is set for Monday, 23 May for recipients who completed the mandatory survey by the deadline, which was Friday, 6 May.
As the stipend programme winds down, Caymanians who need assistance in seeking employment or those interested in training opportunities are encouraged to register with Workforce Opportunities & Residency Cayman (WORC). Caymanians have the added benefit of registering with WORC as a Job Seeker Plus client, which affords them of being assigned an Employment Services Officer for one-on-one job seeker support after the assessment process has been completed.
The Ministry of Border Control & Labour recently assessed the programme for a second time whereby another mandatory survey was required to be completed by existing stipend recipients. This survey was to gauge the need for continued financial assistance beyond the lifetime of the stipend programme, after which, recipients would be referred to the Needs Assessment Unit (NAU).
“The Ministry of Border Control would like to thank the Travel Cayman members of staff who were assigned to the Ministry to assist with customer queries. Having additional dedicated resources to assist us each month to field queries and offer assistance with completing mandatory surveys allowed for customer concerns and queries to get answered in a timely manner, as we were receiving upwards of 50 to100 calls a day” said Chief Officer Wesley Howell.
The Stipend programme for Displaced Tourism Workers was put in place as a response to the suspension of the Tourism industry as a result of border closures brought on by CoViD-19 and has kept this group of workers maintained for nearly 24 months. As the borders have reopened, tourism has been making a steady return and many have already returned to working full-time hours in their substantive posts, or anticipate to do so within the next month. As a result, many have contacted the Ministry to advise that they no longer require assistance from the stipend programme.
Mr. Howell said, “Thank you to those persons who contacted the Ministry to advise that they were now employed and no longer needed the stipend, or that their circumstances changed and they would like to be removed from the programme. It has helped us ensure that the resources allocated to this programme are put where they are truly needed.”
Contact 649-6932 or email stipend@gov.ky with queries or for information.
