Employment and Immigration Minister Michael Myles MP said Caymanian jobseekers need more than access to vacancies, arguing that workers also need opportunities to gain experience, develop skills and advance in their careers.

Speaking on Monday at the hello2HIRED recruitment event at the Marriott Resort in Grand Cayman, Myles said the Islands faced a contradiction: there are more jobs available than Caymanians to fill them, yet some local workers still struggle to enter the workforce.

The event brought Caymanian jobseekers together with employers and offered career guidance and job-placement support.

Myles calls for opportunities beyond hiring

Myles said the challenge was not simply whether jobs existed, but whether Caymanians could secure them and progress once hired.

"We have more jobs than we have Caymanians," he said. "However, our people, especially our vulnerable people, are getting stuck at the front door, and that door isn't opening anywhere."

Economic and Statistics Office data suggest the problem is becoming more entrenched for some Caymanians. Among previously employed Caymanians who were unemployed in 2025, 61.6% had been out of work for at least 12 months, up from 27.6% in 2017.

The most recent figures show that 1,045 Caymanians were unemployed in Fall 2025. Nearly half, or 46.9%, were aged 15 to 24, while 64.5% of unemployed Caymanians had a high-school education.

Myles said employers should provide opportunities for workers to develop rather than expect them to remain in the same roles indefinitely.

"We have to go beyond simply employment," Myles said. "It is unrealistic to think that a person is going to stay in employment in any company for years on end and not have the opportunity to reskill, retrain or at least elevate themselves."

Myles said complaints he received about Caymanian employment most frequently involved the hospitality and financial-services sectors, with construction close behind.

He also raised concerns about Caymanians leaving sectors where they believed there were limited opportunities for advancement.

hello2HIRED connects jobseekers and employers

The hello2HIRED initiative is intended to give Caymanian jobseekers direct access to employers while providing practical assistance, including career guidance, resumé support and interview preparation.

According to the Ministry, the inaugural event attracted 66 jobseekers and representatives from 20 employers. The Ministry also said more than 200 Caymanian jobseekers have been connected with employers through the wider initiative since then.

The longer-term test will be whether those connections result in interviews, job offers and sustained employment, and whether workers have opportunities to advance.

Young Caymanians urged to gain experience

Myles encouraged young Caymanians to seek internships and work experience, including at organisations without permanent positions immediately available.

"Get in as interns," he said. "Even if the organisation doesn't have a job for you, ask for work experience. Anything that they can do to get in the door, get in the door."

Myles argued that experience early in a person's career could lead to opportunities later.

"The payment is experience," he said. "You get in with experience, your world opens up to you." He added: "Do not be afraid to work for free because, remember, it is not the currency that matters right now for you."

Jobseeker says responsibility lies on both sides

One jobseeker at the event, who asked not to be named, said finding employment depended partly on the type of work a person was seeking and that responsibility rested with both employers and applicants.

"It just depends on what you're looking for," she said. "I think it's a give and take. It's both sides."

She said Caymanians also needed to prepare themselves for recruitment.

"Understand what it is to write a resumé, understand what it is to be successful in a job interview, how to dress to impress, and just be prepared," she said.

She described hello2HIRED as "a really great start".

The event forms part of a broader effort to improve connections between Caymanian jobseekers and employers. Its impact will ultimately depend on what happens after those initial meetings, including how many participants secure interviews, offers and jobs, and whether those jobs lead to longer-term opportunities.

For Myles, the goal is clear.

"I want to make sure that every Caymanian who wants a job has a job," he said.