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Employment
The Cayman Islands is well known as both an international finance centre and a popular tourist destination. In keeping with this, employment opportunities are most prevalent in the financial services and tourism industries. Since most other industries exist mainly to service the needs of the local market (e.g. medical, construction, entertainment), opportunities can be somewhat restricted. The Cayman Islands have an educated local workforce, but there are inevitably more positions to be filled than there are qualified candidates. The bottom line is that if you are determined, patient and flexible you should be able to find something suitable regardless of your qualifications and experience.
Work Permits
Strict work permit regulations exist to ensure that Caymanians and their dependents are given preference for any position, and this can be something of a minefield for the uninitiated. The regime presents some unique hurdles to the expatriate job-seeker and a basic understanding of this process is required to set the employment market in context and to avoid finding yourself in a position that is improvident at best and disastrous at worst.
Note also that your spouse or children are not automatically entitled to reside in Cayman even if you hold a valid permit - he or she must be a named dependant on the permit, and a separate application may be required. Dependants cannot be named on temporary work permits.
Finding a Job
Due to the requirement to advertise any position prior to a work permit application or annual renewal, a flick through the local classifieds may give a misleading picture of the job market. Employers are discouraged from giving any indication that the position may be a work permit renewal, as this can discourage local applicants. With well over ten thousand work permits in issue at any one time, many apparent vacancies will actually be in support of a prospective work permit application or renewal.
This makes trying to find a position by reading employment classifieds something of a-needle-in-a-haystack endeavour. For most job-seekers, responding to such ads should only be a part of a more pro-active, direct strategy.
The most effective approach to finding good employment in the Islands depends on what type of role you are suited to and how soon you wish to relocate.
Check our links section for employment web sites.
Source: New Resident Magazine (2006)
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