💼 Cayman Islands government spends $144M on employment initiatives with little impact

The Cayman Islands Government (CIG) has reportedly spent around CI$144 million between 2019 and 2023 on initiatives aimed at enhancing employment prospects for Caymanians. However, a report from the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) has found little evidence that these programs and efforts have significantly impacted the unemployment rate. The report also highlighted a significant gap in data, making it difficult to determine what strategies are effective and which are not.📉

The report, titled "Improving Employment Prospects for Caymanians," identified several barriers to employment, including low educational standards, a minimum wage that hasn't kept up with inflation, and issues with childcare. The OAG has made several recommendations, including the development of a national employment policy and more strategic planning to address unemployment issues. The report also revealed a mismatch between the jobs Caymanians want and what employers need, with very few locals interested in future tech jobs.🎓

Despite the significant expenditure, the unemployment rate among Caymanians has only dropped from 3.9% in spring 2019 to just over 5% at the end of last year. The report also noted that the effectiveness of the seven programs offered by the Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman (WORC) and its partners is unclear due to a lack of data. The OAG has urged the CIG to focus more on outcomes rather than outputs to better assess the impact of their initiatives.💰