RECRUITMENT TOPS THE AGENDA AT OTs PUBLIC SERVICE SUMMIT

Cayman Islands representatives joined Deputy Governors and senior civil servants from the UK’s Caribbean Overseas Territories at the Overseas Territories Deputy Governors and Heads of Public Service Summit, which was held in Bermuda from June 9th to 14th.

The local delegation was led by outgoing Deputy Governor Franz Manderson and included his incoming successor, Gloria McField-Nixon,who assumes duties on July 8th, and Tenisha Ebanks, Personal Assistant to the Deputy Governor.

The summit brought together senior public service leaders from across the Overseas Territories to discuss matters of governance, public sector transformation, leadership, and collaboration.

One of the recurring issues that resurfaced during this year’s meeting was recruitment, especially ensuring that adequate expertise for advertised roles is available within the respective territories.

The matter was highlighted by the Head of the Bermuda Public Service, Cherie Whitter, who lamented the challenges faced in ensuring that local expertise is available to fill particularly highly specialised roles.

“The reality is that we are challenged in many areas, including having the ability to go out, target and bring in new talent into the service,” she told her OTs colleagues. ”We have challenges as it relates to engineers, accountants and financial professionals, compliance professionals, lawyers - specifically, legislative drafters, teachers; and public health nurses.”

Another hurdle facing public services in the OTs is the retention of key staff in the face of competition from the private sector, especially in more progressive economies where pay offers are more attractive.

In other cases where the economy is less robust and where the private sector does not offer a viable alternative, the combination of public service staff retention and replacement is a growing problem, with some choosing instead to migrate - the UK being a preferred destination.