The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Some 400 persons yesterday applied for managerial posts at the re-opening British Colonial with the property targeting a workforce that is 95 percent Bahamian.

Dan McDermott, the downtown Nassau property's general manager, speaking during the second day of its job fair at the Andre Rodgers Baseball Stadium, told Tribune Business: "Today is a little bit slower than Monday as expected, because today it’s about managers and supervisors. I don't know the exact number, but I think we've seen somewhere around 300 or 400 people so far. Monday was a great success in my mind. We had almost 1,400 people that were interviewed.”

The British Colonial will share administrative staff with the nearby Margaritaville resort at The Pointe, given that both hotels are owned by China Construction America (CCA). But, leading up to its December re-opening, the former will be hiring staff in housekeeping, engineering and food and beverage throughout the property due to its expansion and the addition of several restaurant concepts.

“We also need pool and beach attendants. We have sales and marketing and we’re looking for a few people. These are the typical positions we need," Mr McDermott said. “We’re staffing from scratch, and it’s exciting to be able to do that and find people. It’s just amazing to be able to see so many people excited to apply for a job at the British Colonial because it really is a special place.”

Robert Farquharson, the Government's director of labour, said of yesterday's interviews: “Today is designed specifically for supervisors and managers at the British Colonial hotel. We are very, very pleased with the turnout so far. We had about 2,900 persons apply for the vacancies, and Monday with the line staff we would have processed about 1,300 persons. Up to today we processed about 300 people and it is going very smoothly.”

The British Colonial has “taken the position that 95 percent of employees will be Bahamian”, Mr Farquharson assured. “We look forward to working with them with identifying these Bahamians," he added. The resort is seeking to have key people hired and in place by next week, with others employed by the end of October. Training will begin shortly thereafter.

Mr Farquharson said: “It is anticipated that the hotel will open in the first week in December. I’m very, very pleased with this process as the Department of Labour continues to work with our partners like the British Colonial to find opportunities for Bahamians who want to work.”