The Aruba F&B Association Job Fair was impressively organized. Many members of Aruba’s Food & Beverage community were on hand to interview and sign up potential staffers.
They all report they are short of qualified hands, and the so-called Fast Track, offered by the government to undocumented residents, isn’t fast at all, in fact, the dysfunction between DPL, the Department of Labor and DIMAS, the Department of Integration and Management of Foreigners, hasn’t diminished. The two hate each other, the dinosaurs at DIMAS are set in their ways and the community of go-betweens, is quite content to continue collecting exorbitant sums, with zero results.
By the time I visited the Job Fair about 800 people had come in the room, and more were expected in the early evening hours, at the end of the workday.
At the Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort elegant booth/lounge I heard they were optimistic. They hired two candidates at last year’s Job Fair, and both are still working.
Calloway Catering, GCG, reported a shortage of drivers. The company was asking line employees to obtain a c-license, paid for by GCG, to alleviate the immediate need, until full-time drivers are hired.
At the HIAS booth/stand, they were hard at work creating CVs for those about to apply for jobs. That was an especially useful initiative.
UNHCR & IOM, were represented under the Platform RV4+. The Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants, R4V, is made up by over 200 organizations, including UN Agencies, civil society, faith-based organizations and NGOs, among others, which coordinate their efforts under Venezuela’s Refugee and Migrant Response Plan, RMRP, in 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. They too are frustrated by the slow Fast-Track, that doesn’t result in any hirings. They made suggestions, they explained, to tie work permits to professions, not to employers and thereby name workers by their skills. A good idea, which was left hanging.
At the Andamar Temp Agency, a young woman by the name of Bianca asked for my age and assured me that they are capable and willing to find me a job at any of the hotels, because housekeeping, security and landscaping are mostly outsourced, and age is not the issue. I felt flattered.
La Cabana Beach Resort & Casino appointed two people to help fill online job applications. The resort launched a special portal that day, collecting paperless data. They offered quality chocolates, so I hung around. The program sifted through the applications and named seven suitable candidates who will be called back.
The Ritz Carlton was not alone. It partnered with the St Regis, and while there were no job postings for that upcoming resort, it will soon be hiring 575 people, before opening in the Fall. Their cookies were frosted and branded.
The best cookies and popcorn were served by Renaissance. Their fully decorated booth was popular. They were hiring people company wide, including Renaissance Island, and they report people came prepared with passports and docs, eager to meet opportunities.
Iberostar was busy interviewing. They just hosted a job fair of their own but need more people ahead of their yearend resort opening, on Eagle Beach.
Two large restaurants chains, Gianni’s Group and Aruba Wine and Dine, were nicely represented — they both listed the many benefits offered to their workers.
Adult education institutions, OAA, the evening school, and Enseñansa Pa Empleo, presented more opportunities for personal growth and learning, at affordable rates.
The Toastmasters hoped to recruit new members because, they said, speaking clearly and coherently was the key to success.
Tropical Bottling had open positions in all departments, their impeccably uniformed and groomed crew is part of the official licensed bottler and distributor of all Coca Cola products in Aruba, and Balashi, a high-tech brewery, launched in 1999.
Participating entities:
Eagle Resort, Andamar temp agency, Compra, Elite Entertainment, Gianni’s Group, Tempo, KFC, PLATFORMR4V, Toastmasters, Dimas, OAA, EPE, DPL, Wine & Dine, Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort, AF&BA, Renaissance Aruba Hotels, Casa Tua Restaurant, Tropical Bottling, Ritz Carlton & St. Regis Hotels, Iberostar, Santos Cafe, Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort, Le Mer Restaurant, La Cabana Beach Resort & Casino, GCG the former Calloway, Eduardo’s Beach shack, the convention center also offered a Photobooth, Misc. Venders, a coffee break corner, DJ music and a work station.
