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BDA leader urges Islanders to pursue job opportunities

Bermuda Democratic Alliance leader Craig Cannonier yesterday urged Bermudians to make the most of job opportunities after an employment specialist pointed to unwillingness among the unemployed.Doug Soares, a partner at Expertise Ltd, says he knows of candidates failing to submit their resumes when contacted by employers telling them they are being lined up for interviews.In a column in The Royal Gazette’s business section today, Mr Soares also warns the moratorium on work permits could lead to jobs being filled by Bermudians who are unwilling to do them properly.Reacting last night, Mr Cannonier told this newspaper: “We have all got to get out there and do what we can to keep things afloat now.”Mr Soares writes in today’s column that the Department of Labour recommended two Bermudians to a company advertising for an HR vacancy.“The candidates submitted by the Department of Labour demonstrated their unwillingness by failing to submit their resume even after the employer called them,” he says.“When the employer followed up, one candidate said that he was busy and that the Department of Labour should have sent it. The other candidate said that the employer should call the Labour Department to get it.”Mr Cannonier said: “It’s a striking reality of what employers are facing. Until all of us come to the realisation that this is the position we are in, then we can’t move ahead.“If we want the work, it’s there, we have got to go after it. Back in the day you could leave a job and go and get another one. Today you can’t do that and we have to take the jobs that are available.”Of the moratorium imposed by the Department of Immigration, Mr Soares writes: “Of course the policy will be a great success if the moratorium forces employers to hire able and willing Bermudians that they would not otherwise have hired.“However, we risk a terrible consequence if the moratorium forces employers to hire able but unwilling Bermudians in place of able and willing work permit holders.”Mr Cannonier responded: “We have an influx of expats because Bermudians have not made themselves available.”Useful websites: www.expertise.bm, www.thealliance.bm.