UK NEWS

BAHAMAS-BOUND SCOTTISH WORKERS’ SHIP HAS COME IN

BAHAMAS BECKONS: There is plenty of work in the shipyards of Grand Bahama for Scottish experts

Tuesday May 13,2008

By Tom Fullerton

ONE is a sun-kissed, sub-tropical paradise surrounded by sparkling seas, and the other has just a few hours’ daylight in winter with summer temperatures that wouldn’t melt an ice-cream.

So it came as no surprise to recruitment officers that there was a queue around the block when they held interviews for experienced engineers and foremen to work in a shipyard in the Bahamas.

More than 200 candidates arrived at the Glasgow hotel and another 400 sent in CVs in the hope that, by the end of the summer, they and their families will be moving to an island where temperatures average 70-75°F during the winter and the low 80s in the summer.

Parc Recruitment, whose Glasgow office was inundated with applicants, plans to send the first batch of 30 recruits and their families to a new life in the coming weeks. The same number will be needed at the end of the summer, with even more hired at a future date.

“It’s a great opportunity for a couple to bring up a family in an idyllic lifestyle,” said Carol Lang of Parc Recruitment.

“But we are not sending people on an extended summer holiday. They are going out there to work, just as they do here, and to build a new life for themselves. We’re looking for dedicated shipyard engineers, not nightclub bar staff, and they are not going on fixed, short-term contracts. The jobs are permanent.

“We and the successful applicants’ new employers will provide support for families moving to the island and there is a

committee of ex-patriate wives who have information packs on everything from hurricanes and housing to schools.”

She said that, despite the huge differences in climate and culture, work in the shipyard in Grand Bahama – the fourth largest of the 700 islands with a population of 75,000 – will be similar to work on the Clyde. “Glasgow has a long and proud tradition of shipbuilding and this is recognised by our clients around the world,” she added.

The lucky candidates for the Grand Bahamas jobs can look forward to wearing casual summer clothes all the year round, but should pack a light jacket or sweater for the cooler evenings from December to February.

Grand Bahama is surrounded by silky white sands and pale blue seas and is filled with natural wonders, including one of the world’s largest underwater cave systems.

The reef of Grand Bahama island, just off the Florida coast, is part of one of the largest reef
systems on earth. Among its underwater inhabitants are the Hawksbill turtle, seahorses, dolphins, Caribbean reef sharks, and dozens of species of coral.

Cars drive on the left, English is the official language and wages are similar to those in the UK. And there’s no income tax.