Under the direction of a young Caymanian, career initiatives includes internships, a school outreach and an online jobs portal are underway this summer.
George Town, Gran
In recent weeks Ms. High has coordinated the CEC summer internship programme which she named ‘Summer in the City’, she has made presentations to local schools before they closed for the summer, and has managed the zone’s online jobs portal. 10 students have been interning at Cayman Enterprise City – shadowing CEC staff and teaming up with zone companies within the special economic zone. There was good response to the call for applications for the internships, both from the students and the zone companies themselves. The programme required some coordination to accommodate varying schedules over the summer.
This week CEC hosted a ‘Summer in the City’ intern breakfast where interns within the city got to meet each other and mingle with CEC staff and clients to share their experiences within the zone. Zone client Mark Hall from NET(net) SEZC gave the young people an insight into the innovative company he’s involved with and he took the opportunity to introduce the attendees to up and coming local software developer Kevin McCoy, a former student of Cayman Prep, who is interning with NET(net) SEZC this summer.
Neith Rheinbold who is studying at the University of Westminster attended the breakfast and shared with the group that following his very positive experience as an intern with CEC last summer, he now plans to change his career path and focus on marketing. CEC’s CEO reminded the students that whilst there will be careers in the technology sector, all the tech companies
within the zone also need support services such as finance, admin, business development and marketing, so careers in those fields could also result in jobs within the zone.
"It was great to meet all the young people this morning and learn about their educational and career aspirations. We are working extremely hard on creating the foundation to ensure that young Caymanians get the skills and experience necessary to start filling some of the technical positions within the zone and these enthusiastic youngsters have made me see that the hard work we have been putting in over the past 2 years is really starting to pay off for Cayman’s future IT professionals and entrepreneurs. I would like to personally thank NET(net) SEZC, The PropTrading Group SEZC, Maples Technology SEZC and Global Servicing SEZC for taking on these young people.” said Charlie Kirkconnell, CEO of CEC.
20-year-old Nathan McLean from East End, a first year student at the University of Oxford Brooks, is interning at CEC this year, sitting in on conference calls and client meetings, learning about marketing Cayman overseas and soaking up real world business experience on an international level.
"It gives me a better idea of what to expect in the real world, and how I should interact with staff and handle certain situations,” he said. “This experience has helped me open my eyes into areas of interest as I try to figure out my future.” “Cayman Enterprise City is a unique project that brings new opportunities and growth to the Cayman Islands. I am extremely proud to provide a helping hand getting it off the ground and turning its goals into reality.” he added.
In June Ms. High who is overseeing the Enterprise Cayman initiatives visited Clifton Hunter School to introduce CEC to the students, and talk to them about career paths that could lead to tech jobs in the special economic zone. The idea is to reach young Caymanians early in their education and get them interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) – all fields linked to technology careers. Accompanying Ms. High was Kristel Sanchez, UCCI Director of Marketing, Public Relations and Alumni, there to help promote the college’s STEM Ambassador’s Club, an organization of students enrolled in STEM courses. CEC and UCCI have teamed up to promote STEM education in Cayman, and CEC will be sponsoring the Ambassador’s Club year round.
"The presentation was well received and the students were engaged and enthusiastic about the prospect of jobs such as an application developer and social media manager,” said Ms. High. “They seemed very interested in the STEM Ambassadors Programme, so we left materials for students and teachers describing the nomination process. They especially enjoyed the world cup themed music video at the end of the presentation, and then the question and answer session that included prizes.”
The school outreach will resume in the fall when classes begin again. Enterprise Cayman will continue to develop programmes and initiatives to encourage young people to become the next generation of Caymanian innovators and technology entrepreneurs."I am delighted to be out there engaging young people and getting them excited about the future. I look forward to being a big part of
Enterprise Cayman initiatives to be developed and introduced in the coming months and years,” said Renee High.
Enterprise Cayman is all about connecting Caymanians with opportunities in Cayman Enterprise City, not just future jobs and training, but opportunities to learn about entrepreneurship - how to take an idea and create a business from it. The initiative will also work with the zone to rotate as many young locals as possible through its client networking events and make introductions where possible. There are also plans to offer technology camps for school children next year, and Enterprise Cayman will bring in experts from the US to facilitate entrepreneurial days, which foster creativity and business idea mapping for aspiring local entrepreneurs.
About Cayman Enterprise City
Cayman Enterprise City is the Cayman Islands’ award-winning Special Economic Zone, focused on knowledge-based industries, technology companies and specialized services businesses. With a dedicated Government Authority and guaranteed fast-track processes, International companies can quickly and efficiently establish a genuine physical presence in Cayman. Businesses can take advantage of Cayman’s jurisdictional benefits which include zero corporate tax, zero income tax and zero capital gains tax, along with a raft of special zone concessions and incentives. These concessions were designed to attract international companies from five specific high-tech sectors; internet and technology, media and new-media ventures, biotechnology, commodities and derivatives, and academia.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Call: +1-345-945-3722 E-mail: h.cahill@caymanenterprisecity.com Web: www.caymanenterprisecity.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/caymanenterprisecity Twitter: @CEC_Cayman LinkedIn: Cayman Enterprise City