Speaking on Radio Cayman’s For the Record on Monday, Roulstone said that any job posted on the portal will automatically match with the database of registered Caymanians.

Both the employer and would-be candidates are then alerted about each other. But if the would-be boss still attempts to overlook available local workers and continues towards the permit application, Roulstone said those Caymanians that were matched to the job will be notified that a permit application has been made. If they then tell WORC that the employer did not contact them or they feel passed over, they will be invited in to WORC and given an opportunity to object to the permit.

“We bring the two together at that point and we can make a much more informed decision about why that permit should or should not proceed,” Roulstone explained, adding that it was a vast improvement over the current system.

However, the director warned that it will require Caymanians to be proactive and tell WORC if they applied for the job and were either not contacted or refused the position. The new portal is designed to notify job-seekers that a relevant vacancy is available but Caymanians have to be registered and must then make the application themselves.

Provided that job-seekers register and keep WORC informed, the new agency will be able to more closely follow the reasons why a local candidate is refused work.

The agency will also be taking a closer look at some of the other issues that people believe are undermining local workers’ efforts to get jobs and creating an unfair playing field, such as the manipulation of job advertisements.

Roulstone said that employers will not be able to post requirements in a job position that WORC perceives as unnecessary as the advert will not be accepted, she said. If a job posting is not accepted, then the prospective employer will not be able to go on to apply for a permit.

“WORC will vet job postings so you can’t just go online and post the job as you want. You have to fit within our criteria. If we have reasons to question… what is perceived to be dodgy… then we will have a more collaborative approach with our customers asking why something was necessary, ” the director said.

She said that WORC will look at adverts that are posted elsewhere, as employers can advertise outside the portal, and if the job description is different from the one approved by WORC, then that could also prevent the employers from being granted a work permit.

Roulstone said the new system may not be perfect but she believes it will be better that how things have worked and allow more room for real scrutiny.

She said that they are expecting a soft launch next week, with the aim of going live in September. So now WORC needed every Caymanian looking for a job to come into the agency and register because if they are not registered, they cannot have access to the portal and “it will be almost impossible to help you”.