There is no evidence to suggest that the 10 percent salary reimbursement incentive which was part of the “1000 Jobs in 1000 Days” initiative was ever received by employers who joined the programme.
This is according to the findings of the Auditor General’s Special Report on Claude Skeleton Cline’s government contracts during the period March 25, 2019 to September 17, 2021.
As an incentive to prospective employers, the Ministry of Labour in collaboration with the Premier’s Office expanded the programme to include an employer 10 percent salary reimbursement benefit in November 2020.
However, the Auditor General found that “Neither the Premier’s Office nor the Labour Department provided any evidence of submissions by, or payments to, employers under this scheme.”
“Additionally, monitoring employment retention was challenging as neither employers nor candidates provided employment status updates to the Labour Department,” the report added.
Employers were required to complete requisite forms, provide proof of the employment period of the employee and demonstrate that the individual was a BVI citizen.
In addition, the employer was also required to provide certificates of earnings from the Social Security Board, Inland Revenue, and National Health Insurance.
The “1000 Jobs in 1000 Days” initiative according to the report only managed to employ 17 percent of the total registered applicants during the programme’s time period.
That translates to 194 placements from the 1,145 job seeking candidates who had registered.