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Editor's Intro |
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To those who were lucky enough to be in Trinidad
recently for Carnival, the "greatest show on earth" - it was fabulous,
wasn't it? Now it's back to reality.
The downturn seems to be taking effect in the
Caribbean with spectacular casualties. The Prime Minister of T&T advised
citizens to "tighten their belts" and it seems that the people are heeding his
words, thus putting a strain on businesses particularly those in the service
sectors. So how do we get through these difficult times? Guest
journalist, Amelia Hayes, reports on her impressions from a recent trip to
Miami.
NOTE: Back issues of CRS NEWS are published at
http://www.crsoilandgasjobs.com/Newsletter.htm.
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With words such as “recession”, “tighten
your belt”, “hard times”, bailouts and companies closing or downsizing …. How
severe is the global economic state and how many of us are really thinking
before spending? Can we survive it? As President Obama says, “Yes
we can!”
I recently returned from Florida where I
interviewed Trini’s living there as well as US citizens as to how they are being
affected, if at all and how has life changed for them.
A couple days before Christmas thousands
of people flocked to the malls trying to catch holiday bargains following the
“Black Friday” sales. At Sawgrass and Aventura malls as with other shopping
centres, people
were bustling about looking for deals but frivolous spending wasn’t taking
place. Business owners complained it was the worst in terms of revenue they’ve
experienced.
Zorinah of Miami Gardens (a Trini who
migrated) said that it hasn’t affected her in any significant way and in fact
she earned more last year than the year before and shopped as usual for the
Christmas season. She hasn’t changed her lifestyle in any way neither did she
decrease her spending power. She doesn’t see the recession seriously affecting
her earnings in a way that will significant diminish her quality of life at
present.
Realistically, we are all affected in
one way or another but for some it’s not significant enough for them to start
worrying at present. For some, the value of their properties have dropped and
they can refinance paying less on their Mortgage; for others, they are stuck
paying more for their homes than it’s now worth. Banks are no longer giving
loans in fear of not recovering their money due to loss of jobs and bankruptcy
which is expected to happen in large numbers this year. Basically the average
person is the one feeling it the most, as is always the case! Those with low
incomes, minimal education as well as a household to feed and not knowing what
their next move should be; those are the people hurting. They comprise of sales
clerks in department stores, administrative staff, gas station attendants,
automotive sales people and many more.
It would be wise to do an analysis of
where you live, irregardless to what part of the Globe (the Caribbean, US, UK
etc) and look at the industries in operation, the areas that bring income to
sustain the economy, find out what jobs are in demand and put a plan of action
into place from there. E.g. it’s public knowledge that we have a shortage of
nurses locally and the news recently highlighted the shortage of pharmacists at
the POS General Hospital and the country! Reality is the number of diabetic,
hypertension, cancer, and Aids cases have grown tremendously and thousand of
persons are currently on medication needing the expertise of a pharmacist.
It will take some thinking and research
on your part but it’s beneficial to your future to find other means of income
and be versatile to earn a living. No longer is specialization in a field an
absolute must. With companies downsizing and employees multi-tasking, it would
be wise to acquire skills in varying fields. From the beginning of time man has
adapted to his environment and circumstances, the same will occur during
difficult global economic times but we will survive and evolve!
(Referring to our last newsletter "Sign Before You Resign"
http://www.crsoilandgasjobs.com/Newsletters/Newsletter%20O&G%201-16.html)
A very good article. And, in time too. I was made an offer by Company X to work
offshore for a certain rate of pay. All this was done verbally. I turned them
down indicating that I will not go out until we agree on terms on paper. I once
worked for this same Company before and was "burnt". They made me a verbal
offer; got me out there and when I returned I was informed that an "error" was
made. They said the offer was too much as the guy I replaced earned that; and I
will not be compensated at the same rate. I learnt my lesson. ... Sheldon
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We would love to hear what you think of this issue of
CRS News. And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that
you would like to share with us, please send those too.
Comments, suggestions, feedback?
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In This Issue:
-
Editor's Intro
-
Tighten Your Belt
- Tell Us What You Think
-
Subscriptions
- Psychometric Testing
-
Who is CRS?
See
our website for a complete list of JOBS
To find out more about a particular job below, click on the
Job Ref below its description.
New requirements include:
Field Service
Engineer
(TRINIDAD):-
- To provide commissioning, preventive maintenance and
troubleshooting services on packaging and distribution equipment, as well as
conducting training of customer personnel.
- To deliver service products and support to customers in order to maximize
their system performance.
Job Ref:A130
Process Engineer
(TRINIDAD):-
Assist in the safe and efficient running of the Plants. Involved in
the management and planning of plant operations as well as management of a
number of varying projects.
Job
Ref:A129
Electrical & Sales
Engineer
(TRINIDAD):-
- To service accounts and promote as a company that represents
service, quality and a determination to excel in the electrical distribution
field.
- To act as a “coach” in assembling and directing other personnel and resources
to meet end-user requests and requirements. - To provide technical sales support
to customer service specialist, as well as, end-users.
Job Ref:A128
Supply Chain Specialist
(TRINIDAD):-
Accountable for the timely procurement of the quantity and the
specified quality of materials, supplies and contract services required to
maintain the Company’s operations at optimum cost.
Job Ref:A127
Senior
Mechanical Engineer (TRINIDAD):-
Responsible for improving and ensuring plant mechanical equipment
safety and reliability.
Job Ref: CI08
Still urgently required:
Senior Chemical
Engineer (TRINIDAD):-
Responsible for the overall monitoring of the site’s operations and
providing methods for short and long term optimization.
Job Ref: AD50
Electrical &
Instrumentation Engineer (TRINIDAD):-
Responsible for planning, estimating and scheduling of all
turnaround E&I work, the installation of new equipment and systems, and the
maintenance of specialized E&I equipment.
Job Ref: AD47
Senior Mechanical
Engineer (TRINIDAD):-
To provide mechanical engineering support to ensure that plant
operations are safe and reliable so that production potential is maximized in
relation to plant availability.
Job Ref: AD46
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...
a leading supplier of technical resources in the Caribbean