The National Enhancement Community Project (NiCE) 2016 will take on 588 seasonal workers across Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac today (Monday, 28 November), the Government has confirmed.

The seasonal workers, who will be working for up to three weeks, have been assigned to several beautification and enhancement projects with the Public Works Department, the National Roads Authority and the Department of Environmental Health.

Included in the roster of works for the clean-up are 39 beach access projects, 17 in West Bay alone. Workers will also undertake a variety of duties at the George Town Landfill and dispatch, as well as a number of roadside beautification and beach clean-ups.

The total, made up of 547 people on Grand Cayman and a further 41 on the Brac, shows a 22 percent drop in uptake compared to last year when 752 signed up for the enhancement scheme.

During the NiCE Project registration which took place on Wednesday, 16 November 2016, Minister for Education, Employment and Gender Affairs, Honourable Tara Rivers, in addressing those present said that unemployment is at the lowest it’s been since 2007. “I see significantly less people here today as compared to last year. Though the exact number of those who will be accepted onto the project will be confirmed next week, attendance this morning is a visual testament that more people are employed now than this time last year, and validates that unemployment figures are certainly moving in the right direction,” she said.

The Minister acknowledged the project represented an enormous planning and logistical undertaking by the relevant agencies to ensure the smooth running of the programme. Several of the planning committee members spoke and gave an overview of the programme this year. Attendees were advised that there was some chance that a number of NiCE workers would be taken on for full-time work at the landfill in 2017, based on their performance at the site.

A statistical analysis of this year’s cohort, collated by the NiCE Project Coordination Team, reveals that 58 percent of the cleanup’s successful applicants are male and 42 percent are females.

In terms of age, the survey found that the largest group in this year’s project comprises of 41- 65 year olds, who make up nearly half of all successful applicants (45 percent).

Well over a quarter of this year’s registrants are 26 – 40 years old (29 percent), while under a quarter of NiCE workers are between 18 and 25 years old. Predictably, the smallest group was that aged 66 years and older (4 percent).

The Minister for Community Affairs, Youth and Sports, Honourable. Osbourne Bodden, also attended the Lions Centre registration day.

Government confirmed that cleanup workers will be paid a week before Christmas Day.