Ministry of Education, Financial Services and Employment (METE) staff members Nicholas McLean and Robert Llamas, have been chosen as successive Employees of the Month by the Cayman Islands Deputy Governor Awards Scheme.

Financial Controller Robert Llamas received the November award for an innovative enhancement of revenue collection, and for reducing issues with problematic payables. Meanwhile December’s winner, Junior Support Administrator Nicholas Mclean, a member of the IT team at the John Gray High School Campus, was recognised for his people-oriented approach to problem solving.

Deputy Governor, the Hon. Franz Manderson, Cert. Hon., JP and Chief Officer of the Ministry of Education, Financial Services and Employment, Mrs Mary Rodrigues, JP presented awards to the two men.

Commending their unflagging commitment to the Civil Service and its values Mr Manderson said: “I am impressed by Mr. Llamas’ performance and particularly pleased with his track record of training Caymanians. I also congratulate Mr. McLean, whose innovative approach to his work is commendable. As a young Caymanian, he has a very bright future in the Civil Service.”

Mr Llamas in turn expressed his gratitude for the award. “I am very proud and honoured to receive this award. When I joined the financial team in the Ministry, they were going through a critical restructuring phase. This allowed me as a person to grow through the experiences we had during this time, and I am very grateful to have been a part of this project,” he stated.

Crediting his colleagues for their support, Mr Mclean added, “I am very humbled by this award, the recognition is not only for myself but for the entire ICT team at the John Gray High School”.

The Deputy Governor’s accolades are an internal rewards scheme for civil servants, who are nominated within their departments on a monthly basis. The awards recognise the high standards which are expected from all Cayman Islands civil servants. Chief Officers further narrow this pool by selecting the highest performing nominee within their ministry or portfolio.

A committee of Chief Officers then selects an Employee of a Month from among the Chief Officer’s Choice award winners. Messrs Llamas and McLean are the third and fourth winners respectively from the Ministry of Education.

Mrs Rodrigues says that morale at the Ministry has received a tremendous boost from the recognition that the team is receiving. We have a very diverse and hard-working team, with many true servant leaders, dedicated to making a positive difference through their work. Of the two most recent winners she says, “I am proud of and impressed by their contributions and commitment.”

Previous recipients are John Gray High School Principal, Ms Lyneth Monteith, Chief Conservation Officer in the Department of Environment (DoE), Mr, Mark Orr, and At-Risk Youth Programme Coordinator, Mr Michael Myles.