Recent reporting has raised questions about my ownership of Inspire Cayman Training and its contracts with Workforce Opportunities & Residency Cayman (WORC). While it was acknowledged that I have complied with requirements to disclose interests and have taken steps to mitigate any perceived or actual conflict of interest, there are some points I would like to clarify:
Inspire’s contracts with WORC to provide job readiness, technical, and vocational training for Caymanians were entered into before I was elected as a Member of Parliament, and appointed Minister for Caymanian Employment and Immigration.
As a political candidate, in March 2025 I disclosed my ownership of Inspire, its contracts with WORC and my other interests in fulfilment of the Standards in Public Life Act. I also published the notice in the Cayman Islands Gazette as required under the Constitution. All of this is public record.
On 2 May, after the election and the formation of the NCFC Government, I informed the Premier and the former Deputy Governor about my ownership and the company’s existing relationships with WORC. Senior Government officials, including the Ministry’s Chief Officer, had also identified the matter. I made it clear that I would not be involved in the company’s day-to-day operations. With our family succession plan already being in place, the management responsibility for the business had been transferred to my daughter as Managing Director.
Subsequently, as a further good governance measure, ministerial responsibilities for the procurement of training services were transferred from my Ministry to the Ministry of Education and Training, effective 1 July 2025.
Since becoming Minister, no government business involving Inspire has come before me for consideration or decision. If such a matter does arise, I will declare my interest and recuse myself.
Recent reporting also refers to Business Staffing Plan (BSP) provisions on training and developing Caymanians. In 2023, at the request of local financial services firms wanting to support vocational training, Inspire and Cayman Finance asked the BSP Board whether that support could count under the BSP framework. The Board confirmed it could, and local firms were informed. This gave employers more ways to meet their training and development obligations, and they are free to choose whichever vocational provider suits them.
It’s important for me to tell the public about these actions, discussions and outcomes because they speak to my integrity, transparency, and trust.
My wife and I started Inspire in 2019 because we saw Caymanians, particularly young Caymanians, held back by skills gaps and barriers to opportunity. We believed they deserved better access to training, skills development and pathways to social mobility, so we built a business to help. Through training programmes, public and private scholarships, partnerships and community support, more than 1,500 Caymanians have accessed opportunities that might otherwise have been beyond their reach.
Ultimately, we all know that Cayman is a small community where professional, business, family and social connections often overlap. But this is what makes transparency even more important, and the public has a right to expect integrity and accountability from those you elect.