Keep it local

Business Day found out more about the company and its labour needs during a recent interview with its Corporate Affairs, Manager, Josieann Richards.

Seated in CGCL’s temporary offices at the site for the Trinidad Methanol Dimethyl Ether (TMD) plants at Union Industrial Estate (UIE), Vessigny, La Brea, Richards explained that while they are in the early stages of construction, “because we know what the requirements will be for plant operation, we are advertising certain positions in advance.” In a newspaper ad published earlier this month, CGCL said it “is currently in the early phase of construction of a petrochemical complex” on the UIE and “in the upcoming months” they will have vacancies for nine permanent positions in plant operations: 1) Payroll Clerk; 2) Accounts Clerk; 3) IT Supervisor; 4) E&I Supervisor; 5) Laboratory Supervisor; 6) HSE Advisor; 7) Planning and Inspection Engineer; 8) Process Engineer; and 9) Process Operator.

Richards told Business Day that within two weeks of the ad being published, CGCL received more than 1,000 job applications, some from persons who, if hired, would face a long commute to work.

Richards assured every application is reviewed “because we are searching for the best talent available and we know that, that talent resides in TT.” Asked why such an early job ad, she explained that some positions will require additional training, particularly since this will be the first TMD plant in Trinidad and Tobago.

“So, the recruitment process takes into consideration the requirements and duration of that training. We didn’t want to advertise just before we go operational. We want to ensure that the persons we recruit are exposed to the appropriate length of training that would be required for them to function in an operational environment.”