Thousands rush to job fair

FROM AS EARLY as 5:30 a.m. job hunters descended on the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre (LESC) for the Sandals Barbados Resort & Spa job fair.

One estimate put the crowd at approximately 5 000 as officials try to fill 600 vacancies at the resort which will reopen in January. Sandals officials had earlier estimated that 3 000 people would attend.

Hundreds blocked the entrance to LESC and the line stretched outside the compound to Two Mile Hill.

A NATION team on site reported some pushing, with a few people fainting in the heat and others getting asthma attacks.

Tempers flared as some late arrivals surged to the head of the long, winding queue at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre and police had to be called in to restore order.

The situation became so chaotic that at 11.30 a.m. a representative of the centre announced that the job fair was being closed hours ahead of schedule. However, that decision was quickly cancelled, with security opting to allow an estimated 20 job applicants into the building at intervals.

Yesterday, the first day of the fair, was reserved for former staff members.

Today, the search is on for front office, Club Sandals/Concierge, butler, housekeeping and laundry staff.

Tomorrow will be the turn for those seeking employment in the kitchen, dining and bar divisions.

Sandals general manager Josef Zellner was at LESC to see the large turnout. (SP/SAT/TY)