The Cayman Islands Fire Service (CIFS) has welcomed a class of 21 new fire officer recruits to the agency on their first day in their new role on Monday, 26th August.
The Chief Officer for the Ministry of Financial Services and Home Affairs, Dr. Dax Basdeo, Ph.D., JP, attended their first meeting on Monday to help welcome the recruits.
The new fire officers were selected following a recruitment drive held in March 2019 which attracted 170 applicants of whom 130 were Caymanian. All Caymanians were invited to progress through the recruitment process, with the successful candidates being presented with conditional offers by CIFS in July 2019.
A rigorous testing phase helped CIFS select the most capable candidates for the role and included literacy and numeracy tests, a physical test, face-to-face interviews, medicals and background checks.
During the physical test the recruits were required to demonstrate physical strength, stamina and endurance.
“The process our new recruits had to go through before being selected is particularly intensive. We need to know that they are capable of rising to the many challenges of the role before inviting them to join the agency,” Acting Chief Fire Officer, Mr. Brevan Elliot explained.
He continued, “I commend all our newest recruits for the great commitment they’ve shown throughout the recruitment process. We are extremely pleased with the group of men who have been selected and I am confident that they will continue to do well as they embark on basic training over the next several months.”
The new fire officers begin their careers in the CIFS at a pivotal time for the agency which has, with the support from the Ministry, been implementing an extensive training programme over the course of 18 months, which the new fire officers will now also be able to take advantage of.
Commenting on the new class of recruits, Dr. Basdeo said: “I would like to congratulate everyone for getting to this stage and demonstrating their capabilities. Our goal as a Ministry now is to help develop the officers further as we work to foster a world class uniformed service.”
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