Government to stop running its own English Language Testing

The newly developed Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman (WORC), the Government agency that took over responsibility for work permits from the old Department of Immigration, has advised that it will no longer be conducting English Language Tests as of 14th October.

Any person wishing to work in the Cayman Islands on a work permit who is from a non-English speaking country is first requited to take an English Language Test to prove that they have a basic understanding of the English language. This is to make sure they can take care of themselves and their families while they live in Cayman and can assimilate quickly into society.

Up until this point, the English Language Tests (or ELTs) were carried out by the Department of Immigration (now WORC), but this proved to be an impractical method for testing, with applicants suffering long waits because of understaffing in the administration of the tests. The system had also found to be open to corruption, with a continuing court case ongoing in relation to the ELTs. 

To remedy these issues, WORC will accept test results from two global providers: International English Language Test Systems (IELTS) and Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC). There is also a local testing centre, at Modern Business Solutions, located at the Grand Pavilion Commercial Centre, with more information to be found at: https://mbscayman.com/toeic/

WORC has stated that it will accept a passing grade at band A2, a grading that is reflective of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages which identifies this grade as a basic user of English.