Shomari Scott: A man on a mission. Part one

Part one of a two-part article.

By Staff Writer

The young Caymanian business executive brought his unique focus and insights to last week’s edition of The Panel as he prepares to take over the helm of the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce next year.

Mr Scott is also the Chief Business Officer for Health City Cayman Islands and is the Acting Chair of the Cayman Islands Education Council.

A recipient of the Young Caymanian Leadership Award, he also sits on the Civil Service Complaints Commission and is the Chair of the Social Services and Healthcare Network for the Strategic Economic Advisory Group.

Appearing as a special guest on The Panel, alongside host Ralph Lewis, Caymanian Times publisher, and analyst/commentator Mario E Ebanks, Mr Scott, spoke about the vision he has for the Chamber and the thought process he’s bringing to the role.

At a time of much debate about the involvement of Caymanians in the growth and development of the jurisdiction, especially in the business sector, Mr Scott is seen as a part of a new group of modern trailblazers of professionalism and examples to emulate.

“What I always do in any engagement whether it's a job and or board or a volunteer type of organisation is understand the mission and decide obviously, before you join, what the values are to make sure you're aligned. And then look at what the goals are for that organisation and or board and what of your objectives and have a good understanding within yourself as well as the people you're working with.”

Well versed in marketing and communications, he outlined that with the upcoming reopening of borders and economy, the Chamber is placing particular focus on small businesses to assist them in thriving and just surviving in what will be the new normal going forward.

“It has to do with economic growth, but sustainable economic growth. It has to do with a healthy community of which the business community needs to also be healthy as one portion and for there to be enough jobs for Caymanians to be able to partake in various jobs and careers,” he explained.

The incoming Chamber president said processes are already in place with training support for businesses and internal discussions are planned within the next month to work out a more detailed plan.

“I know we’re definitely going to be looking at business continuity and how we made it through the first two to three months, as tourism is back, as borders are back, to get back on a roadmap.”

“It has to do with economic growth, but sustainable economic growth,” he stated.

On Caymanians getting into business, Mr Scott said advocated that the tools for the task sometimes are not limited to academic qualifications, but having the skills, drive and commitment to succeed.

“It doesn't always have to be getting your four-year degree or your masters or your doctorate. It's about ensuring that people have the tools necessary and understand options at an early enough age to take advantage of what's available to them.”

In this regard, he says there’s an important role for the Chamber in educating young people about the possibilities and opportunities in the business sector, drawing on the organisation’s Education and Workforce Development Plan.

The Chamber of Commerce has stated that “finding and retaining local talent is one of the greatest challenges facing the business community. Many school leavers who find employment out of high school lack basic literacy and numeracy skills and therefore find it difficult to advance in the workplace or even to retain their jobs. Financial services, health care, information technology and vocational and technical jobs demand a higher level of skills.”

The way incoming president Scott sees it is that “the Chamber can play a vital role by also understanding what's there in the job market, what's to come in the job market.”

He suggests: “Maybe we need to encourage and formulate a mechanism to get our entrepreneurs that have five employees into schools, for our youth to understand that you don't always have to think that you want to wear a shirt and tie and become a lawyer to be successful.”

And he also feels that Caymanians already established in business can inspire others with the involvement of the Chamber.

“All these young entrepreneurs who are successful with their own business, we should be teaching our children to become independent and to know their options to be entrepreneurs. And I think we have all of the entrepreneurs within the Chamber mechanism to get them in front of our youth."

Mr Scott laments: "I don't think that's taught in school from a young enough age group for people to really grasp it and understand it and do what's necessary in order to achieve success in business.”

In our next instalment we look at Shomari Scott's plans for Cayman's small businesses and their place in Cayman's success story