The Grand Bahama Shipyard is already one of the largest ship repair facilities in the world. It is a strategic national asset. Yet for too long, reports and concerns circulating within the community highlight a troubling reality. While the Shipyard continues to expand and investment flows into the island, serious questions remain about whether qualified Bahamians are being fully utilized for employment and advancement. That is unacceptable.
The people of Grand Bahama deserve more. They deserve opportunity, access to training, and priority consideration for the jobs being created in their own backyard.
Let me be clear. Investment and growth are welcome. Foreign expertise is sometimes necessary, but Bahamians must always come first.
No expansion project of this scale should proceed without a clear and measurable plan to recruit, train, certify, hire, and promote Bahamians into skilled and supervisory roles, especially where they have been hired before. Where specialized technicians are required from abroad, their presence must be tied to structured skills transfer and a defined pathway for Bahamians to assume those positions over time. Temporary expertise must lead to permanent local capacity.
The Government must provide transparency. How many Bahamians are being hired? How many work permits are being issued? What specific skills gaps exist? What measurable plan is in place to close those gaps? Bahamians deserve answers grounded in data and accountability, not assumptions or vague assurances.
But we must also think bigger.
An FNM government will leverage the Grand Bahama Shipyard as the anchor of a new Industrial and Maritime Trade Zone creating ownership and empowerment opportunities. Property in proximity to the Shipyard will be designated as a strategic Industrial and Maritime Trade Zone designed to attract both Bahamian and international investment in maritime services, logistics, marine manufacturing, fabrication, and marine engineering innovation that is directly connected to and facilitated by the Shipyard. We will transform the Shipyard from a single operation into the nucleus of a diversified industrial ecosystem.
To attract both Bahamian entrepreneurs and world-class companies, we will implement targeted and structured tax incentives for businesses establishing operations within the zone, along with streamlined regulatory approvals. These incentives will not stand alone. They will be tied to firm and enforceable requirements to hire and train Bahamians, establish apprenticeship programs, transfer technical knowledge, and partner with local institutions to develop certification pathways.
At the same time, we will strengthen the workforce pipeline in Grand Bahama by expanding apprenticeship and certification programs in partnership with industry and training institutions. Mentorship and supervisor development will be embedded into every major industrial project. Apprenticeships must grow, not shrink, as investment increases.
Grand Bahama is uniquely positioned to become the industrial gateway of The Bahamas. With the right leadership and the right policies, it can evolve into a maritime and logistics hub that creates thousands of high-skilled, sustainable jobs for Bahamians.
Grand Bahama is ready to work, and Bahamians are ready to be trained and ready to lead.
It is time for a government that is ready to act.