Tuvalu Fisheries Department, on the instructions of the Cabinet, is seeking expressions of interest from Tuvaluan national companies to take on the role of agents to recruit Fishing Crew on Tuvalu flag purse seiners. There are at least 30 positions available for fishing crew for contracts of one year or more. If the initial placements are successful there may be more opportunities on foreign flag vessels.
Responsibilities:
The recruiting agents will be responsible, among other duties, for:
• Liaising with the Fisheries Department to understand the work required and identify Tuvaluans who may have been trained for these positions (purse seiner crew training at TMTI);
• Selecting suitably qualified and motivated Tuvaluan citizens to take up these opportunities;
• Ensuring that all selected persons are medically fit and able to handle the physical work required;
• Ensuring that each employee understands their terms of employment and signs a contract with the employer;
• Liaising with employers to arrange travel for employees to take up their duties and ensuring that they are fully briefed on travel arrangements, have all necessary documents and visas and depart on schedule;
• Maintaining contact with employees while they are overseas and bringing any issues to the attention of their employers and/or the Government of Tuvalu as appropriate;
• Receiving monthly remittance payments from the employer, and ensuring that these are credited immediately to the bank accounts of nominated dependents in Tuvalu;
• Facilitating the repatriation of employees at the end of their assignments, or earlier in the event of an emergency.
Requirements:
Essential:
Recruitment agents must:
i. have a registered company which is wholly owned by one or more Tuvaluan nationals – please provide a Company Registration certificate;
ii. demonstrate, by providing a bank statement or other evidence, that they have the necessary financial resources to run the company – please provide a bank statement or bank letter showing that you have at least $10,000 in your account or can obtain a loan of this amount to start the business;
iii. have basic office facilities including good international communications – please provide a photograph of the building or room you will use as an office;
iv. have experience of recruiting staff – please explain in your EOI your experience of staff recruitment (e.g. ‘I have run my own company for 5 years and recruited the 10 staff that work for me’.);
v. have a good command of English.
Desirable:
vi. experience of recruiting and placing seamen on foreign ships – please explain if you have this experience and how you got it (e.g. “I worked for a crewing agency in Tarawa for four years and we placed 120 crew on foreign vessels.”;
vii. understanding of, and contacts with, Korean and/or Taiwanese tuna fishing companies;
viii. knowledge of employment law and regulations relevant to this area.
Expressions of Interest
If you are interested in this opportunity, please submit an Expression of Interest in writing to the acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries and Trade, by 23rd February. Your EOI should explain how you and your company meets the requirements listed above and provide the supporting documents mentioned above. You should also provide an indication of the recruitment charges that you propose to levy on the employer – either as a dollar amount or as a % of crew costs. Any charges or deductions from employees in exchange for arranging their employment are not permitted.