Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Well-known contractor encourages hiring locals on projects after 'pleasant surprise'

Well-known contractor encourages hiring locals on projects after 'pleasant surprise'

Co-owner of Autland Heavy Equipment Company Limited Dion Crabbe, is urging contractors to consider hiring locals to work at construction projects.

Crabbe made the call at a recent contract-signing ceremony where the Recovery & Development Agency awarded his company a $2,208,098.48 contract for rehabilitation works to the Long Bush water system.

“More of the contractors need to consider using some of the local guys that are here, instead of just passing them on the side because you really don’t know what you are going to get,” he said.


Surprised by work from locals

Crabbe’s sentiments follow rehabilitative works his company executed on the Carrot Bay water system. At the time of being awarded that contract, he had promised Premier Andrew Fahie that he would employ locals from within the First District community to work on the project.

After hiring a few locals for the project as was promised, Crabbe said he was astonished by the work ethic displayed by the young locals.

“As BVIslanders sometimes we tend to look past our counterparts, the people from the BVI because of the stigma that has already been created based on how they look, what they do, how they hang out. But I would say that we have started the Carrot Bay project and I was pleasantly surprised by the individuals that we engaged from the Carrot Bay area.”

“If I had seen these men on the road, I wouldn’t have considered putting them up there (on the project), but those guys have done an excellent job. Something as simple as bringing their own tool on site we take for granted. I’m extremely impressed with what’s happened so far,” he added.


Autland mentoring young professionals

Crabbe further said Autland intends to engage and employ more locals throughout the various districts on several of their future projects.

He said it is part of his company’s goal to build capacity within the BVI, which will go a long way in helping the territory to continue to advance and develop.

“We actually have a mentoring programme in place with younger contractors, so you would be seeing more individuals getting involved with our projects because we do understand capacity is an issue in the BVI, we are only so big,” the contractor said.

“It’s in our best interest to partner with more locals and individuals so that in the future when you have a very big project, instead of outsourcing, we can actually team up and participate together in being awarded certain contracts,” Crabbe further explained.

The unemployment rate in the BVI has risen since the advent of COVID-19. At least 767 persons in the territory have been laid off so far. Another 165 persons have been terminated, the Labour Department has reported.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×