Leadership from the V.I. Labor Department Friday provided lawmakers on the Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee with an update on the territory’s workforce and the government programs meant to prepare Virgin Islanders to meet the territory’s towering labor needs.
During questioning, Sen. Hubert Frederick said the territory’s business community is leaning on the Labor Department to supply skilled workers. Noting that several businesses had recently announced temporary closures due to fears around the Trump administration’s stated antipathy toward undocumented workers, Frederick asked how the Labor Department planned to account for the shortfall.
“They shouldn’t be working anyway — we’re aware of that — but the point is, they were, and we need to fill the gap,” he said. “So, where are we?”
Molloy deferred to Workforce Development Director Charlene Hodge, who appeared to answer a different question.
“I’m sorry, but my question deals with your department preparing a workforce substitution for the workers that were recently … vanished from their current roles for businesses right now,” Frederick said. “What are you guys doing to help us replace or gain other workers that will help us out in the business community?”
Molloy said it depended on the industry.
“Every business in the Virgin Islands is expected to file their vacancies in the Virgin Islands Electronic Workforce system … and so once an employer has a vacancy, that’s the way that we know that you have needs,” he said.
Frederick pressed on, stating that members of the Legislature recently had difficulty securing hotel rooms on St. Thomas because the unnamed hotel or hotels didn’t have enough staff to prepare rooms.
Molloy reiterated that businesses have to report their vacancies, at which point the Labor Department refers to its bank of applicants and places eligible candidates in training.
“So it sounds convoluted, but it’s a lot simpler than it is once the business alerts us and does the posting,” he said.
The territory has boasted a relatively low unemployment rate in recent years. During his seventh State of the Territory Address, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said unemployment has remained below four percent for an “unprecedented” 14 consecutive months and even dropped to a “record-breaking” 2.9 percent at one point.
Those percentages only account for the number of Virgin Islanders who are actively seeking employment. Only half of the population fits that criteria.
In an interview with the Source last year, Molloy said the territory needed approximately 7,000 skilled workers to complete its myriad federally-funded disaster recovery projects.
Bryan acknowledged that job posts have outpaced the number of applicants and announced that a Virgin Islands Technical College will open in September 2025 to “address workforce shortages and provide residents with access to higher-paying careers,” giving territory high school students a way to graduate with two-year college degrees and certifications.
Senate Majority Leader Kurt Vialet, who chairs the committee, asked testifiers Friday how the territory could engage residents in key industries like construction.
“How are we getting out there to all those guys on the street that just cooling all day, doing … not a thing — I wanted to say something else — how are we hitting our population so that we don’t have to import a hundred Puerto Ricans? We have a large number of Venezuelans — and thank God they’re here — but how do we get our people to be able to enter into those fields,” he asked.
Molloy said his team had been through “every housing community in the territory at least three times — minimum” to recruit for Labor Department programs. Individuals are recruited for programs based on their interest, he said.
“I can tell you that throughout the territory, there’s not been too much interest in the St. Thomas-St. John district in the construction area,” he said. “The interest in the construction area has been in the St. Croix district.”
Lawmakers heard from the leadership of My Brother’s Workshop, the University of the Virgin Islands Center for Excellence in Leadership and Learning, and Crucian Heritage and Nature Tourism in the afternoon.
