The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and the Bahamas Hotel Association will provide 110 paid apprentice jobs for Bahamians as part of the government’s temporary-job program, starting Dec. 14.

The project will create 2,500 jobs that will last for six months, at which time 20 of the 110 apprentices will be offered full-time positions.

"This program will deliver the kind of valuable people in our sector that we know have been missing for some time," Minister of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace told the Nassau Guardian.

It also will put some people to work and "allows us to begin to develop a pool of people we can call upon to fill vacant jobs," he said.

The unemployment rate in the Bahamas currently stands at 14.2%, according to the Bahamas Department of Economic Statistics.

In addition to the ministry of tourism, hotels, restaurants, attractions, ground tour operators, marinas and other tourism-related businesses will take on apprentices.

During the six months, apprentices will be paid the established minimum wage of $210 per week.

Applicants must be between 18 and 30 years of age and computer literate. Applications are available at www.tourismtoday.com/apprentice.