Dear Sir,

After high school it is in the interest of most teenagers to try to take advantage of mass opportunities by going to study abroad.

We spend the majority of our time earning degrees to qualify us in the line of work we are interested in.

College students and their families spend a lot of money to maintain international status for approximately four years only to come back to Bermuda and have difficulty finding employment in one’s chosen field.

I am a university student in the United States, obtaining a master’s degree because it seems as though a higher level of education is important to obtain a careered job.

This is a struggle, especially now because of the Government’s budget cut, in particular hiring freezes.

Locals that already have positions in Government jobs are potentially at risk for losing their jobs due to Government’s budget cuts.

This piques my interest because as an international student, I am concerned there will not be fair opportunities for returning students who have earned a four-year degree in their chosen field.

Hiring freezes mean no jobs to come back to.

Due to cutting the cost of Government’s budget which takes effect in March/April 2015, I believe the unemployment rates will increase based on the hiring freezes.

Returning students will potentially be forced to be underemployed or unemployed as we will not be fully able to utilise our earned degrees in our desired fields.

The budget cuts not only will affect citizens that are currently employed prior to this statement.

In addition, it will affect the returning students who are working hard to obtain degrees in an economy with an increasing unemployment rate.

ANGELÉ SMITH