A task force has called for a fresh approach to workforce development in Bermuda that would “connect people to jobs and jobs to people”.

The five Bermudians urged the Government to focus on creating career-development pathways and providing the necessary funding and access to advanced education and training opportunities for “trending occupations”.

They also proposed new draft policies that would redirect skill and interest gaps to meet labour market demands and realign the island’s workforce development system.

Jason Hayward, president of the Bermuda Public Services Union, Pandora Glasford and Judy Teart from the Department of Workforce Development, Tawana Flood from Bermuda College and LeVar Bassett from the Department of Education spent ten days in the United States in February as part of an International Visitor Leadership Programme.

They travelled to seven cities and visited a range of educational and training facilities, and have now formulated a report outlining a series of recommendations to improve the island’s workforce-development system. They hope to use the 14-page report to form the foundation of further stakeholder meetings in Bermuda.

“We want to translate what we have learnt and seen into something tangible in Bermuda,” Mr Hayward said. “We hope this report can form the basis of how we move forward.”

The group say that implementing its recommendations would help the island improve its workforce-development policies and programmes.

Mr Hayward said: “I am confident that if the Minister for Home Affairs or policymakers went on this study programme and came back here they would draft new workforce-development policies. There is no way you can be exposed to that and recognise the problems and come back home and not do anything. They would recognise our system can be improved and they would instruct technical officers to draft new law.”

Mr Bassett, added: “It wouldn’t to necessarily have to mirror the US system, but we could grasp the pieces that best suited our needs.”

The IVLS programme was sponsored by the US Department of State in conjunction with the US Consulate in Bermuda and allowed the five participants to visit Washington DC as well as cities in Michigan and North Carolina.

The study programme gave the quintet unprecedented access to more than 20 organisations that provide workforce-development initiatives in the United States.

“One of the key areas that resonated with all of us was that with their federal legislation comes federal funding,” Ms Glasford said.

“Their programmes in the US are very successful because they have very good support from Government.”

Mr Bassett added: “There needs to be a re-education of what workforce development is in Bermuda. In the US there was a clear framework as far down as the middle schools.”

The group’s recommendations call for the development and implantation of a comprehensive youth employment strategy that focuses on bridge programmes and education to job strategies.

They also propose expanding work experience programmes and restructuring the summer student programme to align with current and future job market demands. Strengthening the role of Bermuda College in the workforce development system and creating a National Workforce Development Plan are among a series of other proposals put forward.

Mr Hayward said: “Throughout the programme every time we visited a different place we saw opportunities that existed for Bermuda. What we saw can serve as benchmarks if we really focus on workforce development.”