Three new schemes to develop young talent will be investments in the future of Bermuda, the Premier said yesterday.

David Burt announced the programmes, to benefit ten young people at a cost of about $70,000, in line with a Throne Speech pledge last year.

He said the Government had committed to the creation of opportunities for the island’s youth and a Cabinet Office programme would base young people in London, Brussels and Washington DC to shadow

Bermuda’s representatives.

This would be bolstered by a revived internship scheme at the heart of the Government to prepare fresh talent for careers in public service.

Mr Burt said yesterday: “We will launch a Department of Workforce Development enhanced programme.

“The top five undergraduate summer student applicants will be nominated from this programme and assigned to the Cabinet Office to work on significant projects in the area of policy and strategy in the delivery of government’s initiatives.”

The students will be given the chance to work in areas that match their interests or studies from June until the end of August.

The Premier said: “Secondly, there will be a summer internship programme, which will see three postgraduate or master’s degree candidates assigned to our overseas offices.

“This attachment will be for up to 12 weeks, providing invaluable experience in an international setting.

“These are exciting times to be in the world’s leading political and business centres and this experience will be of great benefit to these students and to Bermudians.”

The young people taking part in the two internship programmes will be paid $1,000 a week.

Mr Burt said that if the island’s Washington DC office was still closed in the summer, participants in the scheme would work alongside Bermuda’s lobbyists in the US capital.

The Premier will open the Government’s Brussels office next Friday after a trip to Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum annual meeting.

Mr Burt said last February that a Bermuda presence in the Belgian capital, the heart of the European Union, would cut the cost of consultants.

He said yesterday that the uncertainty around Britain’s decision to quit the EU meant it was “more vital than ever” that Bermuda had direct representation in Europe.

The third programme will see two “leadership scholars” drawn from the top pupils at the Berkeley Institute and CedarBridge Academy join island representatives at the Caribbean Community Heads of Government meeting later this year.

Mr Burt said the young people would travel with the government team and “experience first-hand the critical meetings and discussions” that take place.

The visit will also offer links to higher education institutions and fellow students.

The Premier added: “By providing these opportunities we will lay the groundwork for encouraging young people to choose careers within the public service and will similarly provide diverse summer student opportunities for Bermudian students at the secondary and tertiary levels.

“This government promised to create the conditions that will set Bermudians on a path to success. These experiences will make the young men and women who participate better employees, more strategic-thinking public servants, and, most importantly, better citizens.”

Mr Burt was joined by Glenisha Simmons and Derek Lamb, government officials who came through a previous Cabinet Office internship programme, as he announced the new schemes.