work permits.

As she noted on Tuesday, she has to ensure businesses get the staff they need to compete while ensuring Bermudians get the opportunities for jobs and promotions that they deserve.

This is not easy. Everyone has heard of a non-Bermudian who was kept in a job when there is a capable and qualified Bermudian right there. And everyone has heard of a Bermudian who was appointed or promoted to a position which was beyond their capabilities.

Almost every Bermudian recognises that Bermuda cannot function without non-Bermudians. And almost every business recognises the benefits and importance of hiring, training and promoting Bermudians.

That is the background against which Ms Cox has set the new work permit policy. Almost everyone concerned understands the basic problems; setting fair policy is more a matter of degree.

Ms Cox's policy -- work permits, from now, will last for six years, with a broad range of exceptions -- is aimed at solving two problems.

One is long term residents. If you set a cap on work permits, Bermuda will not have any long term residents. End of problem.

The other is what could be described as job description creep, where a job requires more experience and longer qualifications the longer the non-Bermudian is here. By setting a cap on job tenure, that is no longer a problem either.

But the policy must also deal with the issues of companies who depend on experienced non-Bermudians. Ms Cox acknowledged that the Ministry will never refuse to renew the work permit of a chief executive officer or specialist.

But what about the restaurant which has a tremendous (non-Bermudian) waiter or chef? Or the gardener who works miracles, where his replacement's skills, Bermudian or otherwise, begin and end with enthusiastic but inaccurate machete-wielding? There, Ms Cox seems to be saying, the decision will be taken based on the good corporate citizenship of the company.

Companies which can demonstrate a strong record of training and promoting Bermudians will be considered more favourably than those which cannot. Clear and correct job descriptions and submitting properly completed work permit applications are the final criteria. These companies will be further rewarded by having their applications expedited.

Ms Cox and her staff have, as Chamber of Commerce president Cris Valdes-Dapena said, strived to meet the demands surrounding permits.

But the policy will struggle because it allows exceptions. "Good corporate citizenship'' will be in the eye of the beholder.

Making exceptions will be fraught with difficulties and could, in attempting to please everyone, please no-one.