initiatives for changing the work permit process. Some make eminent sense; others will worry many business operators dependent on overseas expertise.

Ms Cox readily admits that any Minister responsible for Immigration is caught on the horns of a dilemma.

She must protect the rights of Bermudians and their reasonable desires for advancement, while ensuring that companies, both local and international, have the staff they need to be competitive and to grow.

She must do this against the background of a job market in which there are approximately 8,000 more jobs than there are adult Bermudians to do them; the refusal of some employers to recognise the value of Bermudian employees; and the contrasting sense of entitlement among some Bermudians that they should receive jobs or advancement regardless of qualifications or ability.

There is also a political aspect to this. The Progressive Labour Party, while in Opposition, spent years accusing the then-Government of approving work permits willy-nilly and depriving Bermudians of their birthright.

Rightly or wrongly, some of the mud stuck and feelings of resentment contributed to the defeat of the "pro-business'' United Bermuda Party and the elevation of the PLP to Government in 1998. Now the PLP must deliver on its promises.

Ms Cox has stated that all work permit applications will now go the Immigration Board for approval whereas under the previous Government as many as 60 to 70 percent were dealt with administratively.

That change, she said, was made to prevent "special favours to special interests''. The board now reviews all applications, thus putting an end to that risk, but it also means many routine renewals and routine first-time applications now take weeks or months to be processed.

If a company needs a nuclear physicist and no Bermudian applies for the job, it would seem to make sense for the permit to be approved without wasting the board's time.

Stringent application of the law across the board is no bad thing; it needs to be done with an understanding of the needs of all parties.

Some of Ms Cox's proposals for changes are sensible. Cutting down on paperwork is a main thrust and should cut some delays. Incentives, in terms of no increase in work permit fees where there is effective training in place rewards companies committed to training Bermudians, while not depriving them of trained non-Bermudians they still need.

More controversially, Ms Cox says a limit -- known at the time the work permit is first issued -- on the length of time non-Bermudians will be allowed to work in Bermuda is being proposed, although the time frame has not been fixed.

Ms Cox has stated that these limits will not apply to key personnel in an organisation, but by this she presumably means chief executives and the like.

Defining who is key and who is not will be a massive task for companies and Government.

The limit could be a disadvantage where a company comes to value the efforts of a particular employee highly; this could be a good chef, a top insurance underwriter, a superb gardener or an inspiring teacher, all of whom make major contributions to the Island.

Increasing training, reducing the length of time non-Bermudians may work on the Island, and raising work permit fees based on the length of time that a person has been on the Island are all laudable aims for ensuring Bermudians have a fair chance at jobs on the Island.

But implementing the changes while retaining the confidence of companies that they will be able to compete in the global marketplace -- and with the Internet, all markets are global -- will be difficult.

Ms Cox needs to ensure that the changes are fair and do not create new problems while solving old ones.