Students have been getting their first taste of working life thanks to a new partnership set up between Ace Group and Bermuda College.

The partnership was officially launched in October 2008 and members of the insurance company and the College met up at a luncheon hosted at Ace's offices yesterday to discuss how the project has been going, get an update on its progress and hear about the 2009 strategy.

Among the representatives present at the event, were Rees Fletcher, president and CEO of Ace Bermuda, who gave a welcome speech, including background and partnership objectives, Lori Samson, chief administration officer of Ace Ltd., who spoke about the work of the partnership, and Dr. Duranda Greene, president of Bermuda College, who talked of the plan for this year and the ways Ace can support it.

That was followed by a questions and answers session and Lisa Harvey Swan, senior vice-president and director of human resources, wrapped up the debate with some closing remarks.

Mr. Fletcher said that Ace and Bermuda College had joined forces to develop a programme of activities to equip students with the information and skills needed to become the future workforce of Bermuda, with the educational partnership aligning their skills sets with work to help them understand the connection between their studies and the workplace and prepare them for a successful career.

Ms Samson highlighted the areas where Ace could and, indeed, had already been providing support to the College, including mentoring, student tours, networking and student internship and work shadowing opportunities, as well as the links between the two, such as the 50 graduates who now work at the insurer.

She explained that the partnership was a natural progression of Ace's commitment to education through initiatives like the summer internship programme, the Madeline Joell Nest Egg Fund, the Robert Clements scholarship and its annual career fair and revealed that the company was reviewing the terms of a new Ace/bermuda College draft scholarship to allow students to continue their higher education overseas under the College's articulation agreement.

One such example of the Bermuda College graduates/Ace Robert Clements scholarship recipient was Tyler Owen, who was recently accepted into Ace's international underwriter trainee programme and will start employment in the professional lines division of Ace USA in New York in May, while one student was offered a 10-week internship position and another one was being considered for the summer internship programme, said Ms Samson.

Meanwhile she reported that Bermuda College students also took part in an insurance orientation programme together with students from the Barney School of Business/University of Hartford interested in the insurance and financial services fields, with Ace managers giving a half-day overview session of underwriting, reinsurance, accounting, finance and human resources at the company, led by Ace executive vice-president and Bermuda College and University of Hartford graduate Patrick Tannock.

"We have started to work with the academic staff at the College to develop activities that will help clarify the alignment of academics with the work place and help students make the connection between the subjects they study and the workplace they will eventually enter," said Ms Samson.

Dr. Greene said Bermuda College should be considered the first step to higher education on the Island, whether students were going overseas to study or continuing their education in Bermuda.

She said the College would also be hosting a panel discussion next month on teritiary and four-year status at the College.