The Annual Youth Harvesting Conference in conjunction with YouthNews was organised to break new ground for Bermuda's youth. It allowed them to rationally consider all options that are available to them, such as scholarships, careers and choosing the right colleges including Bermuda's very own Bermuda College.

The presentation on the Hospitality sector was considered the best overall, while Warwick Academy student Katrina Smith was recognised for writing the best personal statement and received a standing ovation from both her peers and the judges.

The participants in the two-day conference, sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ariel Re, came from nine local senior schools and totalled 100 hand-picked pupils. The conference was held on September 23 and 24 from 8.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and students worked vigorously at the headquarters of the XL Group on Bermudiana Road.

Day One of the conference included a wide array of presentations giving an overview of the purpose of the conference and the objective. Once students arrived, they were immediately placed into groups, to integrate the students from the schools and to allow them to make new friends.

There were also two main initiatives that were to be completed by the end of the conference. Those initiatives were that students must create a personal statement as to why they should represent the country in the UN on an all-expenses-paid trip, and students along with their groups must create a thorough presentation explaining a career sector.

The conference opened with a welcome speech from the director and organiser Ms Sarah Lapsley. Students then reported to different rooms on the ground floor of XL. Students began working on personal statements, as they were due at 2 p.m. on Day One; students learned the importance of prioritisation. Following that, the students slowly began to build a résumé/curriculum vitae.

The last objective was to jointly create a presentation on the career sector they were placed with, ranging from Hospitality, Law, Trades and Accounting. Day One closed with celebrating the day's successes and outlining the mechanisms available to students and a brief of what Day Two would entail.

The second day of the conference consisted of students finalising their group presentations, which would be presented before a panel of judges that afternoon. Students worked furiously as the demand of time crunched. Each group varying in the presentation method, all were portraying the same idea. The day went by quickly and students got a taste of what demands are like in the work world. In the final session students reported back to the main meeting room and made their presentation to the judges and their peers. This wrecked up the nerves of some and for others it was their time to shine! Each group did well all having strengths and weakness in different areas. But there could only be one winner and that was the Hospitality team.

The conference at XL Capital gave students an excellent insight into taking the right steps to have a successful future. It also gave them a vital opportunity to plan future actions together. It is hoped that students will take this with them as they grow and join the workforce.