Well-paid jobs in the gleaming office blocks of Hamilton’s booming business sector and life-long careers in service industries such as plumbing, car maintenance and beauty treatment with qualifications that open the door to overseas careers are within the grasp of Bermudians.

But frustratingly many are not taking charge of their lives and career goals to realise the potential they can achieve by training or re-training on the Island.

Academic Eugenie Simmons want to change that mindset to better the lives of Bermudians and strengthen the long-term prospects of the Island should the present booming economy face challenges in the future.

Dr. Simmons believes those challenges will come, possibly within ten years or so.

That is why she feels Bermuda must raise its game now and improve the workplace skill-sets of its people to stay ahead.

She and her colleagues are in a position to do something about, at least as far as ensuring Bermuda stays competitive with a population that has internationally recognised qualifications to work in administrative support and service industries.

Dr. Simmons is overseeing a drive to train Bermudians to fill mid-level careers within the international business sector and, should they need to, transfer those skills to other sectors or even overseas.

The Island’s economy has just been given a glowing rating from top three economic analyst Standard & Poor’s, and along with economic data showing a $92 million improvement in Bermuda’s current account surplus the indications are the Island is producing a skilled labour force, through a mixture of imported workers and home-grown talent, to maintain its powerful international business and tourism economies.

But there is plenty to be done to maintain that position and reduce dependency on overseas workers to fill jobs, especially mid-level positions that could be secured by trained Bermudians.

One hurdle Dr. Simmons faces is getting more people to recognise they can take control of their lives and their future careers through training at Bermuda College’s PACE (professional and career education) programme.

Highlighting the difficulty, she points out there are guest workers stepping-up to improve their qualifications by sacrificing seven or eight months to go through a college course leading to an international qualification, but there is a distinct lack of Bermudians doing the same.

Changing the “mindset” of many Bermudians is part of her goal, and she is focused on getting the message out about what is on offer for those who aspire to bettering their career prospects.

She said: “We have never given credence to the fact the economy has changed over the years and the skill-set has changed.

“We know we need doctors, lawyers and accountants. But we have to look at how many we can produce in a population of this size.

“And because our economy is inflated it requires specialists that a standard population cannot statistically produce.”

Dr. Simmons sees PACE as being the conduit for aspiring Bermudians to train or re-train so they have the necessary qualifications to step into international business and take on mid-level careers such as administrators, technicians, and within customer service.

“If we are going to utilise all Bermuda, if we are going to have a fully engaged workforce, we have to send out a message about the value of these skills,” she said.

The average age of students at Bermuda College is late 20s and early 30s.

The college evolved from the former technical school, however the academic liberal arts continue to take precedence within its classrooms.

PACE has a goal of delivering education and instruction for technical skills. Dr. Simmons believes flaws in the educational policies of Bermuda over the past 30 years are only now tailing off.

She said: “Employers see there is a deficit and a necessity to have a trained workforce. Increasingly we are working with the industry sectors to provide training to meet the needs of the workplace.”

Eventually she would like to see PACE break free from the college and become a stand-alone entity, possibly with its own campus.

It has already moved some way along that road, although it attracts Government funding and is also required to cover costs.

One message Dr. Simmons wants to get out is that, with the Government funding, there is no reason for anyone not to come to the college and PACE, she said: “Anyone who is interested in upgrading or getting credentials should not stay away because of a lack of money or because they have been out of school (for some time).”

Bermuda College and PACE offer international qualifications recognised across the Commonwealth, in Europe and many US states, from City and Guilds courses in hairdressing and beauty therapy, to plumbing, vehicle maintenance and business sector education via CPA (certified public accountants) courses and CMA (certified management accountant) courses.

All courses are kept under constant review to check on their relevance.

Tutors are mostly industry-based professionals “on top of their game” who give students an extra edge.

The biggest challenge is to get Bermudians to see the bigger picture, according to Mrs. Simmons, explaining: “As a community we have become overly reliant on protectionist policies, such as work permits. There is a lot of informal learning that needs to take.”

Overcoming the mind-set of some Bermudians is one challenge PACE faces.

As an example Dr. Simmons mentions that whereas some ex-pat workers have sacrificed time to study for better qualifications by enrolling on PACE courses lasting seven of eight months there has been a lower uptake by Bermudians.

“That is a concern and a mindset that we have to overcome,” said Dr. Simmons, warning the Island’s current economic ascendancy may be challenged in future years by other countries learning from the Bermudian model, copying it and improving on it.

“Bermudians travel frequently but they are not generally world travellers. They tend to go to the eastern States of the US.

“We are not aware of how other jurisdictions are catching and passing Bermuda,” she said.

“In ten years’ time Bermuda will caught by some of the places down south because they are using Bermuda as a template.”

The higher educational attainment of some of those Islands shows they could soon challenge Bermuda and attract international business their way, she warns.