industry turned out on Wednesday night at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute for an opportunity to grill some of the Island's home grown talent.

They got a chance to shoot questions about future careers at ten Bermudian panelists, all of whom work in the local insurance and reinsurance industry.

Bermuda Insurance Institute young members career committee chairperson Lorene Phillips said many of the students were surprised at the variety of backgrounds needed by the industry. The committee organised the forum.

"I was extremely encouraged by the interest in the event,'' she said. "We wanted to show you didn't need to have a business degree, although that helps.

We wanted to show the industry requires a lot of skill sets -- maths majors, lawyers, engineers, and those in information technology. There is wide scope in the industry.'' Ms Phillips was speaking from experience. She said she gained entry into the insurance industry because she was lucky enough to find someone who fostered her ambitions.

"When I started the industry was very closed in terms of getting information,'' she said. "We wanted to make the industry more accessible to students to help them develop networking and mentoring relationships so that they can get into the industry. I think its a key.'' Panelists such as David Cash of Centre Solutions, Joseph Rego of Aon Ltd., Catherine Duffy of Zurich Global Energy, and Sheila E. Nicoll of J&H Marsh McLennan were examples of Bermudians making a success in the industry.

"More and more Bermudians are doing well and they need to be seen and to interact with other Bermudians,'' Ms Phillips said. "We now have a group of Bermudians who want to give something back.'' BUSINESS BUC