Island needs foreign workers.

And he said Immigration officials and international business should work together.

The remarks came during Thursday night's PLP forum entitled "The Challenges and Opportunities of Immigration and Labour Policies'' at the Bermuda College.

Brian Duperreault, CEO of ACE Ltd., argued international business should not totally "Bermudianise''.

"We shouldn't totally Bermudianise international business,'' he said. "We should be allowed to bring in experts to develop a diverse work force. It is in the best interest for Bermudians to encourage a diverse mix.'' And Mr. Duperreault said there should be a partnership between international business and the Immigration department.

Mr. Duperreault was joined by panelists Leleath Bailey, of the Bermuda Public Service Association, the Bermuda College's Dr. Donald Peters and Corange Ltd.'s Adolf Luttke to discuss issues like training, employment opportunities and immigration policies.

After pointing out that Bermudians made up 75 percent of ACE's work force, Mr.

Duperreault admitted some firms did not make enough effort to hire Bermudians.

And for those companies that did not make an effort to recruit and employ locals, he said a quota programme might help.

He also suggested Bermudians should seek educational training and international experience.

"A Masters in Business Administration adds to an individual's chance,'' Mr.

Duperreault said "And international experience is an asset as well.'' Mr. Luttke reminded the audience that the international business and tourism industries were "intertwined''.

He said it should not be suggested to people that there was a "two horse race'' between the two industries.

"Business can not alone support the infrastructure of the Island,'' he added.

"We cannot make up for what tourism is failing to bring in.'' Noting that tourism employed almost five times as many people than international business, Mr. Luttke said young people had to be urged to take pride in joining the hospitality industry.

But for those interested in pursuing a career in international business, Mr.

Luttke said that future jobs will be more technical than ever.

He speculated that actuaries and other specialists would be in demand, but warned that future trends were difficult to predict.

To help prepare for the future, Mr. Luttke suggested establishing a `mechanism' to keep track of employment demands.

"It is paramount for those who design the school curriculum to keep in close contact with business,'' he said.

And he called for programmes that stimulated young students in maths and sciences since few locals apply for scholarships or awards in those fields.

The Bermuda College's Dr. Peters told the audience that American experts predicted that by the year 2010, a high school diploma alone will be useless.

"It is important that every student prepares for college,'' he said. "if not, they will be left out of the loop.'' To avoid the problem of students returning from college abroad and being unable to find a job, Dr. Peters suggested that they do some research before choosing a school.

He said students should make sure the colleges were accredited and should research the job market so they could choose appropriate majors .

And he recommended that students obtain a post-graduate degree.

Dr. Peters also informed the audience about a new programme at the College called the Best Step programme for those who either dropped out of school or were considered students "at risk''.

"The first group will consist of 40,'' he said. "We will monitor them for two years to see how they are doing.'' BUSINESS BUC