Hoping to be the company that will take over the operation of Bermuda's Civil Air Terminal from departing US forces, a large American aerospace firm has started a local search for qualified employees.

But the Minister of Management and Technology, whose department will oversee the numerous bids that are expected to be submitted, has told The Royal Gazette that such an action may be jumping the gun.

"It's a little premature because we may or may not ask them to bid,'' said the Hon. Grant Gibbons, who explained that all companies must first undergo a "pre-qualification screening'' before they are even allowed to tender an application.

"We won't accept proposals from just anyone who applies because we haven't got the manpower to go through the 30 or 50 bids we expect to receive,'' he said.

Nonetheless, a large American aerospace firm "with many different divisions and many different branches across the US'' has submitted advertising copy to The Royal Gazette in an effort to secure "personnel with experience'' in the area of Airport management.

Among the fields that the "Fortune 50'' company cites are FAA-certified air traffic controllers, meteorologists, crash and fire personnel, radar and radio technicians and civil engineers with Airport experience.

Also mentioned in the ad are sewage and water works personnel, lighting technicians and professionals in the areas of electronic security and closed-circuit television.

The company, which is not identified in the ad, lists an advertising agency in the Washington DC area to which applicants can send their resumes.

That firm, Nationwide Advertising of Columbia, Maryland, expected to hear from interested parties "within days,'' a representative said.

The ad, which calls for people "who would be interested in working and living in Bermuda,'' is not the first Airport-related move to be labelled premature by Sen. Gibbons.

Three weeks ago, a Canadian company was forced to deny that it "was close to signing a contract'' with the Ministry after two Toronto newspapers published stories on a visit to Bermuda by company officials.

The firm, Edmonton-based Frontec Logistics Corp., claimed the confusion was the result of a "slight misquote.'' By seeking to assemble its own list of potential employees, the American company may be trying to bolster its chances of ultimately winning the contract, which the Ministry said has attracted a great deal of interest among Canadian, US and European firms.

According to Sen. Gibbons, however, those firms will only be considered if they pass the initial screening, the "final specifications'' of which will be ready "by the last week in June.'' After that, bids will be tendered during the "first or second week of July,'' he said.

In the meantime, ads will be placed by the Ministry in various aviation magazines for those companies "who may not be aware that we are tendering bids and may want to be involved.''