An Island recruitment and professional services firm has promoted three Bermudian staff members to full partners.

And Doug Soares, managing director of Hamilton-based Expertise, predicted that better times for Bermuda were around the corner as he signalled an increase in staff numbers next year.

Mr Soares added that the decision to award Bermuda the America’s Cup series would also provide a boost for businesses across the Island — but warned it would take time for an increase in activity to translate into a major jobs boost.

He said: “The fact of the America’s Cup start-up will result in more employment opportunities in Bermuda starting in early 2015 — and we hope to provide services in relation to the Cup as well.

“It’s definitely better times ahead.”

Mr Soares added: “We added five additional people to our team here in Bermuda this year and we added 26 new clients this year as well.

“Some of the new clients are international business start-ups with a physical presence in Bermuda.”

Mr Soares was speaking as employees Claudia Philipsz-Jones, Malika Taylor and Jason Wakeford were promoted to partners and shareholders at the firm, which specialises in recruitment and outsourcing of services like human resources, training and payroll.

Managing director Doug Soares, who founded the firm with Belinda Chiaramonte in 1999, said: “They have all played a critical role in establishing Expertise as Bermuda’s preeminent professional services firm specialising in human resource management and business process outsourcing.”

Ms Chiaramonte added: “The promotion of Malika, Claudia and Jason is the culmination of sound succession planning and strengthens our leadership team at Expertise.

“Together we provide Bermuda’s most extensive group of management consulting professionals.”

Ms Philipsz-Jones will lead the human resources outsourcing and project consulting arm, with an emphasis on drumming up new business, while Ms Taylor head up recruitment services, including executive and temporary vacancies and Mr Wakeford will continue as chief financial officer and leader of the firm’s financial consulting and outsourced accounting services.

Mr Soares said that the firm, which now has a roster of more than 250 Bermuda-based clients and an office in the Philippines, clients, had already hired a Bermudian graduate and expected to take another one in the spring of next year, boosting staff numbers at the firm well over the 30 mark.

He added: “International business activity has picked up, confidence in 2013 picked up, but the confidence has now become more about jobs being created in Bermuda.

“We’re all seeing an upturn in new business.”

But he added: “The definition in talking about the recession ending is that most people would believe that it’s ended when unemployment becomes a solved problem.

“Unemployment in Bermuda is still very significant and in order to solve that problem we need some hotel developments to break ground.

“It’s going to take some time — two, three to four years — before we can see significant improvement in the unemployment situation.”