Chief executives at the HWP Group spent tens of thousands of dollars to train employees for roles in management, and have received a hearty pat on the back from the Minister of Labour and Immigration for their efforts.

?First class,? said Minister Derrick Burgess. ?First class?.

The HWP Group in Pembroke sent 21 employees through a six-month management course hosted at the Bermuda College in partnership with the Centre for Professional and Career Education (PACE).

Yesterday at the HWP automobile showroom in Pembroke, the group was given graduation certificates in General Management from the American Management Institute.

?Yeah, I?ll try it.? That was the response from Raymond Raynor when his boss introduced the idea of a management course.

The 36-year-old had already been a delivery man, an appliance technician and now was a supervisor in the HWP Home Centre warehouse.

So manager should have been a natural next step. The only problem was ? Mr. Raynor never really envisioned himself in such a role, he certainly didn?t foresee himself back in a classroom.

?Because when I went school it was more of a trade school. This was completely different for me.?

The students took five courses under subject titles like finance and accounting, project management and writing a business plan. These classes presented problems for Mr. Raynor that he couldn?t solve with his hands, which is what he usually does.

?I got through it,? he said with a smile. ?I surprised myself to tell you the truth.?

Twenty-two employees started the programme and 21 graduated, according to HWP chief operating officer Alan Brooks.

He believes the $80,000 investment on the part of the company will come back immeasurably.

?What you may get back from it is unquantifiable,? he said. ?You cannot put a price on an education.

?It?s the bedrock of individual and corporate progress.?

In Mr. Raynor?s case, he hadn?t shown his own initiative for management training but jumped at the chance when the idea was presented to him.

That?s a critical fact said Minister Burgess because without the company?s initiative, capable employees don?t advance.

?I think it?s on the companies. They?re keeping pace with competition worldwide. So they know, and they should know, what needs to be done to keep pace,? Mr. Burgess pointed out.

The HWP Group has 183 workers who help the company sell cars, cycles, appliances and operate gas stations.

This is the first time it used the Bermuda College and PACE to educate its workforce.

Mr. Brooks vows it won?t be the last, especially since he took the class along with his employees.

?As new managers and potential managers come through, we?d like to place them on this course so that we?ve got a standard we can maintain throughout the whole management chart,? he said.

The Bermuda College/American Management Association graduates are: Steven Bean, Alan Brooks, Deborah Burgess, Craig Earls, Andrew Hill, Danny Johnson, Tom Nelmes, Michael Rawlins, Raymond Raynor, Preston Reeves, John Richardson, Lorin Rubaine, John Simons, Carneal Smith, Lorna Taylor, Lemuel Tyrrell, Marvin Washington, Jonathan Watts, Carla Webb, Michelle Wilkinson and Wesley Wilson.