Young Bermudians have the chance to align their education with their future careers this week by taking advantage of the 2005 Careers Fair at the Bermuda College.

The ACE Global Headquarters will today host some 150 Bermudian students ? complete with their own business cards which were fancy enough to leave Education Minister Terry Lister envious ? at a networking event allowing them to meet face to face with Bermuda?s business community.

Businesses of all shapes and sizes, from large insurance companies to hairdressers and plumbers, will be at the event and available to speak with the students as they practice their networking skills.

?There is still no substitute for face to face interaction when it comes to networking,? Mr. Lister noted yesterday.

Tomorrow, more than 80 businesses have signed up for the Careers Fair at the Bermuda College, he said ? an event which ACE Foundation director Ralph Richardson and Bank of Bermuda CEO Philip Butterfield hoped would help students plan their education to directly benefit their career.

Responding to concerns raised by executive director of the Bermuda Careers Centre Derek Smith on Tuesday that Bermudian students are not choosing the education which will allow them to find a job in Bermuda, Mr. Butterfield said yesterday that businesses in Bermuda need intellectual diversity.

?Someone who may have done a degree in philosophy or psychology has the intellectual capacity to do many things,? he said.

?Employers need to take accountability for locating that raw talent and developing it, and young people have to be open to them.?

However, both he and Bermuda College president Dr. Charles Green noted, academic credentials which do align with a future career path are obviously beneficial ? and that was where they hoped the 2005 Careers Fair would enable students to make better informed choices.

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