College for not caving in to pressure to reduce its standards.

Speaking at the College's annual commencement ceremony at the Anglican Cathedral, Mr. Brock told the 176 graduates: "You are justified in being proud because you are graduating from a college which has made excellence a hallmark''.

The Bermuda Monetary Authority chairman said he was dismayed at a number of "influential'' people who a few months ago called for the college to lower its admission requirements.

"We are living in a world which is becoming more and more competitive,'' the head of Government's Commission on Competitiveness said.

"There are many, many other destinations which are competing with Bermuda for tourists and for international businesses. The only way we can continue to compete successfully in this environment is to improve constantly the quality of the service we offer to tourists and to international businesses,'' said Mr. Brock, a former deputy chief general manager of the Bank of N.T.

Butterfield.

"This means that we must improve standards of education and training, not lower them.'' He said students would reap the benefits of having attended a college which has high standards.

"However,'' he added, "you have a responsibility to help your alma mater resist the calls to lower their standards so that future generations of students will have the same opportunity you have had.'' Mr. Brock, who served in Government as a school principal and as Permanent Secretary of Education and later Finance, also urged graduates who had not yet decided on a career, to find out the needs of the business community first and choose a career in which they could find a job.

"Whilst bright Bermudian students are undergoing training in areas where there are few available jobs,'' he said, "employers must look overseas for qualified staff in job categories where they are desperately needed to enable Bermuda to provide quality service to our clients in tourism and international business.''