Bermuda College should be the preference for technical education above overseas institutions, the new executive officer of the National Training Board (NTB) said yesterday.

Pandora Glasford, former vice president of human resources at ACE, told a press conference: "I'm keen on looking at Bermuda as the first choice."

Mrs. Glasford, 45, of Pembroke, replaces Michael Stowe, who stepped down as executive officer of the NTB last September.

Mr. Stowe said then he was optimistic that the college's role would grow and play a significant part in technical training, after a decline over the years in the number of students sent there by the NTB.

Last September, the NTB had 78 apprentices – 18 of them studying overseas and the remainder at Bermuda College. There were also about 40 technical scholarship students abroad.

Mrs. Glasford said she would have to step down from her role as deputy chairman of Bermuda College.

A 1982 graduate of the college, she has been on its board of governors for the past five years.

@$:Labour Minister David Burch said yesterday: "Mr. Stowe led the NTB from its inception. Thanks to his efforts the National Training Board is now well established as a key component of this Government's workforce development initiatives.

"Today, I want to publicly thank him for his energy and commitment. That said, I am pleased to announce another chapter in the NTB story."

Senator Burch said Mrs. Glasford had a wealth of private sector experience combined with voluntary service in the public sector.

"The National Training Board is honoured that Mrs. Glasford has chosen to join us," he added. "She is a fearless leader in her own right with a puritan-like work ethic and we will need those qualities in the months to come.

"It is anticipated that the year ahead will present us with some challenges in the workforce landscape. We expect that Mrs. Glasford will be an integral part of the team as we look to introduce new and innovative ways in training Bermudians.

"We look forward to working with her as we seek to provide to the Bermudian public greater opportunities for training, apprenticeship and certification for tradespersons."