“Bermuda Must Embrace Retraining”
Putting Bermudians back to work as the island emerges from the worst global recession in more than 80 years will require locals to either upgrade their existing skills or learn new ones, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Senator Kim Wilson this morning told the Senate (Dec.8).
The Minister said if Bermudians are to make themselves marketable during the worst period of economic hardship since the Great Depression of the 1930s, they will need to embrace training and retraining to stay competitive in the job market.
In a follow-up statement to her joint press conference with the Construction Association of Bermuda earlier this week, Sen. Wilson told her Senate colleagues the National Certification Programme introduced in 2009 allows Bermudians working in construction and related trades to continuously boost their skills or obtain new ones. She appealed to professionals in all trades to “accept the challenge of becoming competitive” and to enlist in the NCP programme.
The Minister’s full statement appears below:
Madam President, I am pleased to update Honourable Members on the status of the National Certification Programme. This update follows an appeal to construction industry professionals earlier this week, in conjunction with the Construction Association of Bermuda, to become fully engaged in the process of continuous learning.
Honourable Members will know that the National Certification Programme was introduced in April 2009 in accordance with the National Occupational Certification Act 2004.
Madam President, to date, 194 electricians have been recommended for National Certification. Between the months of June and November 2010, a total of 117 interviews were conducted.
Fifty-seven electricians have been recommended for a Full Licence (commercial and residential), 35 for a Limited Licence and 25 have been deferred or a recommendation has been made that a licence not be granted.
Industry Assessment Panel Assessors for electricians have observed that candidates are lacking in four main areas and therefore have recommended that the National Training Board, via the Bermuda College, provide specific industry related courses in the areas of:
AC/DC Basic Theory – Circuit Calculations
Load Calculations – Both Appliance and Motor Loads
Grounding and bonding; and
Transformer Training.
Madam President, to date, The National Training Board has granted national certification to 45 welders. The welders were tested during the last session in March 2010 and all have been certified to the American Welding Society AWSD standard for structural steel.
During the period December 6 to December 16, 2010, a welding instructor from the Hobart Institute of Welding Technology will conduct another round of testing for additional certifications in this area. Tests will be available for all categories of welders including those who work in the aluminum and stainless steel disciplines. The number of tests being administered during the period is expected to be 94. We look forward to positive results from all participants.
Madam President, I am pleased to report that the Occupational Advisory Committee has now agreed criteria for the assessment of Automotive Service Technicians and the assessment tool is now available.
There are a total of 47 Automotive Service technicians registered with the National Training Board and the process of National Certification for his category will commence in January, 2011.
Madam President, we are pleased with the progress that the Board is making in ensuring that Bermuda standards are raised to a higher level of competence.
I am again appealing to professionals in all trades to accept the challenge of becoming competitive.
My message is singular in focus – making ourselves marketable during this period, involves training and retraining if we are to stay competitive in the job market.
It should be our collective goal, Madam President, to have a community that is satisfied that all service providers in all industries make an effective contribution to Bermuda.
We endeavour to produce Madam President, a community that has a labour force adequately trained to meet the demands of the evolving economy.
Thank you Madam President.
If we are leaning to harder economic times, how is the average Bermudian who is falling on hard times now, going to be able to afford retraining. I understand that Bermuda College is offering free education, but you still have to pay for books. Also, who will take care of the children (for free) while the parents are in school? I applaud retraining but if these are hard economic times, who will have expandable cash to pay for additional courses when those monies can/will be used for food, rent, electric, etc?
They can train and offer for free all of the above. Structure and bussiness is/and or leaving. Just look at the stats supplied by Government.
Opening a new Technical School has merits but if people have no jobs or are just hanging on what differance does it make if we have 100% graduation from Motor Mechanics, Tech.Jobs et al.
What we gonna be…the GM of the Atlantic? The AIG of rolling waves?
We have no natrual resourses. Tourism, IB or back to farming. Oops….nothing left. It’s either soiled, contaminated, leased or about to be………………….
The PLP need to step up. Then again, times are tough everywhere except on Marthas Vineyard and TCI……………………………………..
I think the encouragement of a culture towards education and professional development for all sectors, especially those historically adverse or not always included in it, is overall beneficial to Bermuda’s long term economic development. Although the economy has its challenges, entrepreneurship is another strong and important, although smaller, segment of Bermuda’s economy. The ideas of self-determination that accompany moves towards self-empowerment will help to create more businesses and thus more jobs, independent of the international business moves on the island, but at the same time able to feed off of these institutions that are locally domiciled.
This is how modern society is working; training, qualifications and professional development to meet modern standards is the norm. Many Bermudians are not used to this world view and even more are hindered by attitudes of defeatism and entitlement mentalities. Nothing comes without sacrifice, and education, although a right, has a cost. For those that make the sacrifice, they will be able to reap the benefits.