Funding For Accounting Certifications Available

Good afternoon,

I am very pleased to be joined by Dr. Irving Berkowitz, the Acting President of the Bermuda College, to update the public on an initiative which I announced a little over a month ago – the Retraining Scholarship Fund.

You will recall that in May, I announced that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry was establishing a $500,000 fund at the Bermuda College to assist in:

• Retraining Bermudians seeking employment in a particular professional designation; and
• To assist in retraining individuals who may already be employed but who lack the resources to pursue a specific professional designation in their field.

At that time, I pointed out that this wasn’t just any scholarship.

For the past few years, the economic downturn that we have been living through has been indiscriminate.

It has affected all sectors of our workforce, large and small businesses; professional and blue collar workers.

And what we recognise is that there are different levels of unemployment that need to be addressed.

Hence the introduction of the Re-Training Scholarship Fund.

Today I am pleased to announce the availability of funding for Accounting Certifications.

Our work permit data indicates that there are in excess of 400 active work permits for professionally qualified Accountants in Bermuda, thus suggesting that there is a shortage of qualified Bermudians to assume these roles in the local work place.

The aim of the initiative is to increase the number of qualified Bermudians available to industry.

The funds will be available to specific segments of our community – that is, unemployed persons seeking to retrain or become certified in the Accounting field; also professional persons with experience in knowledge-based sectors who need to become certified; as well as recent college graduates who need to specialize through the certification process in order to become marketable.

Consultation with industry stakeholders has been ongoing, for which we are appreciative as it has greatly assisted with the programme’s development.

Certification Programmes will be offered via the Bermuda College’s P.A.C.E. Division.

Three specific programmes will be offered:

• ACCA (Association of Certified Chartered Accountants) – Open to:

1. Persons with professional experience in an accounts environment who do not have an undergraduate degree;
2. Persons that have an undergraduate degree in any area with or without business related experience wishing to obtain an accounting certification.

• CPA (Certified Public Accountant) – Open to:

1. Persons who have attained an undergraduate degree with a major in Accounting.

• CMA (Certified Management Accountant)- Open to:

1. Persons with an undergraduate degree in business administration.

The estimated costs for the courses and examinations range from $14,000 – $20,000. Some of these costs will be absorbed by the Retraining Scholarship Fund.

• Up to 100% financing will be offered for unemployed persons during the period that they are unemployed. This may be re-assessed upon securing employment;
• Up to 100% financing will be offered to employed persons where need can be demonstrated;
• Substantial awards will be provided in all other instances, except where an applicant is employed by a company that underwrites the cost of training and certification programmes. In these instances the Bermuda College and/or Department of Labour and Training will work with the Company to secure funding on the applicants’ behalf.

Finally, we are eager to assist as many Bermudians as we can fulfil their goals of reaching their certified designations.

We are indeed making steady progress. As such, we want them to have as much information as possible about this programme when taking the next steps in advancing their career.

So, to those individuals who are interested in signing up for this programme we encourage you to attend the following information sessions which will be held in July.

• CMA/CPA – 10 July
• ACCA – 12 July

All session will take place in the Hallett Hall Lecture theatre H100 starting at 6.00 p.m.

I have said this numerous times, but it bears repeating – a critical component in our economic recovery plan is to increase the opportunities of developing our workforce by re-training Bermudians.

This is about assisting those Bermudians who have experience, but who have had challenges getting back into the industry because of the downturn in the economy. I am of the view that we must take a holistic approach to getting Bermudians back to work.

And we must employ a range of strategies in this endeavor.

And I am very pleased that we can work with our leading educational institution, the Bermuda College to realise this goal.

Prospective students may call:

The Bermuda College Division of Professional and Career Education and speak to Theresa Martin or Carleen Place. That number is 236-9000 ext 4117.

They can also email: padmin@college.bm.

Additionally individuals can call the Department of Labour and Training at 297-7716.

Thank you.

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