ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES [ABIC] EDUCATION AWARDS LUNCHEON

Harbourfront Restaurant
Bermuda Underwater Exploration institute

Wednesday, 25th July, 2007

Address:

The Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, JP, MP
Minister of Labour and Immigration

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The Hon. Paula A. Cox, JP, MP, Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance;

Senator Davida Morris, Junior Minister of Social Rehabilitation, Community and Cultural Affairs;

Mr. David Ezekiel, Chairman of the Association of Bermuda International Companies [ABIC];

Mr. Roy Fellowes, Chairman of ABIC’s Education Awards Programme;

Other distinguished guests;

Proud parents and family members; and most importantly,

The recipients of the ABIC Education Awards for 2007:

It gives me great pleasure to join with members of the international business community and parents to congratulate today’s scholarship winners on being selected to receive an ABIC award and to join with you, the recipients, in celebrating this incredible opportunity that has been afforded you. For each of you, this time is a personal one. In a very real sense, it is a time to bask in the glory of what your hard work and fortitude have reaped. It is a time to give and receive accolades from your peers, your family and your employers.

Any great achievement has all those elements intertwined and this one is no exception. You were the ones who accepted the challenge and succeeded. In many ways, your achievement has many similar features to Bermuda’s experience as an emerging insurance and reinsurance jurisdiction in the 1950s, 60s and 1970s to its current place as a world renowned and pre-eminent environment for insurance products and creative business solutions. Yes, all of this within the twenty-two square miles of beautiful Bermuda!

Access to the scholarships being presented today was made possible because there were others before you who not only dared to dream, but they possessed the fortitude to translate those dreams into reality. They dared to dream that Bermuda could become a world leader in the world of insurance and reinsurance. Consequently, Bermuda is today not only the world leader in the captive insurance company industry, but we can also lay claim to the invention of the concept. In fact, it was a member of the Bermuda insurance industry who is recognized around the world as the father of captives. I speak of none other than Mr. Fred Reese, the American businessman based in Bermuda who developed the concept in the 1950s. Bermuda owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to Mr. Reese and to those who followed him.

I recognize that most of you today will pursue careers in the international business arena. The point must be made, however, that the Government is concerned about the provision of opportunities for Bermudians in all areas of the employment arena, not only international business, but, the local financial services sector, the retail industry, the traditional professions, the emerging telecommunications sector and, of great importance, the hospitality industry, still the second pillar of our economy.

Bermuda has been blessed in many ways. Many factors are involved in our economic well-being. The Government does not take this reality for granted. We will remain steadfast in our resolve to understand the factors that make Bermuda a wonderful place in which to live and in which to conduct business.

The Government is aware that a well educated and properly trained workforce is critical to our continued prosperity and will take the actions necessary to produce a world-class workforce. This is the vital next step to secure a prosperous future for all our citizens, and for Bermuda. Today’s recipients are those who have performed well in the academic arena and who are generally goal oriented. But the Government has a responsibility to reach out to all sectors of the community. To that end, the Government is pursuing the Workforce Development strategy whose goal is to maximize the potential of all Bermudians in all sectors and at all levels of the workforce, a maximization initiative designed to meet the needs of the employee, the employer and the Island generally.

Workforce development by nature is intended to discern and address the deficiencies amongst those desiring employment. When done in a comprehensive manner, it deals with creating opportunities for business, education, employment and training agencies, and the larger community to work together on behalf of those seeking their first job, a new job, or a better job. We believe that the entire community will benefit from this initiative and wish to thank the members of the international business community for their contribution by serving on the various workforce development task forces.

Those of you gathered here today represent Bermuda’s future. I am pleased to note that for some twenty-six years, the Association of Bermuda International Companies has been awarding scholarships to Bermuda students. In the past seven years alone, some 150 students have benefited from $2.5 million in donations from the international business community. ABIC is to be heartily congratulated for providing this kind of support for Bermuda’s young people.

Happily, each year the commitment from Bermuda’s international business community becomes more and more generous. The twenty-one scholarship awardees this year will benefit from more than half a million dollars during the next two years. While this is a sizeable investment in the education of Bermudian students, the future economic and social return on this investment is immeasurable and will go well beyond those being honoured today.

When I was asked to speak at today’s awards luncheon, I recalled the story of a young Bermudian who recently did something quite extraordinary and altruistic. This young man received a scholarship worth more than $50,000 from a local bank almost ten years ago. Fired with the desire to succeed, he seized the opportunity afforded him – studied hard, graduated with a professional qualification and went to work in the United States for one of the largest companies in the world. Ten years on, perhaps reflecting on how he reached his current position, and extremely thankful for his success, this young man was inspired to give the scholarship money back to the bank. In his own words… “I´d like someone else from Bermuda to have the same opportunities, to get the same education and have the doors open up — giving them the opportunity that I had. I feel it is the correct thing to do.” What a wonderful gesture!

If I asked today’s scholarship winners which of them planned to return the cumulative amount of their scholarships to ABIC in ten years, there are probably not many who can honestly say this will be the case! Of course, any student will tell you that every penny is worth its weight in gold and that the mere thought of handing all that money back is probably as appealing as getting up for an 8:00 a.m. calculus lecture on a Monday morning!

However, this young Bermudian’s generosity should open your eyes to the opportunity that has been afforded you today. If you seize this opportunity, study hard and work hard, you too will have the means in the future to help those who need help as you do today.

And these opportunities are available to you today, thanks to our thriving international business sector, currently Bermuda’s principal economic lifeblood. International business contributes more than $1 billion to our economy every year. Bermudians are provided with jobs, opportunities for education and growth and every year many students benefit from scholarships such as the ABIC education awards.

As Bermuda’s international business community continues to grow, it is vitally important that Bermudians receive appropriate training and experience for positions in the international business arena. We cannot claim to be successful as an Island and as a people if we are not participating in and benefiting from this sector in our community. We cannot be passive bystanders – we must be active and engaged participants. And the opportunities are there for the taking.

It is often said Bermuda has zero unemployment. That is, any Bermudian who wants a job can have one. And the figures would certainly confirm this view.
Significantly, one in four jobs in Bermuda was held by contract workers in 2006. So out of a total labour market of just under 40,000 jobs, approximately 10,000 are held by guest workers. The Government recognizes and values the immense contribution made by our guest workers. At the same time, it is incumbent upon the Government to work tirelessly to protect the rights of Bermudian workers, to ensure that they are not unfairly displaced by our guest workers and to ensure that they are provided with required training opportunities.

You will be interested to know that the issue of the guest worker was also addressed by the Prince of Bahrain during his special address to delegates at this year’s International Labour Organiztion Conference in Geneva that I attended along with worker and employer representatives from Bermuda.
The Prince said:

“In our Kingdom of Bahrain, and indeed across the Gulf, our economies are dependent on globalized workforces. We are building our cities and our economies thanks in no small part to a section of the labour force that hails from Arab countries, the Indian subcontinent, from parts of South-East Asia and from other nations and communities. It is a global labour force. Of course we are not alone in relying on a workforce from other nations. The United States has long relied on workers from around the globe and, throughout Europe, migratory workforces have been instrumental in securing economic success, stimulating diversity, bringing new ideas and fuelling innovation. So, although Bahrain is an island, our economy is not. We welcome guest workers from across the world who come to the Gulf looking for a better life. We need to protect their access to income and employment, certainly.”

The Prince spoke of the requirement that we protect our guest workers. As Bermuda’s Minister with responsibility for labour, I am committed towards the protection of guest workers. I become most concerned when I hear of employers who take advantage of guest workers – in any way! To such employers, my message is a clear and strong one. The abuse of any worker in this Island, whether Bermudian or non-Bermudian, will not be tolerated. The full provisions of the Employment Act 2000, whereby minimum standards are established for all workers, particularly the non-unionized sector, will be used to address unsatisfactory practices in that area. We must guarantee that there are rights associated with work, that social protection is extended and that opportunities for dialogue and conflict resolution are available to all.

According to the latest Bermuda Job Market Employment Brief produced by the Department of Statistics, there were approximately 4,500 jobs in the international business sector in 2006.

In 2006, two out of every three accountants were guest workers. 87% of actuaries were guest workers. 56% of underwriters, 57 % of computer programmers and36 % of lawyers – all guest workers, here on work permits because there are not enough qualified Bermudians to fill the jobs available.

The proportion of guest workers in managerial roles is even more pronounced: almost 70% of finance general managers are non-Bermudians, and almost 90% of insurance and reinsurance underwriting general managers are non-Bermudians. The students in this room have the power to change this – and I hope that your aspirations are to rise to the top of your chosen profession. With the help of Government, the international business community and the support of your teachers, mentors, friends and family, you can achieve whatever you set your mind to.

And if further motivation were needed – not that I would presume you are at all motivated by money – the international business sector provides the highest paying jobs in Bermuda. The median income in the international business sector was approximately $82,000 in 2006, compared to the median income of approximately $50,000 for all jobs in Bermuda.

I am sure there are some budding actuaries here today. And I’m almost positive that those actuaries in training will know that in Bermuda, the median income for this profession in 2006 was approximately $150,000. Other future professions likely represented in this room include insurance underwriters who had a median salary of $140,000 and computer analysts who enjoyed a median salary of $100,000 last year. Excellent salaries by any stretch of the imagination!

Every student in this room today can aspire to reach these lofty levels of compensation. It is relatively simple: Hard work, hard work, and more hard work.!

But you have a good team in your corner. Government will work hard to ensure a competitive environment; associations such as ABIC will provide opportunities through scholarships, employment and mentoring and your friends and family will likely support you every step of the way.

The rest is up to you. Much is being given to you today, and much will be expected of you in future. This award will expose you to a world of opportunities – opportunities that were quite simply unheard of for a generation of Bermudians before you.

The importance of commitment and hard work as one prepares for one’s college career cannot be overstated. You are in charge of your own destiny and only you are responsible for your success or failure.

Former US President John F. Kennedy once said: “Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.”

President Kennedy might as well have been referring to Bermuda. Without any natural resources about which to speak, the human mind is our fundamental resource. We are a service economy and our primary export is our intellectual capital. Our future investment in intellectual capital is sitting in this very room. You are the future – and our progress as a nation rests firmly on your shoulders. The opportunities exist – you must simply open the door. Today you are being handed the keys – a commitment from the international business community to invest in yours and their future.

So, my final words to you today:

My advice – work hard, study hard, and play… responsibly.

My commitment on behalf of Government – equal opportunity awaits!

My hope – that Bermudians become leaders in all realms of international business.

My dream – is that in ten years I shall read about twenty students returning half a million dollars of scholarship money to the Association of Bermuda International Companies so that another generation is afforded the opportunity to participate in this great economy and great country of ours.

ABIC, on behalf of Dr. the Hon. Ewart F. Brown, Premier, my Cabinet colleagues and the people of Bermuda, I wish to thank you for your generous support.

Awardees, I wish you every success in the future.

God bless.

Thank you.