The financial sector contributes roughly 20 percent to the Gross Domestic Product, with expenditures in the banking sector alone approaching $400 million, and with assets under management already reaching $1 trillion. There are over 80 insurance companies, with non-residential insurers representing $200 million in assets.
The total assets and investment assets of the domestic life insurance total $454 million and $314 million, respectively. The almost 700 Mutual Funds have assets under management totalling almost $100 billion. The Bahamas Registry is one of the world’s most prestigious and currently it is ranked as the third largest ship registry in the world, with merchant ships representing some 32 million gross tons.
These were just some of the impressive statistics given students at the second annual Careers Fest exhibition seminar, which ended Wednesday at the Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort & Spa.
Government and private school students interested in the financial services sector were introduced to the fundamental aspects of the industry during the seminar, hosted by the Bahamas Financial Services Board in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Financial Services & Investments and the Rotary Club of East Nassau.
CEO & Executive Director of The Bahamas Financial Services Board, Wendy Warren, said the two-day seminar was a product of an educational programme called ‘Financial Sector Focus.’
The programme seeks to achieve three major goals – to get young people into the profession, to encourage all participants of the industry to continue with professional development recognising that learning is now an essential part of success in the industry and, to encourage all participants, people in the industry as well as those outside of the industry who are affected by it, to stay informed with its current trends.
“What we really want to emphasise is that the financial services industry affects all of us, it is the key pillar of our economy and the spin-off and linkages between financial services, tourism and property development is critical,” Ms. Warren said.
“What we are trying to do here is to engage persons still going through their educational development and encourage them to look at the financial services industry as a career, to understand what is required for success and expertise. So we want to start out at as early an age to encourage them (students) to excel in whatever they pursue.”
The Careers Fest 2002 exhibitors included industry association like Bahamas Association of Compliance Officers (BACO); Bahamas Association of Life and Health Insurers (BALHI); Bahamas Association of Mutual Fund Administrators (BAMFA); Bahamas General Insurance Association (BGIA); Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accounts (BICA) and Insurance Institute of The Bahamas (IIB).
Industry supervisors & regulators included the Compliance Commission (Ministry of Finance); Public Utilities Commission; Registrar General’s Department (Ministry of Financial Services and Investments); Registrar of Insurance Companies (Ministry of Financial Services and Investments and the Securities Commission of The Bahamas.
Corporate exhibitors included CIBC Bahamas Limited, Colina Financial Group and Scotiabank (Bahamas) Limited. Other exhibitors were the National Insurance Board, Paradise Island Credit Union and Securities Training Institute.
Ms. Warren said the students learn that there are many aspects in the industry and many routes that they could take to become involved in the industry.
Whether it is through Government, whether it is directly to the private sector, she said there were many careers; what is required and the standards what they might expect from a salary perspective. All of this is available to them.
A particular advantage to ongoing industry growth is the Government’s commitment to development of the industry, and steps taken to position The Bahamas as a well-regulated, responsible international financial centre.
The Government is committed to ensuring the integrity of the financial services system and keep The Bahamas on the competitive edge. In The Bahamas, there also is a unique relationship between the Government and the private sector, based on a spirit of consultation and input.
Day one of the seminar featured the participation of schools where motivational speakers encouraged the students to look forward and beyond their time in school. Later, they were able to receive more information from the various booth holders and ask question to learn a lot about the industry.
Speakers included President of the CEO Network, Deborah Bartlett; Learning and Capabilities Consultant, CIBC, Bonnie L. Nguyen; Account Manager, CIBC, Ian Rutherford; KYC Project Manager, CIBC, Byron Miller and CEO & Director of Payment Solution Providers (PSP) Bahamas Limited, Suzanne Pattusch.
Economist and coordinator for the Ministry of Finance’s participation in the Careers Fest, Dexter Fernander, said that he was very pleased with the Ministry’s participation.
“This presentation gives us a look at all the areas inside the Ministry of Finance and this being a finance oriented careers fest, allows the students to see one of our key goals and that is, whatever area of specialisation you go into, you will have an idea of what you need to concentrate on in school,” Mr. Fernander said.
He said it may be difficult for the students to specialise in just one area while they are still school, so the career fest is to give them some general pointers that can carry them through. “It can also teach them how to budget and how to save,” he said.
The Ministry of Finance set up two slide presentations. One showed its goals and the various sections especially since the change in Government, which gave way to some new portfolios, and the other gave the different careers available and the qualifications needed.
“For those persons entering the financial services field, they need to have a tertiary level or supplementary education because a sound education for example at a first degree level to come into Government which shows progress for where we are going,” he said.
“From the beginning, the Ministry of Finance has been one of the sponsors and we are appreciative of The Bahamas Financial Service Board for stepping up and making such a significant effort to concentrate on the training of students in the area of business and who show an interest in this industry.”
Fernander said because of the large influx of information on the FTAA and WTO initiatives and how they impact The Bahamas, the Ministry of Finance wanted students to be cognizant of the changes and exactly what it will take to work inside these new environments.
He said the most significant goal of the career fest is that it serves as a starting place for pooling all the necessary resources for the industry in terms of attracting qualified individuals at an early stage of their development.
Senior Education Officer for Guidance & Counselling, Ministry of Education, Zoe Powell, said it is at the high school level namely grades 11 – 12, that the Ministry invites students to come in. She said most of them are selected from the business streams, so many of them are students who have already expressed an interest in the area of business.
“The whole purpose behind this event is to expose our students to the different careers that the financial services offer here in The Bahamas and also globally so that when they make their decisions to further studies, they will have a clearer understanding as to what area they maybe interested in going into based on information they will receive at the careers fest today,” Ms. Powell said.
“Many of them think of the types of job that are offered here and they are not aware of some of the other careers that are apart of the financial services, so this is a good arena for them to be exposed to those areas,” she said.
Ms. Powell stated that the students are required to write a report on the different careers available that they have been exposed to. Many of the teachers go into the classrooms ahead of time and discuss this information and when they come back, they then report on it. The report contributes to their success in the BGCSE exams.
“Some of the things the student will learn from this careers fest is money management,” she said.
“The focus last year was on having credit cards and how to use it wisely, how to make decisions as far as money is concerned, you are never too young to start saving. So all of this information they can use for life skills as well.”
Errolee Turnquest-Conliffe of the Ministry of Financial Services & Investment said the financial services industry is very important to The Bahamas and with Ministry being a new one; it was excited to be a co-sponsor.
“The Financial Services sector holds such a wide range of careers that we thought it would be good to inform students at this stage so that they can map out their future,” Mrs. Conliffe said. “Years ago when we were in high school all we knew were having a savings account and not really about mutual funds and bonds. What am I to do in the process of savings or how do I manage credit cards? The students of today can now learn all of this information.”
She said that she was happy that the various sponsors came up with the idea to hold such an event to benefit the students. Even if they were not truly interested in the financial services sector, it was good for them to know, so that they can become better professionals in the future.
By Lisa Albury, The Nassau Guardian
