At a press conference today to announce a Career Pathways programme milestone, the Minister of Education, the Hon. R. Wayne Scott said, “The Ministry of Education’s Career Pathways Programmme was launched during the 2012-2013 in Bermuda’s two public senior schools – The Berkeley Institute and CedarBridge Academy. The programme provides S3 and S4 senior school students with the opportunity to develop academic, technical and work-place skills in preparation for life beyond the classroom.
“Today we are here to celebrate Breanna West, who has successfully completed the programme and will receive an Associate in General Insurance (AINS). To obtain this designation, Breanna successfully passed all nine exams.
“The outstanding performance of Breanna has been supported and mentored by Dr. Dawnnelle Walker, the CEO of the Bermuda Insurance Institute. Dr. Walker and members of the Bermuda Insurance Institute have developed a rigorous three-tiered programme. Initially, the students are involved in a six-week segment that introduces them to the insurance industry. In the next segment – a five-week tier of the certification programme, they work with industry partners. During the third tier, students will prepare to sit exams for the general insurance certification. The three areas of concentrated study are commercial, property and personal insurance.
“In January 2014, the first cohort of students from both Berkeley Institute and Cedar Bridge Academy enrolled in the Bermuda Insurance Institute’s programme. We are grateful to our industry partners who are not only contributing their time and experience to assist students in preparing for the insurance exams, but they are also underwriting the cost of the exams – with no expense to parents or the Department of Education. We also like to thank the teachers at the Berkeley Institute as well as the Team of the Career Pathways Programme for their support from the inception of this programme.”
CEO of The Bermuda Insurance Institute, Dr. Dawnnelle Walker praised Breanna for her diligence and enthusiasm while congratulating her for being the first high school students to complete the programme.
In her response, Ms. West said, “I would like to thank the Ministry of Education, the Bermuda Insurance Institute and Dr Dawnnelle Walker for this amazing opportunity. My experience at BII has helped me to make the necessary steps to become an underwriter. This programme taught me so much and I have gained invaluable experience.”