Bermuda’s financial watchdog has signed up three new graduate trainees.

The Bermuda Monetary Authority has taken on Shae James, Aisha Jones and James Howard on the three-year programme, designed to prepare graduates for a career in financial regulation.

Mesheiah Crockwell, deputy director of human resources at the BMA, said: “We are pleased to welcome our new graduate training programme group.

“The programme provides a rich experience for the participants — in recent years, participants have been seconded as far afield as the UK and Switzerland.

“All participants are assigned a mentor for guidance and we encourage and support them to continue their education by studying for various designations.

“It’s challenging for a graduate with no experience to find an entry level position these days.

“Our GTP bridges that gap and provides a unique training environment for young Bermudians. We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved so far.”

The three, hand-picked from a field of 45, brings the total number of young Bermudians who have been through the programme to 17 in its nine years of existence.

Shanna Lespere, chief operating officer at the BMA, said: “It’s a unique opportunity for the graduates, not only to learn about all aspects of international business but also every facet of financial supervision and regulation.

“For Bermuda, it’s a powerful way to build up our skilled workforce.”

All three trainees will rotate through the various BMA departments and also complete a six month secondment with an island business, followed by a secondment to an overseas regulator.

Mr James, a graduate of Ryerson and Kaplan Universities, said he applied for the programme because he was attracted by the “tailored career path”.

Ms Jones, who graduated from the University of Hertfordshire in England, added the BMA was a good way to learn about every facet of Bermuda’s financial sector.

Mr Howard said, who studied business technology management at Acadia University in Canada, said he was looking forward to the “invaluable experience” he would gain from an overseas secondment.

The scheme started to develop talent for the island’s financial services sector, specifically with a view to creating a “talent pipeline” for regulation and supervision.

Graduates interested in taking part in the 2017 selection process can submit applications from January 2 next year to March 31.

Application forms for candidates, who must be aged at least 21, can be downloaded from the BMA website at www.bma.bm.