The need for international investment was the main focus at the Chamber of Commerce annual post budget breakfast, along with tourism, education and international business.

Minister of Finance Bob Richards spoke on the topics while providing a large audience of about 350 business people with the aims and objectives of his 2014 budget for the Government.

He told the people who filled the Harbourview Ball Room at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess: “Our objective was not to have people lose their jobs — it will serve no one if we just lay off a bunch of people, and then they come back and ask for financial assistance.”

He said the idea is to cut down the Civil Service, but at the same time maintain jobs. “I believe this can be done,” he said.

“We can’t borrow any more money — we are tapped out,” adding that capital markets are not going to lend Bermuda money. “How do you do it? Through the creation of jobs financed by private capital. We think there are a number of job (creation projects) which can be financed by private capital.

“All of the money is going to have to come from outside in order for that to happen. Foreign investors have to have confidence in Bermuda — confidence in the Bermuda airport, Bermuda’s Tynes Bay or a Bermuda hotel — they have to have confidence in Bermuda and the Bermuda Government.”

He said if there is no confidence in Bermuda there will be no foreign investment, no projects, no stimulus and no jobs, adding that investment hinges on the ability of the Government to gain the confidence of those foreign investors. “Otherwise it’s just not going to happen,” he said.

“It’s important to control debt, get costs under control, and important to outsource more core functions of Government.”

Bermuda historically not paid for many of these projects. “It’s nothing really new — we just have to rework how things happened in the first place.”

Mr Richards won the support of Bermuda Public Service Union (BPSU) general secretary Ed Ball, who stated the Union has been on the record on the subject for a decade, and said: “We need to build confidence to attract foreign investment.”

Chief executive officer at event sponsor firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers Bermuda, Darren Johnston, raised the question of “human capital” and the fact the Ministry of Education budget has been cut.

Mr Richards said: “In the past 30 years we have thrown so much money at education — I remember in my father’s day (Bermuda Premier Sir Edward ‘ET’ Richards in the early 1970s) — the education budget was the highest one. Today it is the second highest.

“It’s not through lack of resources — it’s not quantity — it’s quality. You see a decrease in the education budget. It doesn’t mean we have given up on education. The Education Ministry has a difficult job,” he said pointing to the need to implement the recommendations of the Hopkins Report to get quality into the education system.

But, he said: “Some of the best schools on earth are one-room schools,” he said.

“Human capital — that is the area we have to concentrate on. It’s the only national resource we have. We have to have Bermudians trained to be knowledge workers.”

Panel member and economist Peter Everson said that “Once you could take a Bermudian out of school, college, and train people up. But with the advent of Intel, Microsoft — all those starting jobs have disappeared.

“Men could leave school with little or no formal certifications and do quite well in the construction industry. Now, it’s white collar with highly specialised skills. The bar has moved up — and the education system is too introverted.”

The Government believes in tourism, Mr Richards said in response to a point made in regard to the money spent by Government on to the industry compared to the number of beds available.

Funding for tourism has been reduced, Mr Richards said, adding: “Everybody has had to take it on the chin.” During a speech to the Cabinet, he said he had thumped the table when he said: “There are no sacred cows in this Government.”

However: “This Government believes in tourism — if we weren’t Bermudians, you would look at the performance of tourism and say: ‘Get rid of it! We can do something better with the money.’

“We don’t believe that — we believe in tourism — every day I get up and say: ‘This is the most beautiful place on earth — why doesn’t everyone want to come here?’

“We have to get the economy right and we need companies to get behind us. People come to brand-name hotels — the marketing power of the brands is so phenomenally powerful — we need to do what we have to do to get these brands here.

“I think tourism is still something of great value, and we need to make it work for us.”

Mr Richards said he believes without a solid tourism product, international business would “fizzle,” saying top executives here in Bermuda for meetings will make major decisions after those meetings, around a dinner table in a restaurant. “If the product is not first class, they will send their number two for a year or so — and then send them to Toronto or Boston (instead).”