There is a lot more out there for Bermudians than just career opportunities in insurance.

That is the message Air Care Ltd. is trying to get out as it steps up its recruitment drive in a bid to take on and add more local talent to its ranks. For, the Pembroke-based heating ventilation air conditioning service company, has experienced the problems of hiring and retaining Bermudian employees first hand and is keen to promote the rewards which a career in the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) industry offers to those dedicated to succeeding in that field.

The company, which has undergone a big change over the past four to five years, was bought out by the head of New Venture Holdings, Don Mackenzie, in October last year.

Mr. Mackenzie was invited to stay on as a part-owner with a 25-percent stake, Bermudians Kevin Roberts, operations manager, and Shawnette Mclarty, controller, bought 25 percent and 10 percent of the shares respectively. Non-Bermudians Robert Platt, general manager, Gary Young, chiller specialist in sales, and Craig Stevenson, manager of business development and sales, took up a 15:10:10 percent split, alongside Wyatt Selyeh, accountant at New Venture Holdings.

Immediately the new management team made a conscious decision to train all of its staff and has set about sending them on the appropriate courses from business systems, maintenance sales and project sales to specific modules such as dispatcher training, CentraVac system fundamentals and even Window's XP services. The training happens both in-house, using company and industry specialists, and at Bermuda College, and also as far afield as Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, Atlanta, Georgia and Dallas, Texas.

Mr. Platt explained that the emphasis has been put on investing the company's time, money and effort into getting its employees properly trained, with a particular focus being put on attracting Bermudians to and keeping them in the industry.

"What we think Air Care is doing differently as a small local company made up of a staff of 44, is we are investing very heavily in training Bermudians," he said.

"What we feel is different is that we have made a commitment and we have continued the commitment that Don Mackenzie had to train Bermudians in this industry because there is a world shortage in skilled staff and mechanics."

A report by MEP Jobs based on hiring and retaining employees in the industry in the US revealed that the workforce is both aging and shrinking with 78 percent of current workers aged between 31 and 59, while only 10 percent fall into the critical 18 to 25-years-old demographic. This means there are fewer skilled professionals available to install and maintain these infrastructure systems during the next few years, a situation which is mirrored in the Bermuda marketplace.

"That is exactly what we are seeing in Bermuda and it is meant that we rely on bringing in non-Bermudians to supplement Bermudians — we are having to go as far as southern Africa to bring in technicians now," said Mr. Platt.

"The weak currency has even led to problems in hiring people from Europe. It is our commitment and strategy to continue to train our Bermudians and to bring Bermudians into the company.

"Unfortunately the trend of having Bermudians in the company has slipped away over the years — it has been 80 percent or 90 percent of the workforce before, but now it is 70 percent.

"Some of that, my personal opinion is, because of the boom in construction and many people are leaving school and going into construction as a semi-skilled trade and we are one of the ones to lose out as a result of that."

Meanwhile, Mr. Stevenson said that the MEP industry offers not just the pre-conceived image of getting your hands dirty working out in the field as a mechanic, but also positions in sales, accounting, consultancy and property and programme management.

"Bermudians have got businesses such as law, insurance and reinsurance which are very attractive, but the mechanical industry can and does hold fantastic career opportunities for people who want to have a hands-on opportunity at many levels," he said.

"We are looking for those individuals that have a 'can-and-will-do attitude', which we think, differentiates Air Care from other companies.

"The construction industry is booming and the each system installed in a new property needs supporting, which is what we are there for as the largest service focused company.

"But, we need, high quality, able-bodied, willing individuals to help us manage these facilities and in return it is a great career for life because those buildings are not going away and will still need servicing."

The plan for the future is to continue in the same vein and seek out Bermudians willing to give their all to a career in the industry.

"We plan to do more of the same and maybe even accelerate this," said Mr. Platt. "We see the work permit thing getting more and more difficult.

"We don't pay supplements to non-Bermudians to come here and everybody is on a salary rate based upon skill sets, while we are unionised and considered a partner of the National Training Board and work with Bermuda College and we have sponsored students overseas at the New England Institute of Technology for their course fees."