Many young black men feel there’s no point enrolling at Bermuda College as it won’t give them the education they need to get good jobs, according to researchers from Columbia University.Job opportunities are going begging because of the reluctance to take advantage of courses on offer at the College, Ronald Mincy, Monique Keyser and Eva Haldane concluded in their follow-up study to the Mincy Report. Their report, based on interviews with wall-sitters and students, came before restaurateur Walter Simmons claimed in yesterday’s Royal Gazette that only one Bermudian has enrolled for a waiting course at the College. It’s understood several other courses are massively undersubscribed despite unemployment growing while vacancies remain in some fields.The College responded that it is targeting black males as part of its strategic plan, and has launched a recruitment drive to attract and keep black males; male recruitment has steadily increased over the past five years. The Columbia University report states: “A larger number of black male students will enrol in Bermuda College than ever before because its tuition is now free and the proportion of boys enrolled in Bermuda’s public secondary school is rising for unexplained reasons.“Bermuda’s knowledge-based economy demands higher education, but many young black Bermudian men fear that the College will not provide them with a rigorous educational experience and that they will encounter the same negative experiences with peers that prevented them from taking full advantage of what was available in secondary school.“There are jobs in the Island’s economy requiring more than a high school diploma, but less than a four-year degree and these positions go begging.“The college is a natural candidate for offering the training to serve this market. What are these jobs? What course/career offerings could Bermuda College provide to enable more young black Bermudian men to secure them?“What is Bermuda College doing to address the concerns of young black Bermudian males about rigour and negative peer pressure? Put differently, what changes would make Bermuda College a more effective piece of Bermuda’s workforce development system, especially in ways that give young black men the skills they need to secure higher paying jobs?”The College responded in a statement yesterday: “This report targets one particular aspect of a larger national issue: that of underprepared students who are generally more likely than their ‘prepared’ counterparts to disconnect from further educational attainment, both during and after high school.“Still, the College acknowledges the findings from the report, particularly as it pertains to its potential role in helping young black males pursue higher education opportunities.“This particular group had already been identified as a viable target market by the College in its (2008) Ten-Year Strategic Plan, and was incorporated into the (2010) Five-Year Recruitment Plan.“The College is actively engaged in not just attracting males to campus, but in retaining them.”The College said it works with middle and senior secondary schools to let students know the possibilities and requirements of higher education. The College recruitment officer and administrators regularly make presentations, host workshops, conduct tours and sponsor information sessions at Berkeley Institute, CedarBridge Academy, Impact Mentoring School, the Adult Education School, CARE Learning Centre, the Educational Centre, Co-Ed and Westgate.Male enrolment figures show 268 males enrolled in fall 2010, compared to 207 in 2006; males represented 36 percent of the total numbers enrolling in 2010, up from 30 percent four years earlier.It also has Menspeak, a support network for male students aimed at giving them relevant skills and opportunities, which it says has increased male’s chances of academic success.Menspeak coordinator Lyndon Jackson, who has recently returned from chaperoning nine male students on a UK college tour, said: “It was the exposure to the possibilities that really opened their eyes. They often arrive here with certain limitations as to how they view academics, themselves and especially their potential.“They may have had limited success academically and often you have to find a way of connecting an educational institution like Bermuda College to where they want to go and what they want to do with their life.“When you do this, the result is amazing. I had a student complete the carpentry programme, he has since built on that success and now has the confidence and belief to consider careers he would have never thought possible. His goal is to study Health Studies in the UK and he now realises that there is nothing stopping him from achieving that goal.”