Business leaders and employment specialists have welcomed Government plans to offer permanent residency status to some 10-year work permit holders.They said the proposals, which were outlined by Premier Paula Cox in the House of Assembly on Friday and would enable certain key workers, including senior executives and leading decision makers, to obtain Permanent Resident’s Certificates for themselves and their families after 10 years in Bermuda, would help boost business and create and maintain jobs.Martin Law, executive director at the Bermuda Employers’ Council, viewed the proposed changes in immigration policy as “entirely positive”.“The Bermuda Employers’ Council recognises these welcome initiatives by the Government as ones that should have a beneficial effect on stimulating the economy and helping with job creation and retention,” Mr Law said.“Giving job creators an increased stake in Bermuda sends the positive message that we want them here. There will be a knock-on effect for existing local firms too - the stronger our overall economy is, the greater the benefit to all employers and employees. Any and all economic stimulation measures will help our existing employers to survive and re-grow their businesses and keep people employed.”Mr Law also commended the statement that Economy Minister Kim Wilson would shortly identify job categories that will be exempt from term limits and said it would send a clear signal that Bermuda was very much open for international business at the same time as dispelling a lot of the negativity about the Island that came from its competitors.“We recognise that Government has to balance Bermudians’ national interests with the need to stimulate the economy but with these policy initiatives we believe that the balance is right,” he said.“Job creators and key persons need to feel welcome and part of Bermuda in a tangible way so that they can become personally vested in the Island, creating and retaining jobs so that Bermuda can begin to re-grow its employment base.”Doug Soares, partner at Expertise Ltd, Bermuda’s largest management consulting and outsourcing company, said that despite the specific details of the new policy not yet being revealed, the result was likely to be beneficial to all parties.“To provide key executives with residency rights makes good economic sense,” he said. “Furthermore, providing automatic waivers from term limits for specific categories will provide greater certainty for key employees in international business without sacrificing job opportunities for Bermudians. This bodes well for Bermuda as a top jurisdiction for global companies.”But he warned that some Bermudians would struggle to see the merit in the new changes due to having a false sense of job security, pointing out that few jobs needed to be based in Bermuda nowadays and that the Island was competing on an international stage for business.“Many believe that jobs and country are inextricably bound together,” he said. “Many believe that having a job is simply a matter of restricting foreigners from entering our country.“But the fact is that relatively few jobs are in Bermuda by necessity in the 21st century. Jobs nowadays belong to a global economy and Bermuda must compete with other jurisdictions to domicile those jobs in Bermuda. Consequently, we need to begin to see the Department of Immigration as an enabler of job creation, not just as border control and a protector of local jobs.”Brad Kading, president and executive director of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers, said: “We support the multiple proposals from the government on workplace reforms. We support liberalisation of policies that can lead to incentives for ‘job creators’ - those executives with hiring authority - to be located in Bermuda. We expect successful implementation of such reforms will lead to more jobs for Bermudian citizens.”Stephen Todd, president of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, also welcomed the announcement. He said: “We believe it sends a very positive message to the international business community and allays some of those concerns that have been expressed in the past.“From a business development standpoint it not only reassures our international business partners that we have on the Island but also gives us the ability to further our relationship going forward. It also gives a stability to the business sector knowing that their continued participation in the local economy is welcomed.”