Bermudian Tracey Watson has become the first management trainee for decades at a top Island hotel.

Ms Watson, 26, a graduate of Bermuda College and Morris Brown University in Atlanta, Georgia, beat dozens of other applicants to land the plum post at the new-look Elbow Beach Hotel in Paget.

She said: "I feel really privileged -- I'll try not to let it go to my head and just do my best.

"I'm confident -- I love a challenge and I never see anything as a problem.'' And Ms Watson added: "I'm not just representing myself -- I'm doing it for others who are interested in pursuing a career in the hospitality industry. I want to show people it's possible.'' She added: "I know that our tourism industry isn't as great as it once was and we have to do a lot to be competitive internationally, not just locally against each other.

"People can go anywhere. Bermuda is known to be expensive -- we have to be worth the cost.'' Hotel boss Ingo Schweder, whose Rafael Group recently took over Elbow Beach, said Ms Watson will be learning the business from the bottom up in a two-year programme.

He added Ms Watson, from Southampton, who graduated from Morris Brown summa cum laude in 1993 with a B.Sc. in Hotel and Restaurant Management and Tourism Administration, won the hotel's $10,000 scholarship in 1990.

Mr. Schweder said: "She worked elsewhere after graduating then she came to us and said she wanted to develop herself further.

"Instead of just exposing her to the food and beverage areas, I felt her expertise could be used in other areas of the hotel as well.'' "This training programme will broaden her expertise and make her more valuable.'' Mr. Schweder said the hospitality industry traditionally employed men in senior positions.

He said: "We chose Tracey because she has the determination and from all the different people we interviewed, I think what made her stand out was determination and strong will.'' Ms Watson, currently working in room service will experience every aspect of a major hotel's work, from making up rooms and peeling potatoes in the kitchen to working in the audit department.

She will also get the opportunity to work in other hotels in the international Raphael Group.

Mr. Schweder said more than 300 Bermudians were employed at Elbow Beach. Many held senior positions, but most had been recruited from other hotels.

He explained Ms Watson's appointment was a front line commitment to Bermuda and an investment in a healthy future for the visitor industry.

And he said the training plan was the best way to ensure she knew the importance of every aspect of a hotel's work.

Mr. Schweder added the top-to-bottom style of the training was close to the way he had learned the business -- except Ms Watson's training will be two years shorter.

He said: "I was young and I got a chance to develop myself. I was lucky in the sense that I had some good support in my career giving me that chance.

They were pushing and demanding, but I got that chance.

"I really want to pay back -- when you see a young person who is excited and enthusiastic and you have the means to do it, you should give them a chance too.'' He added, although Elbow Beach was part of a top-class group of international hotels, each retained its own character.

Mr. Schweder said: "We want to keep local colour, character and management.

Even though we reach international standards, we want to be part of the local community. We have shown that by our actions and we will continue to do that.'' TRAINING FOR THE TOP -- Tracey Watson -- who beat dozens of competitors for a managment trainee's post at the Elbow Beach Hotel -- gets some tips from general manager Ingo Schweder (right) and human resources director Robert Calderon.