A story in yesterday's newspaper should have said that Bermuda College vice president Dr. Donald Peters spoke at the Hamilton Lions weekly meeting, not a Hamilton Rotary meeting.

Bermuda needs to "develop a new paradigm'' for education, vice president for Academic and Student Affairs at Bermuda College Donald Peters stressed yesterday.

Speaking to Hamilton Rotarians at their weekly luncheon at Pier Six, Dr.

Peters said this need arose as education had an "ever evolving role'' whereby the community was faced with "a constant challenge'' to keep up with technological and social advancements.

"We, in effect, have the capacity to produce the kind of workers and citizens that can assume the responsibility and the technical skills necessary for bringing Bermuda successfully into the millennium,'' Dr. Peters said.

This goal could be achieved if the Bermuda College, the secondary schools and primary schools could work together with the support of the Bermuda community, he added.

In making this collective effort, Dr. Peters said everyone must recognise that every child can learn, that students need an environment conducive to learning and that society needs to understand the sociological and psychological problems that affect students' education.

He said Bermuda College had already incorporated the seven essential skill groups needed in today's and tomorrow's workplace.

The first skill, Dr. Peters said, was "learning to learn'' whereby employees can "absorb, process and apply new information''.

The second set of skills involved reading, writing and computation. Dr. Peters emphasised that it was more effective if the skills were "taught in context'' to how they will be used in the workplace.

He then talked about the importance of oral communication and listening skills as well as creative thinking and problem solving.

The fifth group was motivation, goal setting, and personal development, which Dr. Peters said was best taught by first recognising a student's "current skill and knowledge base.'' The sixth group of skills included interpersonal skills, negotiation and teamwork which he said was important to teach students "to deal effectively with inappropriate behaviour, how to share responsibility, and how to interact and work successfully in a diverse and global community.'' The final essential skill, according to Dr. Peters, was organisation knowledge whereby students understand the structures of organisation, including "what they are, why they exist, how they function, and how the individual can move within these structures.'' Dr. Peters also pointed out that Bermuda College had recently reduced the number of faculty class hours from 24 to 22 in order to give faculty more time to work with students in developing critical skills.

One of his deep concerns was the "growing underclass of academically underprepared and neglected individuals,'' he added.

By the year 2010, 80 percent of all future jobs in the US will require post-secondary education, he claimed.

In reference to Bermuda College lowering its admission standards, Dr. Peters said it would create "more access for students who would normally not avail themselves of higher education.''