A new course at the Bermuda College is aiming to give local professionals renewed focus on financial prudence and accountability in the workplace.The Procurement Course, to be offered beginning in September, will provide professionals in industries like retail, construction and grocers the tools to better contract overseas entities for goods.Cheryl Paradowski, the president and chief executive officer of the Purchasing Management Association of Canada (PMAC), said these skills were particularly important for professionals in a place like Bermuda.“Everything that you need on the Island, from food, clothes and transportation, needs to be imported and that is automatically supply-chain management.“How does a product get here on time so you do not end in a shortage? How do you manage in light of economic changes across the Island?” She said these were questions business people needed to start looking at to get the best deals and build strong relationships with overseas suppliers.She said the programme would open up career and professional opportunities as “people in these positions need continuos improvement and professional development”.She said knowledge provided in the course was “something of a hidden expertise” and by bringing the skills more overtly to an organisation it would add to a person’s growth value.“So this is an ideal programme for them,” she added.PMAC is the largest leading association in Canada for supply chain management professionals. It grants the Supply Chain Management Professional (SCMP) designation, which is the highest achievement in the field.Ms Paradowski said the certification course includes four modules and six workshops. It aims to teach people how to work with international good suppliers; how business customers in other countries differ from arrangements here; and how businesses can be better prepared to work with professionals in countries we rely on, such as the UK and US.“There are two purposes in the programme, not only the partnership between PMAC and the College which is great, but it’s an attempt to bring focus to this field of practice because we believe it could be important for a number of businesses in Bermuda.”“It really has pretty broad appeal. We are talking about [a range of] demographics because it can appeal to students and people already in the workforce and those already working in this field of practice who want to become professionals in it.”It is also suited for people looking for a career change and those in both the public and private sector.According to Ms Paradowski, the certification from the College’s Professional and Career Education division allows residents to manage the purchasing function in their business “because they will better understand it”.Procurement skills are used in numerous facets of local business, and being utilised by Government to a greater degree, explained Tawana Flood.Ms Flood, who oversees the College’s workforce development programmes, said: “It can be used by Government to purchase a contract to build roads, a bridge or a dock”.These functions exist in almost every business and this course will help people recognise it’s “a strategic part of business, not just a clerical part”.“Globally it’s a priority and we are now making that a priority here, especially when funds are being taken away and redirected,” said Ms Flood.There are no prerequisites for the course but basic business experience helps “because then we have a context to put this specialisation into”, said Ms Paradowski.“I don’t think it will be a challenge because it is designed to teach the skills from the ground up and it’s what we would call a tactical level programme that is hands-on learning with examples through cases.”Today both Ms Paradowski and Ms Flood will be meeting with the Director of Procurement for the Government.Tomorrow they will host a public information session telling people about the course at Brown and Company at 6pm. They encourage people to attend to learn more about the programme and fill out a registration form.For more information or to register for the information session call Carleen Place on 236-9000 or e-mail cplace[AT]college.bm.