The scrapping of work permit time limits and an improvement in public education are high on the business community's wish list for new Premier Paula Cox.

Business people who spoke with The Royal Gazette welcomed her election and expressed hope that her experience as Finance Minister would help her to understand the challenges faced by both local and international businesses.

Robin Spencer-Arscott, a Bermudian and a veteran of the insurance industry, welcomed Ms Cox's victory and said it was clear she had "a head for business".

"She was the logical choice, because international business is our mainstay and she understands it much better than anyone else in her party, including the last Premier," said Mr. Spencer-Arscott, the deputy chairman of AAA Risk Solutions Ltd., a director of Omega Insurance and a former chairman and CEO of Aon Bermuda Group.

"She comes from a wonderful stock of politicians, like her late father [Eugene Cox], who was a truly great guy. So I was quite disappointed with her at the Finance Ministry in terms of curtailing expenses." Mr. Spencer-Arscott said he would like to see Ms Cox look hard at the issue of work permit time limits, which are six years for most guest workers, and added that he was "worried about her deputy leader" Derrick Burgess on that score.

International business leaders say the time limits make it harder for them to attract staff and keep teams together.

"People here have companies to run and we can't tell people willy-nilly that they have to go now," Mr. Spencer-Arscott said. "A lot of companies have footholds in Europe and they can move their whole company overnight.

"The time limits are not helping Bermudians. We have a lot of good young Bermudians working in the industry, but they'll be out of a job if companies go.

"The important thing is that we see common sense in dealing with this issue." Mr. Spencer-Arscott believes Ms Cox's arrival will bring a welcome change of tone, after former Premier Ewart Brown's sometimes racially divisive comments had "sent out the wrong message".

Brad Kading, president of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers, said ABIR members gave Ms Cox their best wishes.

"ABIR congratulates Premier Paula Cox on her election," Mr. Kading said. "She has been a fine public servant and we look forward to continuing to work with her. In the future, as in the past, we look forward to working with her on building strong international relationships with the US and EU policymakers.

"She has been active in the past years in building those relationships and we hope that she will find the time to continue those efforts. Those relationships are very important for the international insurance sector since they affect our ability to conduct business from Bermuda. She is an excellent ambassador for Bermuda to the world.

"We also believe some attention needs to be paid to the cost of doing business in Bermuda. ABIR members employ 1,800 people here. Higher costs in Bermuda can create an incentive for employees to be located elsewhere in North American and Europe.

"It's also important to encourage senior company officers to be "It's also important to encourage senior company officers to be located here and various government policies affect the willingness of businesses to locate those employees here. We believe that is a discussion that needs to be continued in the coming year. ABIR members contribute more than $950 million annually to the Bermuda economy."

Axis Capital chairman Michael Butt warmly welcomed Ms Cox into the government leadership role. "Personally, I'm very pleased to see Ms Cox as Premier and I wish her well," he said.

"She's been at the Ministry of Finance for many years and has been a constructive partner with international business and we hope that will continue in the future. I'm confident that we will be able to work together to continue to build up Bermuda as a global financial centre." It is not only international business which wants to see the time limits go.

Kristi Grayston, who chairs the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce Retail Division, said the limits had led many small businesses that could not find sufficient Bermudian staff to suffer crippling extra costs.

"Smaller businesses can't go out and find new staff every six years," Ms Grayston said. "It's very expensive and I think you'll see more and more businesses like restaurants and beauty salons going out of business." Ms Grayston was hopeful that Ms Cox could work well with the local business sector.

"I have worked for a long time with the Premier, as the Minister of Finance, and I believe she understands the challenges the retail sector faces," Ms Grayston said. "I am pleased she is the new Premier." Aside from the work permits issue, Ms Grayston would like to see Ms Cox focus on tackling crime and improving education. Children were too often leaving school without the tools needed for the world of work, she added.

"My workforce at Pulp and Circumstance is 100 percent Bermudian," she said. "When we advertise a job, we may get 35 applications, of which only about four may be viable.

"Many don't know how to fill in a resume, or they will write a letter without signing it, or they don't have basic people skills, or know how to sell themselves.

"We are failing our kids by allowing them to leave school without knowing these things. We don't need consultants to work on a five-year plan to put this right — we can't afford to wait that long. We could start teaching interview skills and resume basics next week!" Charles Gosling, of beverage company Gosling's and the Mayor of Hamilton, congratulated Ms Cox and said her resounding win gave her a strong mandate.

"It will be crystal clear to every Minister whose programme they should be following," Mr. Gosling said.

"Reading the excerpt of her speech online, she is identifying some of the key issues, restoring public confidence, reducing taxes and making savings. "With the exception of her payroll tax and foreign exchange increase last year, I have consistently found her to listen to business and act accordingly as business makes its case." Mr. Gosling suggested that the new Premier would gain great support from the business community if she asked them what they wanted to see from her government.

"Given the mandate she has just received, this would not be a question asked from weakness, but a challenge made from great strength," he said.

"It would get across a message very quickly to all parts of the Island that she recognises we are all in this together.

"And that she is looking for Bermuda-centric solutions and, while she may not identify the same priorities as certain sectors, is allowing business a public voice in setting the landscape (identifying the challenges) and determining the way we reach our goals (create our results orientated opportunities). "Consultation and consensus creates many allies."