Students who participated in an information technology summer internship were congratulated by Education Minister Senator Milton Scott yesterday.

Ryan Brimmer and Sergio White, both from CedarBridge Academy, and William Usher, from Berkeley Institute, spent their summer vacation with companies on the Island in a bid to get hands-on experience in the workplace.

Ryan and William were placed with Logic Communications, while Sergio was placed with Cable and Wireless as part of the XL/Bermuda Education Initiative.

Sen. Scott said: "I would like to congratulate the students who had the foresightedness to take part in this programme, and also the teachers who organised it - Theresa Millett at CedarBridge Academy and Joann Adams at Berkeley Institute.

"The XL/Bermuda Education Initiative has already achieved a great deal to equip our students with the skills they need for further education and a career in the IT field.

"This pilot programme was able to go one step further by expanding the student's awareness of local opportunities and connecting with students with members of the community involved in the information technology.

"From administrative assignments to hardware repair, they were able to experience first hand, the world of IT in the workforce. The XL/Bermuda Education Initiative foes from strength to strength," he said.

A spokeswoman for the XL/Bermuda Initiative said the scheme was piloted in June of this year to help expand the students' awareness of the IT opportunities in Bermuda.

She added: "The integration of information technology into the education system at the senior schools has opened up the minds of the students; and their teachers have seen the new excitement in their classroom.

"We wanted to go one step further and introduce the students to the IT workforce by placing them into supervised internships in the community.

"We have received very positive feedback from their supervisors who are willing to participate next year. We anticipate about a dozen participating companies next year," she said.