Twenty women of all ages and backgrounds joined the first class of a new academy designed to help them achieve their career and personal goals.The Leadership Academy of Bermuda is offering a free eight-month course to assist women at the “grassroots level” through skills such as effective communication and problem-solving. The first session was held on Saturday at Christ Church in Devonshire.Academy Director Deborah Bradford said: “It was fabulous. Everyone was there before 9am and they were really eager and ready to get started. “It’s a wonderful group; very diverse. We have a schoolteacher, a pastor, a recruitment officer from the college, someone who works in insurance.“There’s a mother and her stepdaughter and it runs the gamut from the age of 18 right through to 55. A lot of them wanted to increase their confidence in terms of public speaking. A lot of them wanted to hone their leadership skills and a lot of them talked about taking time out and doing something for themselves.”The first session focused on getting to know each other and engaging in the components of leadership and teamwork through exercises involving problem-solving, communication, trust and different work styles.Later in the course, participants will test their new skills through a community project, and go on a “journey to self-awareness” overnight retreat.Ms Bradford said she wanted to thank Christ Church for donating the room used by the Academy for free.