Government is setting up a $500,000 retraining scholarship fund at Bermuda College to help people into jobs currently held by expatriates.The initiative will target Bermudians struggling to find work despite their experience in accounting, information technology and other areas of international business, Economy Minister Patrice Minors told a press conference.Such individuals, as well as recent college graduates, will be given retraining so they can become certified in key areas.“The aim is to see Bermudians assume positions that are at present held by guest workers,” said Mrs Minors yesterday.“This is about assisting those Bermudians who have experience, but who have had trouble getting back into the industry because of the downturn in the economy.”She said the Department of Labour and Training will work with the college to develop education programmes which “support the social and economic policies of the Government”.Mrs Minors told the media: “Our aim is to assist these persons to become more marketable, reinventing themselves in accordance with the needs of the economy.”Bermuda’s 2010 Census found more than 2,500 people were out of work, an unemployment rate of six percent, but the One Bermuda Alliance has argued the true figure is now much higher.Mrs Minors said: “We at the Ministry have worked tirelessly in the last couple of years to address our unemployment concerns by implementing numerous initiatives to increase employment opportunities for Bermudians.“Under the auspices of the Department of Labour and Training we have dedicated considerable efforts to ensuring that those Bermudians who needed it were given the assistance to acquire those basic job skills to enter the workplace.“However it is clear that this economic downturn has been indiscriminate. It has affected all sectors of our workforce, large and small businesses; professional and blue collar workers. And what we recognise is that there are different levels of unemployment that need to be addressed.“A critical component in our economic recovery plan is to increase the opportunities of developing our workforce by retraining Bermudians.“I am of the view that we must take a holistic approach to getting Bermudians back to work. And we must employ a range of strategies in this endeavour.“One of our key focuses is buoying our training and development resources, and today I am very proud that we are able to partner with the Bermuda College to realise this goal.”Bermuda College president Duranda Greene said: “One of the best ways to reverse the ravages of the current recession is to create jobs, and then educate and retrain persons for those jobs that have been created.”Dr Greene said the college’s Professional and Career Education division retrained 120 people last year in careers such as dental assistants, hairstylists, drywall masonry and purchase management.“That’s the beauty of the community college/community partnership,” she said.“The skills, training and education provided is as diverse as the persons making up our community, and it’s adaptable for the unemployed and the underemployed in Bermuda. And with these monies, now it’s accessible.“You can expect to see in the near future, training being made available wherever there are a significant number of guest workers in the job market.”That includes accounting, information technology, secondary education and nursing, she said.Useful websites: www.college.bm