The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Association of International Banks & Trust Companies (AIBT) has again partnered with the Ministry of Financial Services (MFS) and the College of the Bahamas (COB) to launch the ‘2013 Nassau Conference Essay Competition’.

The competition will leading into this year’s Nassau Conference. At the 2012 event, the AIBT selected 10 students who will, this summer, be engaged in a six-week paid internship at the following member companies:

• Corner Bank & Trust

• Credit Suisse AG Trust

• Pictet Bank & Trust

• Societe General Private Banking (Bahamas)

• The Private Trust Corporation

• The St. James Bank & Trust (Bahamas)

• The Winterbotham Trust Company

• UBS (Bahamas)

• The Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Company (Bahamas)

A protocol workshop for the students will be conducted prior to the start of the internships, covering the soft skills required to prepare them for successful assignmemnts with the companies, and position them to get the most out of the programme.

For this year’s essay competition, the College of the Bahamas will provide a list of 21 students across banking, financial services and related fields of study, who will be invited to submit a 500-word essay on the 2013 conference theme – ‘The shift has occurred: How are you positioned?’.

The selection committee will interview each of the short-listed candidates, rate their essays and consider other criteria, including community involvement, special interests and extracurricular activities.

Some 10 students will be chosen to attend the 2013 Nassau Conference, and participate in the 2014 summer internships. Two students will be selected to attend a Spanish Language Emersion Programme in Mexico, sponsored by the AIBT.

“This is an opportunity for students to not only experience a world class conference, but also to gain valuable real world experience and skills,” said Antoinette Russell, the Nassau Conference chairperson and deputy chair of AIBT, the event’s founding sponsor.

She added: “The Conference and the related AIBT efforts continue to expose the next generation of leaders to this dynamic and vital sector, and help continue the country’s leadership as a financial services centre.”