by Annabel Cooper

As the baby boomer generation retires, we look at what companies in Bermuda should be doing to attract the best young talent.

According to the November 2018 Labour Force Survey Report, there are 10,050 people aged 55 and over currently employed in Bermuda and, says Malika Taylor, a Partner at Expertise, this “huge bubble of baby boomers are set to retire over the next five to eight years”. What therefore can companies do to make themselves attractive to the younger generation of potential employees who could fill this vacuum?

“This young, tech-savvy generation is truly, in almost every way, different,” said Kelly Francis, president of Performance Solutions Ltd. She explained that communication has changed, their experiences have changed and their resumes have changed. “It’s being prepared for how different they are so you can employ them in a space they recognise.”

The baby boomer generation is currently aged between 55 and 75. Next comes generation X, who are 40 to 54 and then it’s the millennial generation who are 25 to 39.

Ms Taylor points out that the younger generation is not necessarily more tech-savvy than their older counterparts because everyone, regardless of age, uses so much technology in their daily lives, but the difference is in how they communicate and what they expect from a company they work for.

It’s “telephone versus Snapchat, Facebook versus Instagram, this is where we’re seeing the generational gap. How they communicate, not how they do their jobs,” she said.

Ms Taylor said that when trying to attract young dynamic talent, understanding social media is vital. “Using social media as a platform to attract talent is by far the best way to attract millennial talent,” she says. “Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.”

Ms Taylor also said that while everybody is looking for fair and competitive compensation, the generation coming into the workforce are also interested in being employed by companies
with socially and ethically responsible business practices.

“In addition to being paid fairly, they want to work for an organisation where doing things in the community will have an impact,” she said, adding that people are asking questions about a company’s diversity and inclusion practices.

Trey Sanders, global HR manager at LOM Financial Group, said they had recently changed the tone of their recruitment adverts and company handbooks to make them chattier and less formal, writing instead in the way people speak.

“Having an engaging tone and making young people feel valued will intensify their employee experience,” he said.

“Globally, LOM are now primarily recruiting on social media and being transparent about the salary range on offer on the adverts.

“We are one of the only companies to do this in Bermuda, Cayman and the Bahamas. Younger people appreciate this full transparency and we are seeing more job applications from them as well.”

Mr Sanders added that younger employees enjoy facilitating social events: “LOM recently had a day out for our Bermuda employees researching and understanding the conservation being done on Trunk Island and specifically work in protecting the Bermuda Cahow. The staff enjoyed the experience and appreciated the opportunity.”

The younger generation wants “to do a great job and be socially and ethically conscious”, Ms Taylor said.

This article was originally featured in the TOP TEN 2019 edition of the RG Business Magazine.

The post Youth appeal appeared first on RG Magazines.

The Annex Toys

Silverlit Bumper Drone

The innovative, Silverlit Bumper Drone available at the Annex Toys delivers a whole new concept of action drones with 360˚ protection, anti-shock material that allows you to bounce the drone off walls.  Its 2.4 GHz technology allows both indoor and outdoor use.  Plus, it can land on freshwater and take off again.

P-Tech

Samsung Kids Galaxy E Lite

Enjoy trustworthy, educational content from DreamWorks Animation, Sesame Street, National Geographic and more with the Samsung Galaxy E Lite available at P-Tech.  Set time limits and explore a variety of engaging Samsung Kids content that aligns with STEM and Common Core curricula.

Brown & Co.

4M Wind Up Robots

The 4M Wind Up Robots Kit from Brown & Co. promises hours of fun as you craft wind-up robots to enjoy. Just create, wind up and race four different cardboard robots with friends and family using safe, high-quality materials.

This article was originally published in the 2019 edition of the RG Kids Magazine.

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Over the last 14 months there has been a lot of talk about the benefits of 100 percent true fibre network for residents of the island. But what about businesses? The newest technology for business-to-business services and solutions is “Fibre to the Business”, and here’s a breakdown:

There are two main types of internet technologies used by businesses on the island: fibre and copper. Fibre optic is, by simple scientific fact, the best technology currently available for the transferring of data. Fibreoptic cables use pulses of light to send data between two points while traditional copper cable uses sound pulses over expensive copper metal.

A 100 percent fibre internet service goes point-to-point without interruption. This means taking the fibre cable all the way into the business, rather than switch to another technology, such as copper, to cover the last portion of the journey. Going from fibre to copper cabling or another network type introduces degradation and a possible point of failure.

Mathieu Dion, Head of Business Solutions at Digicel Bermuda explains, “Fibre to the business is the future of business telecoms and services, for a number of reasons. In today’s business environment organisations can’t put up with even the lowest level of latency for data transfer or internet speed. Likewise, security is paramount.”

Thebig benefit for companies is that fibre all the way into the business provides a point-to-point, dedicated network connection that combines low latency and high security. In simple terms there is no sharing of a fibre line with outside parties, which copper, a hybrid (of copper and fibre) or WiFi solutions allow. Fibre is also not susceptible to magnetic, electrical or other types of interference that can impact both copper and wireless technologies.

“The term ‘future proofed’ may sound like jargon but fibre is built for future needs and completely scalable as the need for greater bandwidth grows. This also makes it cost effective in the long run for future upgrades. Given the pace of technology advances, even at the SMEs and home office level, this is crucial to continued growth and reduction in costs”, added Mr Dion.

“In today’s fast-paced business world it’s essential to be able to run all business-critical applications reliably online. Effective communication with colleagues, customers and suppliers is key to success. Businesses with fibre connections will be able to expand their computing power and capabilities on demand at a moment’s notice.”

Fibre is less susceptible than copper to degradation, temperature and moisture interference, which is a common problem in Bermuda due to its subtropical climate. Fibre connectivity provides businesses with consistently fast speeds when they need it, i.e. all the time.

In the United Kingdom, companies are making the switch and when British Telecom surveyed 900 of their customers, 75 percent said fibre internet helped them achieve their business goals and deliver a better customer experience when compared to the standard business internet.

In the wider context of what a fibre infrastructure means for Bermuda, during an interview with Bloomberg TV earlier this year, Premier David Burt mentioned the fibre-to-the-home network as he talked about the island’s readiness to host Blockchain and FinTech companies as well as the development of Bermuda as a digital hub.

In terms of islands of similar size and development plans, this matches what has been happening in Jersey, in the Channel Islands, as it aims to the become the first jurisdiction in the world to reach 100 percent full-fibre connectivity this year. There are 36,000+ properties connected to 100 percent fibre in Jersey, while fibre runs past 36,365properties (business and home) in Bermuda so the potential is there. Additionally, Bermuda also has an advanced LTE (Long-Term Evolution) mobile network, meaning the island is not far behind as one of the most seamlessly connected places in the world.

FinTech, Blockchain and cryptocurrencies have been hot topics recently as the government plans to attract these industries to the island. Commenting on the government’s plans, Paul Stafford, CEO of Digicel Bermuda, said, “As the island looks to attract FinTech and blockchain-based companies, Digicel is best placed to offer a world-class fibre network.  Because ours is the only 100 percent end-to-end fibre network, we are in a unique position to provide a service with not just high speeds, but equally, reliability, scalability, resilience and low-latency.”

From an employment perspective, this is a positive move as the island expands its employment base beyond the reinsurance industry. According to Jersey Telecom, 100+ jobs were created within the digital sector off the back of the fibre roll out. This can only be good news as the government peruses its digital agenda. In addition to job creation, locally it has resulted in upskilling as BTC service technicians with decades of experience of building, installing and maintaining a copper network were retrained on a newer technology, ensuring job security.

As Bermuda continues to lead the way in the reinsurance industry, seeks to attract emerging industries, and grows opportunities for local business owners, the fibre technology is there to provide the unseen, unsung backbone to ongoing success.

Digicel’s Fibre to the Business is launching in early October.

This article was originally published in the September 2018 edition of the RG Business Magazine.

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Look and feel

Its slim and flat design allows it to blend in with your computer almost seamlessly, making it relatively undetectable to onlookers. The device comes with a 9.5-inch USB cable that attaches it to your device. Unfortunately for those with no more available right-side USB ports, you can only attach the bar to the right side and the AirBar cannot be used upside down to try and plug it in to the left side – others have tried.

Your computer cannot be closed while it’s plugged in, and an alarm will sound if a hand is detected at the outer most top edge of the light field, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting. The AirBar weighs about 200 grams and comes in three sizes -13.3, 14, 15.6- for Windows in black and one size -13.3 -for Mac in silver.

Setup and use

The device works for both Windows 10 and Mac, but the setup for each is a little different. Both require magnets to attach the device to the computer.

Windows set-up:Most Windows computers are touchscreen at this point, but for those still using an older or a non-touchscreen model, the AirBar could be the right gadget to make your life easier. Windows 10 was designed with touchscreens in mind, so using the AirBar is as simple as plugging it into your device and using it. There is no extra software download required, so using it is a simple as plug in and play.

Apple/Mac set-up:For Mac users, the setup is a little more complicated. Mac computers are not and as Apple’s senior vice president hinted to wired.com, might never be designed with touch capabilities (that’s what iPads are for). AirBar, however, is here to make our Mac dreams a reality. To help the device run smoothly, there is an extra driver, available on the AirBar website, that will need to be installed. The website also has step by step instructions on the download process. This will allow your Mac to run seamlessly with the Airbar.

Function and performance

In terms of function and performance, there are some glitches, which can be expected from any add- on device. We’ve heard some complaints about inconsistencies when it comes to touch accuracy, but for the most part, it works quite flawlessly.

Pros

• Affordable
• Accurate touch control; Chrome OS and Windows support
• Easy setup
• Novel and exciting
• Adds basic touchscreen capabilities to your MacBook Air

Cons

• Magnet setup can be tricky (and permanent)
• USB cable aligns only on the right
• Inconsistent operation
• Can’t close the laptop
• Only available for one Mac model (Macbook Air 13.3)

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The world’s first mobile phone call was made on April 3, 1973 when the senior engineer at Motorola, called a rival telecommunications company and told them he was speaking through a mobile phone.

Here are some cell phones that followed:

DynaTAC 8000X

In 1983, Motorola released its first mobile phone. It only had 30 minutes of talk-time and could store 30 phone numbers.

Price: $3995

Mobira Cityman900

This Nokia phone was available in 1989. The handset weighed almost 2 pounds and was a huge improvement from the other “brick like” phones.

Price: $9900

Nokia 6110

In 1997, Nokia released a mobile phone that everyone had to have. It featured three games, a calculator, a clock and calendar and came in 4 colours.

Price: $1230

Motorola StarTA

Also popular in 1997, the inspiration for the clam-shell design came from Star Trek. 60 million were sold and they appeared in many Hollywood movies.

Price: $1500

Blackberry 850

In 1999, the first Blackberry was one of the first of many released under the brand name. It had a full keyboard, could send messages, access email and more.

Price: $527

Nokia 3310

In the mid to late 1990’s this was the mobile phone everyone wanted and most had. It is still known as the most indestructible phone ever made and the antenna was designed into the phone itself.

Price: $185

J-SH04

The first camera phone came from Japan and the Sharp Corporation in November 2000. It had a 0.1 megapixel resolution, a colour LCD screen, one-touch internet access and a speaker phone.

Price: $500 

Samsung SGH-T100

The first cell phone with a bright, clear and colourful, large, matrix LCD display.

Siemens SL4

In 2001, the first mp3 player phone was released. It had a memory card slot for extra storage and a wireless internet browser.

Price: $400

Motorola Razr V3

This flip phone was the best-selling phone from 2004 to 2006. 130 million of them were sold. It was an mp3 player and had Bluetooth connectivity.

Price: $449

Blackberry 7270

In 2005, the first phone to have Wi-Fi started the cell phone addiction. Having the internet meant that people could now check their phones while brushing their teeth or even at the dining table.

Price: $500

LG Shine

In 2006, LG released a camera phone that displays the number pad once you slide it up. It also had a mirror screen.

Price: $249

Apple iPhone

In 2008, the first-generation iPhone changed cell phones forever. The touchscreen became the design of choice and the apps were so popular that by 2010 Apple had sold 50 million iPhones. In 2017, they sold 78 million iPhones.

Price: $599

This article was featured in the 2018 edition of the RG Kids Magazine.

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