FOREWORD
Foreword
Ralph Richardson has had thirteen careers, from working at the
Bermuda Fire Service to piloting a submarine—and he now has a
role with the ACE Foundation. Fast Track asked him to tell us his story
it was sort of set in stone that I should attend. The Berkeley Institute was then known as an academic school for people of colour. The school system was very segregated in those days. I didn’t do very well academically. Physics never made any sense to me and neither did maths. Then my mother transferred me to the Bermuda Technical Institute, which was the first integrated high school in Bermuda.
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I started studying automotive engineering; that was my initial training. I was an automotive engineer and then I joined the Bermuda Fire Service. I became a junior officer and I was assigned to the engineering division, obviously, but I still had full responsibilities as a junior officer and a fireman. I went on to become a lieutenant. My family and I then moved to Darrell’s Island where I was a caretaker and marine pilot. I operated the transportation boats for three government campsites and we were also responsible for the island that we lived on. I’ve also taught mechanics at the Bermuda Institute, automotive mechanics at the Casemates Prison, navigation at Warwick Academy, and Royal Yachting Association courses at the Bermuda College.
All of these things indicate that I have lived my life as one long learning experience. I can quote from a management course I did at York University: “The average college graduate today will have seven careers before they retire.” The seven careers would indicate that whatever the graduate decides to do now isn’t necessarily going to be what they end up with. You should approach learning with an open mind and should always be open to the idea of continuous learning. Each opportunity that I’ve had has really been about continuous learning. Now, towards the end of my career, I’m doing a master’s in international management with the University of Liverpool. Even at 60 years old, I haven’t stopped learning. Most people take a job that suits their ability. My view has been to take the job and get whatever is needed to do it, so I’ve accepted a lot of jobs that I didn’t know much about initially.
His Excellency Sir Richard Gozney, Governor of Bermuda (right), and Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Commodore Ralph Richardson inspect the yachts in the annual Sail Past, May 17, 2009
I’m a local marine pilot, or captain, and I’ve taught navigation. I’ve taught approximately 800 students in my classes over the years, if not more than that. The submarine career started out of a relationship that I had with Beau Evans [former owner of Looking Glass Cruises]. I became his manager, and he had a glass-bottom boat business. He carried tourists off the reefs and did evening cruises, starlight cruises and dinner cruises. He felt that the ultimate glass-bottom boat would be a submarine.
8 FAST TRACK / Careers module / 2010-2011 WWW.FASTTRACKBERMUDA.COM
here’s something I want to share that I think is critically important, because it was a turning point in my life. At the age of 11, my parents sent me to the Berkeley Institute. Most of my family had attended this particular school and
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