THEY say one should be careful what they ask for but, invariably, we rejoice when wishes are granted.

This is true of young Sayeed Bernard, a fifth form student at St George’s College, who is heading to CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank as ‘managing director for a day’.

Sayeed’s keen questions as a participant at the Junior Achievement Company of Entrepreneurs Programme (JACE) annual general meeting at the Jamaica Conference Centre last week Tuesday won him an invitation from the bank’s managing director, Nigel Holness, to “shadow” him for a day.

Holness had participated in a panel discussion titled ‘Local Entrepreneurs, Global Businesses’ during which he made a presentation on ‘The Simple Art of Finance’ to more than 800 JACE participants from 46 local high schools.

Holness said that, “he was extremely impressed with the maturity displayed by the students” who, under JACE, conceptualise, plan and run businesses over a four-month period.

At CIBC FirstCaribbean, Sayeed will “work” with Holness and other senior department heads.

Sayeed served as vice president of human resources for JACE’s Simplex Creations project, which manufactures knapsacks from polypropylene that Sayeed describes as “an environmentally-friendly, recyclable plastic material.”

“They’re inexpensive too, retailing at approximately J$500, which makes it easy for students to save from their lunch money, to buy it,” Sayeed noted. The company also plans to personalise the bags with individual school logos for wider appeal, the young entrepreneur shared.