Force's report on Wednesday.

Sen. Lynda Milligan-Whyte (UBP) praised the Report as "definitive'' and "committed'' and advised Bermudians to prepare themselves to take advantage of the many technological and industrial changes that are on the horizon.

"With the expansion of trading blocs all over the world, there will be a growing need for a country that is neutral and especially tax-neutral,'' the Senator said. "As Bermuda has played a prominent role in that area and will continue to do so, our Island is well-positioned to attract more business.

"When 1997 comes around and there is a (stock market) de-listing among companies in Hong Kong, they will want (to relocate) almost overnight. We must be ready for them. We must prepare for another boom.'' Picking up on Sen. Milligan-Whyte's theme of preparedness, Sen. Neletha Butterfield (PLP) said that Government had to invest in the education and training of Bermudians above all else.

"It is vitally important that we stop talking about the training of Bermudians and actually start training and retraining them,'' Sen. Butterfield said.

"Bermudians want to enjoy their work. Many are not very happy at their jobs, and those that are unemployed want to be rightfully employed.'' One way of doing that, Sen. Butterfield suggested, is to make people feel secure in their workplaces.

"Some people believe that we on (the PLP) side are against foreign workers,'' she said. "That's not so -- we recognise the need for foreign workers. But where Bermudians can do the job, they should be placed in the job.'' Sen. Butterfield said the policy of having a Bermudian work "side by side'' with a foreigner in some fields hasn't been as rigorously enforced as it could be and called the Government on the "redundancies, small business closures and increased unemployment rate'' that have resulted since its pledge to tackle labour issues in last year's Throne Speech.

Sen. Norma Astwood (Ind) focused her address on the challenges and opportunities that the return of foreign Base lands would represent to the Bermudian economy.

She also suggested that Bermudians take a more innovative approach to dealing with current labour problems.

The Senator suggested the decentralisation of Government and industries and the possibility of home worksites for women especially as two of the more creative solutions to problems that the Island could look into.

Sen. Larry Scott (UBP) took the opportunity of his address to highlight the difficulty that young black males experience as they try to forge a career.

"This Report doesn't speak directly to them, but I want to,'' he said.

"As someone with firsthand knowledge in this area, I want to tell them that the only person who can raise the black male from the malaise that we all perceive him to be in is not the psychologist or the sociologist or the do-gooding social worker. It is, rather, the black male himself. He has a real opportunity to share in the prosperity of this Country. I ask him to hold on, to get motivated. The community is for him too.'' Switching gears, Sen. Scott also addressed a recommendation in the Report that urged Bermudians of near retirement age to make way for younger workers.

"I don't think we should put our older employees out to pasture,'' the Senator said. "We need their expertise. And if we take them out of the workforce, we will have to replace them from the limited numbers of currently available workers. Then we will have another argument -- about who we're bringing in from abroad.'' Sen. Terry Lister (PLP) expounded on the importance of adapting the skills of Bermudians to meet changing economic needs.

"The retraining of Bermudians has got to be the most important issue we are facing at this time in the area of employment,'' he said. "As we have already talked about, the Bermudian male is being left behind. And many of the industries that employed Bermudian males traditionally are shrinking and contracting.'' On the subject of gauging employment, Sen. Lister said it would be "much more favourable'' to examine the actual number of foreign workers on the Island instead of the number of work permits issued.

The Senator said that the mouths of most Bermudians would "fall open'' if they realised that Government often issued "multiple'' employment permits.

After the recession, Bermudians should have got back to work first, he said.

Instead, statistics showed more jobs went to non-Bermudians during the job growth revival last year.

He added the impact of the recession was most severe on the hotel industry and retail industries.

"The falling away of hotels was felt by everyone,'' Sen. Lister said. "After the heady days of the 1980s the brakes were put on.'' "Bermudian males, wherever they were employed, the jobs shrank,'' he said.

"From construction to wholesale to the hotel industry.'' But Sen. Lister said he was even more bothered by job losses in the clerical sector that employs a number of foreign work permits holders.

After taking home more than 62 hours of wages before the recession, today workers are scrambling to make 40-hour weeks.

Sen. Lister added he found social assistance payments by Government in excess of $800,000 "frightening''.

With a population of 25,000 households, it meant four percent received payments.

"I don't believe Bermudians need social assistance. That is not the nature of our people. We don't want to put them in the position so that that is what they have to do to survive,'' he said.

Retraining for the over-50 age group in construction should be made available, he added.

And while the global economy is picking up, tourism has still failed to make a come back.

The average length of stay is falling and continues to fall, Sen. Lister said.

But after years of steady losses, the hotels finally made a $5 million profit last year.

In view of the predicted expansion in restaurants and bars, Sen. Lister recommended that Bermudians be trained for jobs in that area.

And insurance, he said, was a wonderful area for Bermuda.

"We all understand and appreciate it and understand how important it is to Bermuda's well being,'' Sen. Lister said.

But he took issues with comments in the report that said that the companies were likely to bring in "most if not all'' of their senior staff.

Sen. Lister said it took some time for a country to catch up with a new industry, such as mutual fund industry that "dropped in on Bermuda''.

But he called the comments a "technical error'' because over time, there was no reason why Bermudians could not be trained for top level jobs.

On a point of information, Sen. Pitman commented that a number of companies such as XL and ACE employed Bermudians "right, left and centre''.

Sen. Lister said he remembered the 1980s as very difficult years in terms of labour relations.

"There was bad behaviour all around,'' he said.

While the number of days lost by strikes was extremely small compared to other countries, he said Bermudians are "ready to go into strike mode at any time''.

He added that Government came into conflicts too early and legislation was written too fast.

Schools needed to teach more relevant subjects. What was the point of teaching fifth formers how to programme computers when there is little demand for skill beneath an advanced level, he asked.

Schools should be forecasting jobs where jobs will be and pointing students to them. Currently 51 students are studying psychology while only four jobs in the field are available on the Island, Sen. Lister said.

Sen. Yvette Swan (UBP) commented that the essence of the report was not confrontational but aimed to help prepare Bermudians to take advantage of future job opportunities.

In reply to comments by Sen. Lister, Sen. Swan said local workers are ill-treated by local, not foreign companies.

Sen. Swan said Bermudians are losing jobs in the hospitality industry but are moving into the international business sector instead.

"You should show the whole loaf -- not just half. It may not be so good in one sector but it is good in another,'' she said.

She cited 1991 figures that showed a 15 percent increase in Bermudian men in international business compared to just a 0.3 percent rise in non-Bermudian men in the sector.

Sen. Swan also praised mature students for rising to the challenge of re-educating themselves.

She also echoed Sen. Lister's words that Bermudians are proud people and dislike handouts.

"I would encourage companies to understand that Bermudians workers are an asset,'' she said. "The greatest asset they can have is a Bermudian employee.'' Senate president the Hon. Albert Jackson said it was difficult to accept that Bermudians are unemployable after 12 years of education.

"There is evidence to show the high flyers are flying high,'' he said. At the other end of the scale, however, he claimed Bermudians lacked motivation, reliability and trustworthiness.

He said it was alarming to note Bermudians were not interested in going into the hotel industry -- Bermuda's largest source of income.