Bermudians who are biased against expatriate workers and the international businesses who employ them need to get to grips with economic reality.

That was the message from Opposition MP Grant Gibbons as he launched a debate on a new report examining employment trends.

The motion he moved in the House of Assembly on Friday asked members to note significant issues highlighted in the study by the Bermuda Employers' Council entitled: 'The shift: An examination of employment trends in Bermuda'.

Dr. Gibbons, Shadow Minister of Education, said it was important to consider their implications for Bermuda's workforce, education system, economy and long-term sustainability. Setting out the key points of the report, which was based on Government statistics, Dr. Gibbons said it notes:

• There are too few Bermudians to fill the number of jobs available and that the economy requires, partly due to the low birth rate prevalent in the Western world.

• This means that if economic growth continues, the proportion of non-Bermudians required in the workforce will continue to grow.

• The Civil Service has created a "brain drain" through attracting a higher number of college educated Bermudians than the workforce as a whole, again meaning non-Bermudians are needed elsewhere. This has been exacerbated, according to the report, by the growth of the Civil Service over the last ten years.

• The statistics from the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality (CURE) on the racial make-up of the workforce are of "doubtful value" in that they only look at larger firms and not smaller firms which are Bermudian-run and operated.

• There's been a significant shift in the last 15 years from labour-based jobs to knowledge-based jobs that require professional or trade qualifications.

Dr. Gibbons said the report concludes that the public needs to have a sound understanding of the way Bermuda's economy works.

"They feel that would help balance aspirations and expectations against the realities of the economy and also maximise Bermudians' opportunities for success," he told the House.

He added that the report highlights the negative opinions in Bermuda regarding guest workers and international business.

"We've all seen that and it is quite pervasive," he remarked. However, he continued: "Those that believe that we simply take the non-Bermudian jobs away and there will be more jobs for Bermudians are quite wrong, as in most cases those jobs are there in a way that proves to create jobs for Bermudians."

Dr. Gibbons said of the Island's expatriates: "We need to do a better job of optimising that relationship.

"We've spoken on this side of the House on a number of occasions on the issue of welcomeness. Bermudians have historically been seen as friendly, that was important for tourism, but we can also be very xenophobic as well.

"The report says we need non-Bermudians here and speaks to some of the difficulties and challenges they face in this Country.

"If we're going to continue to attract the best non Bermudians we can, we're going to have to continue to look at our policies in respect of immigration and how we treat non Bermudians as a whole. Bermudians need to understand the importance of having them here."

Turning to the issue of the CURE statistics, Dr. Gibbons said they only look at around 12 percent of all operating businesses, albeit those that account for around 70 percent of the workforce.

He said the statistics should not be used as a base for Government policy as they do not take into account "a lot of smaller Bermudian owned and operated businesses that have a different demographic."

Listing things that need to be done based on the report, Dr. Gibbons said education reform and life long learning are crucial.

He suggested policy should focus on efforts to maximise opportunities for all Bermudians and do all it can to attract Bermudians overseas back to the Island.