Let me have a conversation with you — the Bermudian looking for work, paying rent, raising children, retraining, thinking about coming home, or wondering whether your children will still be able to afford to live here. You may ask: “Robert, what is actually going to change?”

We have heard about the Department of Workforce Development, apprenticeships and the promise that Bermudians come first.

Government policy says employers must advertise locally and give Bermudians priority before seeking foreign workers. So, I ask: if the system is working, why aren’t the results better?

Between 2023 and 2024, Bermuda gained 585 filled jobs, yet only 18 went to Bermudians, while non-Bermudian employment increased by 550.

This is not an accusation against foreign workers. It is a question about government performance.

How many Bermudians were trained and employed? How many apprentices completed training? How many moved from entry-level jobs into skilled or supervisory positions? How many work permits were issued because no suitably qualified Bermudian was available? And what is being done to ensure that the same position does not require another work permit five years from now?

Bermudians deserve the answers.

We need to stop managing employment ministry by ministry. Bermuda needs one national workforce strategy connecting education, economy and labour, immigration, national security, justice and corrections, housing, youth, health and social services.

Bermuda is one country. Our workforce strategy should be one plan.

Imagine a child entering primary school. The Government should understand emerging career opportunities and identify that child’s strengths. Assessment should continue throughout education, with opportunities to develop abilities in academics, trades, technology, athletics, music and the arts.

The Government already has much of the necessary data: employment needs, occupations dependent on work permits and required qualifications. It also knows the pressure on housing.

The problem is not simply data. It is the failure to use that information collectively — from school, to training, to employment, to promotion. And that plan must include the Department of Corrections.

We cannot seriously discuss workforce development while ignoring Bermudians who have entered the criminal justice system.

A person leaving the Department of Corrections without a job, qualification, housing and support is more likely to return to the system. That is not simply a justice problem. It is a workforce, housing, health and social services problem.

Every person entering the Department of Corrections should receive meaningful assessments of education, skills, employment history, substance-use and mental-health needs, and criminogenic risks. They should know what programmes, qualifications and employment opportunities are available, and what standards they must meet.

Before release, there should be a housing pathway. After release, there should be an employment or career pathway.

The Government should partner with employers willing to provide legitimate second-chance employment, using incentives such as payroll-tax reductions where appropriate. Employment should be connected to supervision, support and measurable outcomes.

That is how we reduce reoffending, build workers, rebuild families and break generational cycles of trauma.

Stop importing tomorrow’s shortage

Bermuda has genuine labour shortages. The Government acknowledges our ageing population and shrinking workforce. But a chronic labour shortage should trigger a workforce response — not permanent dependency on imported labour.

Where significant numbers of work permits are issued in an occupation, employers should have three and five-year Bermudian workforce plans.

If you need ten foreign workers today, show Bermuda how you intend to develop ten Bermudian workers tomorrow.

If you need nurses, train nurses. If you need chefs, train chefs. If you need electricians, mechanics, teachers, healthcare workers or corrections officers, build the pipeline.

Give Bermudians the same opportunity

If an employer provides a foreign recruit with relocation assistance, accommodation or a housing allowance, why shouldn’t a qualified Bermudian receive comparable support?

We must also address age discrimination. In an ageing population, experience should be an asset — not a reason to exclude someone because they are over 50.

Assess competence, qualifications, experience and performance — not someone’s birth date.

Government must own the results

We do not need another committee, consultant or announcement telling Bermudians that something is being done. We need a Bermudian Workforce Scorecard.

Every year, Parliament and the public should see:

• Work permits issued and renewed by occupation

• Bermudian applicants, hires, training and promotions

• Apprenticeships started and completed

• Bermudians returning from overseas

• Employment outcomes for people leaving Corrections

• Bermudian recruitment into Police and Corrections

• Housing assistance provided to foreign and Bermudian recruits

• Three- and five-year workforce replacement targets

• Which employers met their targets — and which did not

When a target is missed, the responsible minister should explain why and what will be done to correct it. Responsibility comes with authority.

Our national plan must look beyond the next election: five years, ten years, 25 years and 50 years.

In five years, rebuild the Bermudian workforce pipeline. In ten years, reduce unnecessary dependency on imported labour. In 25 years, establish generational economic security. In 50 years, protect a prosperous, competitive and distinctly Bermudian Bermuda.

That is the conversation I want to have with you.

Are more Bermudians working? Are they earning more? Are more young people entering careers? Are people leaving Corrections with a genuine second chance? Are employers building Bermudian succession plans? Has recruitment into our uniformed services improved?

If the answer is yes, prove it with the numbers. If the answer is no, fix it.

Train Bermudians. Hire Bermudians. Retain Bermudians. Bring Bermudians home.

And plan for the Bermuda our grandchildren will inherit — not simply the Bermuda we govern today.

• Robert King is the independent MP for Smith’s North