The move is central to a new Cabinet committee's plans to deal with stubborn post-recession unemployment that has left about 500 people without a job and another 200 to 250 under-employed.

The committee is taking over from the Cabinet committee put together to guide the Island through the recession.

It will include the Ministers of Finance, Social Services, Works, Community Affairs, Environment and Tourism.

Chairman Mr. Pearman said the committee would be moving away from earlier practices of trying to manage economic troubles to a "new, positive mode of re-training and development''.

"We're pushing on this quickly. Hopefully, we'll be able to see a turnaround in some areas of opportunity,'' he said.

Money for re-training is expected to come in part from make-work and social assistance programmes.

Mr. Pearman said one goal would be to wean people off social assistance and re-train them for available jobs in business sectors identified by the committee.

At the end of March, 1,018 people were receiving more than $700,000 in social assistance each month.

The Minister said the new committee would be paying particular attention to construction workers and clerical/sales staff -- the two job groups in which unemployment is highest.

"No doubt there is a hardcore among the unemployed,'' he said. "The bulk of that is in the construction industry: not only semi-skilled workers and labourers but skilled masons and carpenters.

"Another area of concern to us is among sales and clerical staff. Although businesses are making a turnaround, the employment levels are not jumping back.'' According to the 1993 Manpower Survey, there were 1747 jobs in the construction industry, compared to 1,832 in 1992 and 2,917 in the 1989 before the recession took hold.

In sales, there were 2,320 jobs compared to 2,277 in 1992 and 2,580 in 1989.

Among clerical staff, there were 8,841 jobs in 1989 compared to 7,843 in 1993 and 7,842 in 1992.

Broader figures show steady job losses in all sectors over the past five years. At the end of 1993, 5,995 people were employed in restaurants and hotels compared to 6,243 in 1989; in retail there 4,746 compared to 5,562 in 1989 and in construction there were 1,747 compared to 2,917 in 1989.

Finance Minister the Hon. David Saul said the post-recession problem is similar to that in other developed countries. The recession forced a "shake-down'' in which companies "got leaner and meaner to put their operations right''. Recovery has been achieved with fewer workers.

Dr. Saul said many "medium businesses'' were also bogged down in paying off debts incurred during the recession before rehiring people.

Hotelier Mr. David Dodwell MP said the recession had forced the industry to become leaner.

"We've restructured our businesses,'' he said. "It's a reflection of a tougher economic climate.'' For example, one of the large hotels has dropped its Modified American (dining) Plan whereby it has to keep a main dining room opened and staffed for two meals each day.

Instead, it has opened "satellite'' restaurants which don't require as many staff.

The result has been a "massive cutback in its food and beverage staff''.

Mr. Pearman said his committee wanted to channel job retraining to areas where jobs were growing.

Mr. Pearman said he hoped to provide more specific information in the coming months.

Dr. Saul said it would be at least another year before significant inroads were made on the jobless situation.