The outgoing executive officer of the National Training Board has warned that Bermuda could be at risk of developing a "permanent underclass" unless more people are given the opportunity to improve their job skills.

Mike Stowe, who leaves the NTB tomorrow after eight years at the helm, told The Royal Gazette that although the organisation had been able to help many people improve their circumstances, many others were missing out on training opportunities.

"We are not doing enough training," he said. "I believe fundamentally that every person should be given the opportunity to improve their social circumstances."

Mr. Stowe said Government needed to invest in training for all its workers to improve their health and safety on the job, give them a sense of accomplishment and better their working lives. He cited refuse workers as a prime example of those who could benefit.

"There is no category of worker in Bermuda who can't benefit by better training and perhaps their becoming nationally certified," he said.

"But as a society we have a tendency to categorise some people as very important, some as less important and some unimportant.

"It's a fine thing to train as many people as we can and I believe we have made significant achievement in terms of the numbers and the quality of training we have provided.

"But for as many people as we have trained and have moved up the social economic spectrum, there are those that are not trained."

He added: "For those that are not able to access training, we have to give attention to that. As we move people up, there are others not given the opportunity to avail themselves of training. We run the risk of creating a permanent underclass in Bermuda."

Mr. Stowe, who is returning to the private sector, said an underclass of untrained and uneducated Bermudians unable to get better jobs and reliant on social assistance already existed.

And he said the NTB was the ideal agency to tackle that by ensuring that all Bermudians were equipped with skills to make them employable.

The NTB has helped about 2,000 young people on the Island since it was created at the start of the decade. It offers national certification for electricians, welders and vehicle mechanics, as well as apprenticeships, grants and scholarships.

Mr. Stowe, who helped bring in national certification awards for NTB apprentices in 2004, said as many as 45 trade and technical occupations could benefit from national certification to improve and maintain standards.