Getting young Bermudians educated and working ahead of impending demographic shifts will prove critical in the future, the One Bermuda Alliance warned.Pembroke Central candidate Andrew Simons said the OBA planned to keep “an eye on the road ahead” in preparation for an ageing population.He also said that today’s jobless young adults were missing out on the crucial life skills obtained in the first years of work.The remarks yesterday were given as the third in a series of talks by younger Opposition candidates on issues facing the Island.“My great-grandfather Earlington Simons of Cedar Hill, had eight children, my grandmother had four children and my father had two children,” Mr Simons said, adding: “People have fewer children these days.”This trend, coupled with greater longevity, means the proportion of seniors — those over 65 years-old — will double, from 11 percent in 2000 to 22 percent in 2030, while the number of workers shouldering the cost of supporting them has declined, he said.“The OBA has clear plans to empower my generation to adapt to this transition,” Mr Simons added, pointing to the Oppositions “comprehensive education plan”: a longer school day, an integrated technical curriculum starting at middle school, and an independent standards body that would release information such as examination results.He added: “The high unemployment rate for the 16 to 24 age group means that this generation is missing out on the essential skills developed in the first few years of work.”The OBA, Mr Simons said, has a jobs and economic recovery plan that would mean “a return to Government surpluses, which will be used to pay down the national debt and to help pay for the social programmes necessary to support our ageing population”.