Government’s training initiatives have benefited “countless” unemployed and underemployed Bermudians, Economy Minister Patrice Minors said yesterday.Mrs Minors was backed by PLP candidate Diallo Rabain, a board member of the National Training Board, who complained that young people were “hurt and disappointed” by “negative” comments made about them.“Our people don’t need to hear just the negatives. They need to know that we do care and we are standing strong for Bermudians,” he said.The pair were joined by two young Bermudians who had taken advantage of taxpayer-funded training programmes.Mr Rabain said he had encouraged Maurico Burgess to take advantage of NTB programmes a few years ago.Mr Burgess testified that he had gone to India for a three- month accelerated programme which gave him additional certifications in Information Technology.“Going through the paper and the job sites, I now see that I am more competitive,” he said.Mr Burgess had a degree in electronic engineering and had been running his own business before attending the programme in India.Mr Rabain listed several NTB programmes which had engaged a total of 193 Bermudians in training and apprenticeships since 2010.“This Government is not perfect but we are a work in progress. However fear of making a mistake is not a reason to not try,” said Mr RabainLionel Paynter was presented by the Minister as a successful graduate of her Ministry’s drywall technician training programme.“It was a very good experience. We came back here and had jobs waiting for us,” said Mr Paynter. He said he was grateful to Government for the opportunity.“It’s something that helped me move forward in my life.”Mrs Minors acknowledged that “these numbers obviously have not addressed the unemployment that we continue to face”, when asked the impact of the programme on unemployment.“What it has done is provided opportunities to those that were willing to step forward and explored these opportunities.”She said: “We recognise that our effort may not meet every need of the unemployed that’s out there but it’s a start.”The Minister later qualified her remarks by saying that the programmes are aimed at addressing what Government deems as training needs of young people, but were also being taken advantage of by older Bermudians.Mr Paynter said that he was already employed before he went on the training programme, but benefits of his certification included a wage increase and an ability to interact with other trades.“We had the expectation that work permits applications would be coming in from both Waterloo House and the hospital looking for certified persons,” said Mrs Minors.Work permits applications for certified drywall technicians had been reduced by the programme, she said.