Bermuda?s young people are advancing academically regardless of race, gender or nationality, according to the latest report on the Island?s social dynamics from the Department of Statistics.

Armed with a better education, the report continued, young people found themselves better placed to enter Bermuda?s fastest growing occupations, including professional, technical and related personnel, and sales positions.

?During the ?90s, Bermuda?s population aged 16 years and over showed significant improvements in educational attainment,? the report stated. ?The proportion of degree holders climbed from 13 percent to 20 percent and the proportion of persons with no qualifications declined by nine percent.

?At the same time, there was an increase in professional jobs such as level one accountants and underwriters, which suggests that perhaps the population 16 years and older were equipping themselves to fill higher level positions in the workforce.?

Though young people were getting better educations across the board in the ?90s, there were disparities between male and female, and white and black.

A higher proportion of women were increasing their educational arsenal than men, with the number of female degree holders shooting up by 78 percent in the past decade compared to a 56 percent increase by men.

The growth of women in professional and technical jobs increased by 47 percent, whereas men in the same jobs increased by 37 percent. In contrast, the number of men in sales increased by 67 percent while the number of women in sales increased by 38 percent.

As for race, one out of every eight blacks held a degree compared to one out of every three whites. Nevertheless, proportionately more blacks entered the professional and technical workforce than whites (38 percent compared to 31 percent), and in sales (42 percent to 36 percent).

?By the end of the ?90s, the non-Bermudian educational profile was similar to that of Bermudians,? the report continued.

With the proportion of non-Bermudian degree holders increasing significantly from 25 percent to 38 percent, however, ?the non-Bermudian population appears to have had the greater impact on the rise in the number of degree holders, a position clearly attributable to the recruitment of professionals in the international business and business services sectors.?

The report also covers questions such as ?Who?s minding Bermuda?s children?? and ?Is international business the driver??.

Copies are available for $10 from the Department of Statistics on the third floor of the Cedar Park Centre, 48 Cedar Avenue, Hamilton; the Department of Communication and Information on the ground floor of Global House, Church Street, Hamilton; and at the Phoenix store in Hamilton.