The job market and gang violence were at the top of the agenda yesterday when members of the Youth Parliament got the chance to quiz the Premier.

McKenzie-Kohl Tuckett, 17, and Nizae Douglas, 15, questioned David Burt on his plans to tackle some of the problems that worried young Bermudians at a session in St Peter’s Church in St George.

McKenzie-Kohl, from Warwick Academy, asked if businesses would be given tax incentives to hire young Bermudians who had just finished university.

Mr Burt confirmed that businesses would be considered for tax breaks and added that similar tax incentives were already in place.

He added that the Government planned to create a programme that would provide “partial salary subsidies” for recent graduates on the lookout for trainee positions.

Mr Burt admitted that he did not have an exact number for recent graduates and said that the number helped through the scheme would be dictated by budget restrictions.

He said: “It would not be able to be unlimited.

“It would be lovely if we could provide it to every single person that we want, but at this point in time I think one of the most important things to remember during the period of the pandemic is that budgets are constrained.”

Nizae, a CedarBridge Academy pupil, asked Mr Burt what he would do to ensure “the safety and security of other youth within the schools” from the danger of gang activity.

Mr Burt said that the Gang Resistance, Education and Training Programme had been relaunched on Monday to help schools identify at-risk youngsters at all school levels and attempt to keep them out of gang activity.

He told Nizae: “Our gang violence team is in the schools just about every day – they’re in primary schools, they’re in middle schools and they visit the high schools.

“They try to defuse situations before they become a challenge and the gang violence team also meets with parents and students who are identified as prone to antisocial behaviour to make sure that they could possibly be diverted from those behaviours and to see what could be done, not only with the Ministry of Education, but also with other helping services to make sure that they are steered away from that path.”

Dennis Lister, the Speaker of the House, added later that the two young leaders represented “our future”.

He added: “The reality is that many of the members who have served in Parliament were members who have come through the Youth Parliament, so we want to continue to encourage the Youth Parliament to do as they do and, as part of the significant recognition of this day, they too could become a part of history.

“We do look forward to the future in the hands of these young people who will be leading our country one day.”

He told the two: “We hope that your experience in the Youth Parliament will help to formulate a good foundation for you to be able to step rightfully up to the leadership of this country.”