The One Bermuda Alliance and the Progressive Labour Party do not dispute that the economy is in recession, and that in a time of high unemployment the youth are particularly hard hit.They also agree that importing some workers from overseas is important to the overall health of Bermuda's business environment.It is there that the similarities between the views of the two parties' end.Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Patrice Minors said the economic problems Bermuda faces are comparable to the global downturn. Speaking from her Ministerial office on Church Street, she said: “The economic climate we have experienced as a territory is not dissimilar to other countries, but it feels much more intense given the size of Bermuda, so when we have a redundancies and closures, it has a much greater affect on us.”The OBA, on the other hand, has placed the blame squarely on Government economic policies, and have made the economy and jobs the focus of a string of press conferences and statements since the announcement of the election, each one pointing to grim economic news including unemployment figures that have doubled since 2009, and comments by Computer City management as it was shutting its doors that it was an increase in payroll tax that drove away the businesses who had been their customers.Shadow spokesman on finance Bob Richards said that when he is campaigning in his constituency: “I hardly go to any home where you have two working people in a household that somebody in that household is unaffected — either one person is unemployed, or both are in extreme cases, or a person is underemployed or somebody they work with has been cut, and they are afraid that they are next.“There has been a change in mindset in Bermuda,” he said.The approach each party has to fixing these problems is different as well. Minister Minors pointed to several training and retraining programmes, a new centre for employers and for those who wish to become employed, which has been combined with a new approach on work permits.Mr Richards argues that business interests have to be given reasons to set up operations in Bermuda. He said: “Jobs don't get created first,” adding: “The underpinning prescription is this — either the government has to hire everybody, or jobs must be created in the private sector.”As far as the scenario of giving everyone a Government job, he said: “We won't be going there. So our focus has to be on how you encourage the private sector to want to employ more people in Bermuda. Many are major companies that are owned by people who are not in Bermuda. So we have to give their business and their people a reason to be here.” He said once businesses have established here they will employ people to run them and work in them.The OBA's full platform on employment, which has not yet been released, would contain “no surprises,” he said. “The things we have said in Parliament during the last year will be consistent with the positions we hold to date.”Minister Minors said employment has long been a focus for the Government. “In some cases losing employment is an opportunity to develop a new skill set,” she said, pointing to a waiter server programme that has been offered twice this year. “We're getting interested people to come forward and engage in training so they can be ready to assume positions in restaurants and hotels, to fill those positions in properties for the upcoming tourism season.In this programme we have the normal stakeholder involvement including the Bermuda Hotel Association and the restaurant division of the Chamber of Commerce, which, she said: “ ... provides a very helpful role in ensuring we will meet their needs.“We also have a 'Nail Tech' project — we have 10 ladies gearing up to graduate next month. Some of us went to get our nails done and to encourage them.” She said they had also volunteered to give the elderly manicures at some of the Island's rest homes.“Once they've graduated they will go into jobs in the new nail salons which have opened,” she said.Accounting programmes at the Bermuda College are also available for those people who wish to train or retrain. The Minister explained: “From work permit applications it can be seen that there is a wealth of work available in the accounting field.” She said courses leading up to one of several accounting designations are offered including ACCA, CPA, or CMPA.“I believe there are 30 to 40 people who are enrolled in one of these programmes at the Bermuda College. And at the successful completion of the course you will have the opportunity to work with accountancy firms or fund management firms.“I accept that we are not going to be able to fill every vacancy for accountants, but there is a wide range of accounting skills needed,” she said.A programme to certify dry wallers has resulted in 17 newly qualified individuals who are now working at the hospital site on Point Finger Road and at the Waterloo House site on Pitts Bay Road.“We wanted to provide opportunities for those working in the field of drywall to get certified,” she said, adding that as a result of this initiative, when the construction companies who had employed the newly certified dry-wallers applied for work permits for additional workers in the field, they could count on a more 'open' hearing.“When presented with work permit applications we are more open to them if Bermudians are employed. And Bermudians are gainfully employed as a result. The last thing you want to do is frustrate the construction process, but Bermudians must be employed,” she said.A landscaping programme was also available during the summer. “People are encouraged to learn a completely new skill — this gives them an advantage,” she said.Summer employment for students has also dried up during the recession. “I recognise we had a wealth of young people coming back for the summer, so we put extra money into some internship programmes and made extra jobs available.“Students use the summers to raise funds to continue their education overseas. And next summer we'll do it again,” she said. “We want to help them to achieve their aspirations.”Mr Richards said: “The young people always bear the brunt of unemployment — they are the last hired and the first fired. Unemployment among young people is higher than the average rate — but that is no excuse to not realise it's a big problem. It didn't used to be a problem.“What has happened is, with the new immigration rules, it has caused a lot of companies to move entry level jobs out of Bermuda that young people would be most likely to occupy. Jobs are moving to Halifax, to Ireland, and some of them to the US — it has magnified the unemployment difficulties for younger Bermudians.“It's a problem that never used to exist — and a lot of it has to do with immigration.”OBA candidate Alexis Swan, who has spoken publicly about youth unemployment, said: “Young people are aware of immigration ads that are tailored to fit someone who isn't a young person — and that's not fair. Ads call for 10 years, 15 years of experience. When I first came into the One Bermuda Alliance, they didn't say 'You need 10 years experience to be a candidate.”Ms Swan said: “When I look at my resume, I can see that every single year I had something to come back to — I worked in a floral shop, at Elbow Beach Hotel, in a nursery.”By losing these opportunities, young people lose more than a job and the opportunity to make some money. “These employers become your mentors and help you get through school. My niece, for example, came back home for the vacation, and couldn't get a job. You could see her attitude change — she didn't have respect for adults.“When there is more youth unemployment, there is more crime, more break-ins. If you're not being empowered and encouraged, you are not going to succeed.”Minister Minors painted a different picture, however. “In the past 12 months we believe there are close to 80 businesses which have established themselves: IT, jewellery stores, counselling services. That speaks volumes for the entrepreneurial spirit that still exists,” she said. “To have the where-with-all to be courageous enough to start a business at this time — these people are destined to succeed.”Another leg of the Government employment stool is a One Stop Employment Centre, which will also play a significant role in the Job Corps initiative. “Job Corps' last meeting was well attended — there were 60 people there. There's still a little hesitation on the residential component,” she said, but argued for it by saying some young people in the 16- to 24-year-old range need a change of environment that is “conducive to a productive change in life — and we're excited about that.”“Residential facilities do have their role to play. So Job Corps at the Harmony Club will provide 64 residential and 36 persons who can still reside at their homes,” she said.Extending the Economic Empowerment Zone was tabled at the last sitting of the House of Assembly,” she said. “It has been well received by the small business owner and affords an opportunity for them — they get a break on payroll tax, for example. Some 120 small businesses have been picked up by the expansion.“I will seek to have it quite quickly become law,” she said.Entrepreneurial efforts are also being encouraged, and the Minister pointed to a recent networking event where business owners such as Linda Horton, of Horton's Rum Cakes, gave a talk on becoming an entrepreneur, to encourage those small enterprises such as those who are vendors at Harbour Nights' to become businesses.Work permits are a source of heated discussion on the radio talk shows, the comments on the news websites and The Royal Gazette's Letters to the Editor page.“I accept that there is an intense need for staff who will render their services to business,” she said. To make the process more efficient, the Department of Work Force Development is about to be launched, she said, whose role will include work permit processing as well as seeing that Bermudians get the right employment opportunities. “I see our role, our Ministerial responsibility, is to make sure that we are providing an environment for Bermudians to be employed.“We also want to provide a smooth transaction for (international) set-ups. At the end of the day we recognise there is a wealth of contributions that international business make to our economy. The decisions we make can't be to the detriment to their existence,” she said. “The flip side is that Bermudians are afforded every opportunity to be engaged in these new companies as well.”However, Mr Richards said there is concern among members of the public that the damage to the economy is so great that it cannot be fixed.“There's a lot of unspoken fear that you could have Humpty Dumpty scenario where you won't be able to put Humpty Dumpty back together again after he has fallen off the wall.“Bermuda had a miracle economy, and we firmly believe that it can fixed, and we have the conviction that it can be fixed.”