Happy New Year Bermuda!Last week we looked at the issue of work ethic in the younger generation something that as a generation they are seriously lacking. There has been much discussion about workforce development of the Bermuda workforce and the need to help young black males in particular to learn trades, obtain skill sets that can afford them the ability to get and keep a job.Well, all that is well and good, but in the absence of a good, industrious, selfless work ethic, which should be taught at home; all the workforce development, professional development and educational efforts by Government, employers and educational institutions will amount to nothing more than a hill of beans! More on this after the top 20.Holding at #1 is a DJLT fave Mr Saxobeat by Alexandra Stan. Do check out the smoking video. Immovable at #2 is Sexy And I Know It by LMFAO. These guys are increadible; they're even doing Christmas songs and commercials! They are budding superstars and are so cool and free spirited that they are probably unaware because they're just having a good time w ith it. Steadily improving to #3 is Love On Top by Beyonce. I ran into a young lady the other day who claimed to be Beyonce's cousin. If this is true, B has a cousin living on the rock. That's cool. Falling to #4 is Moves like Jagger by Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera, a one of the better dance tunes on the circuit at the moment.Improving to #5 is We Found Love by Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris. Rihanna has mad skills; everything she touches turns to gold. Have you smelled her new perfume, Rebel? Dudes, if you haven't gotten a Christmas present for your cutie or you need another little gift, this is a good one. See, DJLT is encouraging people to Buy Bermuda! Slipping to #6 is She Will by Lil Wayne featuring Drake.On the way up at #7 is Countdown by Beyonce. Slipping to #8 is Party by Beyonce featuring Andre 3000. Down to #9 is Put Your Hands Up (If you…) by Kylie Minogue.Improving to #10 is Without You by David Guetta featuring Usher, a hot new dance tunes. It's good to see Usher still dropping hits. Tumbling to #11 is Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People.Jumping to #12 is a former essential new tune, Rain Over Me, by the Latin Duo, Marc Anthony and Pitbull. This is a catchy track that gets people dancing and singing along. Tumbling to #13 is Rolling In The Deep by Adele. Falling to #14 is Chris Brown's hit entitled She Ain't You.Improving to #15 is Levels by Avicii. Up at #16 is The One That Got Away by Katy Perry, this week's essential new tune. Falling to #17 is I'm Into You by Jennifer Lopez featuring L'il Wayne. Down to #18 is Fly Away by Mavado. Slipping to #19 is Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock. New at #20 is a rare hip hop/rap love song, Lotus Flower Bomb by Wale featuring Miguel.Now back to this week's topic developing an appropriate and sustainable work ethic in all of our young people.Years ago young people were completely different. They were respectful, humble, respected their elders and adults in general, they were industrious, hard-working, diligent and gave an honest day's work for an honest day's pay. They would never dream of being insubordinate to their teachers, employers or anyone in authority. They were not lazy. You would have been hard-pressed to find a young person who was not either in school or working. That was the deal back then. You were either working or in school.Times have changed and the number of young people who are not in school or working is ridiculously high; and this existed even before the recession and unemployment began to ruin things in Bermuda. I put this squarely in the lap of the parents and/or guardians, who must demand that young people are either in school or working. It really is as simple as that.To have young people not working and not in school is a recipe for trouble; teenage pregnancy; pregnancy before education is complete; pregnancy before people are established in careers that can cause them to be able to afford the kids they will have; involvement in gangs and other groups that engage in crime, anti-social or unproductive behaviour; and in summary will produce a generation of lazy, uneducated, unskilled persons who offer little to potential employers, their families and ultimately the Country. So we have to start by insisting that persons are either working or in school. Wow. That was a lot.Another way to address the plight of young persons is to remove their choices at too early an age. For instance, parents allow young people at the age of younger than even 14 to decide whether they wish to continue going to Church, whether they wish to be involved in various positive and character developing activities.This is absolute nonsense and it smacks of laziness on the part of parents and guardians, who simply cannot be bothered to raise their children properly. Well, here are two suggestions.One, don't have kids if you cannot commit to raising them properly and being a good, involved and in charge parent until you die.Two, young people can be allowed to make such important decisions on the day they start working full-time jobs and paying the rent, utilities, food bill, phone bill, etc.This will only sound draconian to families where the kids are running things and have already ‘left the building' or ‘checked out'. Families with kids who are industrious, positive, getting an education, working or working toward a job are most likely already doing this.Now here's an interesting concept. As part of reducing young peoples' choices or ability to make such important decisions, parents should insist that young people, especially young men, honour their commitment to obey the law of the land. For instance, the law requires that young men register for the Bermuda Regiment. Parents should insist that young Bermudian men register the day they turn 18. Further, if a young man's name appears on the list of persons conscripted, parents should insist that he serves and appears at Warwick Camp or wherever whenever the law requires him to do so.What this does is teaches a young person that you must obey the law of the land and the worst thing that could come out of a young man serving in the Bermuda Regiment is that he just might learn a bit of discipline, respect for authority, teamwork, the importance of service, and so much more. These are skills that are sadly lacking in too many young people.Parents need to censor the kind of company their kids keep. If your kids are hanging with people affiliated with gangs or who you know are engaging in crime, anti-social behaviour, illegal activity or persons who you know are headed in that direction, the first step would be to attempt to turn the negative influencer to a more positive and sustainable lifestyle. If that doesn't work parents should deny their kids the ability to hang with persons who are engaged in such activities. It is your right as a parent. If others don't want to raise their kids correctly and in a manner that will benefit the child, the family and the country; don't let your kids hang with them.Old fogeys like me have sayings like, ‘Show me your company and I will tell you who you are'. We pass them on for a reason they are true.I will conclude my end-of-year rant with the summation that all of these issues collectively produce a lazy, non-industrious, unmotivated, disrespectful group of persons who offer little to society and end up being consumers of society rather than contributors. These persons end up in correctional facilities costing us some $60k per year to house. They end up needing social assistance, which is essentially welfare, forever. They usually produce successive generations of persons in the same predicament, uneducated, unskilled, with poor work ethic, unable to get or keep a job, unaware of basic things like get to work on time, actually do some work whilst your there, don't F-Bomb your boss, don't abuse sick leave, basically be the kind of employee you would want to hire if you owned your own company.I am reminded of the great quote by President John F Kennedy, which says: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country”.This can be extended to jobs as “Ask not what your employer can do for you; ask instead what you can do for your employer”. Let's try this for a decade or two and see how we end up. I submit that our workforce will be a lot better, more employable, retainable, trainable than so many are today, simply because a greater proportion of the workforce will have a more sustainable work ethic. Let's hope we get there in 2012; for this will make it a Happy New Year for all! ... DJLT