Whether a young person succeeds or fails depends on their passion and determination, said MP Derrick Burgess, when discussing the problems concerning the Island?s youth. According to Mr. Burgess, Bermuda is the best place in the world to work with opportunities available to anyone willing to get stuck in. He believes nobody can blame their shortcomings on others but must take responsibility for themselves.

Mr. Burgess ? speaking to last week before his appointment as the new Labour and Home Affairs Minister ? explained the importance for young people, around 12 or 13 years old, to get a technical education because ?not everyone can be a doctor or a lawyer?.

?I do know back in the 60?s and 70?s there were skills trained in just about every high school whether it be woodwork, metalwork or motor mechanics, all those things were in the schools and so people got a feel for it and some went on to be experts in their field.?

Since technical education has stopped in the schools he has seen more skilled workers from overseas in the field than locals.

Another facet of education disappearing from the public school system with large cost ? is religious education.

He was appalled when he found out the course had been largely abandoned and recalled a top education official had explained to him the course was dropped because there were too many religions on the Island.

He said: ?When you take out those type of subjects ? you lose ? because the bible tends to teach some good things about moral behaviour and how we treat each other. ?If you get a person that is equipped education wise and has got a job, they tend to be responsible citizens. And even those who are not religious they remember those teachings and don?t forget it. They don?t go to church every Sunday, but they have religion in (their head) ? our children today they don?t have it.?

He also witnessed some children coming out of the school system who were not fully able to comprehend, read and write, and said Bermuda failed as a community to fully embrace them. People used to come to Mr. Burgess for jobs and would not be able to fill out the forms, but he could sense that and as some jobs didn?t require literacy skills he would hire them.

?And they were some of the best employees I ever had, they couldn?t fill out the form but they could do the work. They came to work on time, model employees, responsible. I would venture to say we have (people like) that today.?

?The thing is if you can divert a young man from selling drugs, and becoming a doctor, plumber or carpenter you know who benefits? This country benefits in income and productivity ? and that?s what we have to do ? we need to stop looking at these fellows as negative.?

While former Premier Sir John Swan said in 1989 ?we have problems with young black men?, Mr. Burgess said: ?I didn?t take it to say the government has problems with them, Bermuda (does). And people say what are you going to do about it as a government leader?

?Well it doesn?t go like that. When we say we have a problem with young black men or young black women or who ever, it?s yours and my problem. People tend to think it is the government?s responsibility to bring them up ? its not.?

He continued: ?If my son?s a problem. It?s not the government?s problem, it?s my problem. It becomes the government?s problem when he does something wrong... then he is under the government?s care.?

?If you end up in a bad position in life it is no one?s responsibility, it is no one?s fault but yours. If you end up in a good position in life know that you can take credit for that, you set your goals and you stuck to them. If you don?t set any goals and you end up in the gutter you take responsibility, don?t keep trying to blame somebody.

Mr. Burgess suggested that young people need to find positive role models, whether it be a teacher, someone at church or at Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

?Parents play a very important part, they must play their roles (and) be responsible in their roles as parents. And to the children whose parents are not in existence, because of drugs or whatever ? find a role model.?

While the Island has its problems it is still the best country in the world to live, he said: ?I wouldn?t want to stay anywhere else.?

He believes that if Bermudians were to go overseas to America they would be more appreciative of the opportunities available on the Island: ?In the States they work more hours than anyone in the world ? that is not the land of milk and honey, the land of milk and honey is right here ? but you have to work for it. Where else in the world are you going to get $15 an hour washing dishes ? only in Bermuda ? the minimum wage is $5.30 an hour in the States.?

The road to success hasn?t changed since the 40?s, 50?s and 60?s he said, adding that: ?The road to success is hard work ? that hasn?t changed under any government.?

He remembered being at a conference where the guest speaker was Philip Butterfield, CEO of the Bank of Bermuda, who said: ?Survival is 9 to 5, success comes after that.?

?If people think doctors, lawyers, accountants work 35 hours a week, they are wrong. They have to do some extra hours if they want to be at the top. Just like the bartender, the housekeeper, the mechanic, if you want to succeed you have to work that second job.?

?But if you are going to work that second job and you are accumulating lets say $1500 a week and your spending $1800 on material things you are not going to make it.

?And it?s OK for a young fellow to say ?I can make $1600 a day selling drugs?, well those ill got games will not last you long ? so you?ve got to go out and work.?

The opportunities are there, but you have to go and seek it, it?s not going to come to you, he said, adding: ?we seem to want others to do for us what we wont do for ourselves.?

?You have to have a plan for success and you have to be passionate and in that passion there has to be discipline because if you don?t have the discipline than you are not going to make it.

Mr. Burgess believes once we strengthen that weak link in the chain, the entire chain will become stronger, hence the entire country.

?We cannot lose the fight. And I would venture to say we will be successful, with all of them, probably not, but I think we will save a majority of them. But if you keep these fellows uneducated, unskilled you?re breeding more hopelessness for this country.?

Mr. Burgess said those who are not out there trying to do something to correct the wrongs are ?useless? and encouraged people to ?get out there and help?.

According to him, respecting each other is very important and while he believes young people should have fun, he encourages them to ?keep it clean?.

?Protect the youth, protect the elderly and keep your areas clean ? you make a ghetto, the ghetto does not just come out of the sky, you make it ? trash and everything else ? keep it clean. It doesn?t make sense a person having a job and not being productive because then everyone loses.?

He suggested: ?We have to teach the young ones the importance of how this country runs, what are the economic pillars ? we only have two of them.

?We also have to put a programme in place so when our children come back from school they are not spending six to nine months looking for a job ? that shouldn?t happen, that shouldn?t be a major problem.

?We need to work with the employers so there is a smooth transition for when they come home from school they get a job,? he said.