They have been told to mount a public relations blitz to give people a better idea of what they do.

The call comes in the long-awaited report of Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan's Task Force On Employment.

The section on immigration was written by a Work Place Committee.

The committee highlights the plight of immigration officials -- often the butt of criticism from employers and job-hunting Bermudians.

It states: "The Department of Immigration is suffering from a poor public image caused by past inconsistent enforcement of policies.

"This has been addressed to some extent but the Committee believes that a structured public relations programme is badly needed.

"There must be a way of disseminating information to the public as soon as policy or procedural changes are made.

"In addition, the attitude of employers and the perception of Bermudians on how the Immigration Department should respond to their demands have created a difficult working environment for the staff.'' The report says some employers try to get round immigration policies by false advertising -- and not seriously considering Bermudians for jobs.

"However, this practice is not common place. At the same time, there are some who feel that the Immigration Department frustrate their efforts to obtain adequately trained staff.

"Furthermore, some Bermudians have unrealistic career aspirations and they expect the Immigration Department to guarantee them positions of their choice, regardless of the needs and requirements of the employer.'' The report adds the department should have a "continuous dialogue'' with the public explaining policies and procedures.

Elsewhere, the report calls for the role of the Government Employment Office to be enhanced.

It says the office should become "a place of first resort'' by employers and job hunters.

"Ideally, all work permit applications before the Immigration Department should be vetted by the Government Employment Office first.

"This would ensure that persons registered with the Government Employment Office would be considered for employment before non-Bermudians.'' The report focuses, too, on the Public Service Commission.

This body -- which cannot be dictated to by Government -- recommends to the Governor appointments to the public service.

"A major concern to the Committee is the fact that the Public Service Commission does not have to abide by the immigration policies,'' the report says.

"Whilst constitutionally the Public Service Commission can set its own regulations, a feeling of fair play would prevail if the Public Service Commission adhered to the policies set by the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs when non-Bermudian workers are being considered for employment.'' The report adds: "Because the powers of the Public Service Commission are neither widely known or understood, the Department of Immigration is often criticised when Bermudians are overlooked for positions they feel they are qualified to do in the public sector.'' Policies set by the Labour Minister should become binding on the commission, the report recommends.

It also puts forward ways of speeding up the handling of work permits.

"The use of electronic mail or perhaps imaging should be developed so that work permit processing time can be reduced.''