Author: SME Chamber

The Traineeship scheme is intended to provide job seekers
with initial vocational training (pre-employment training) that will help them
to obtain the knowledge, skills and competence required to find and secure
employment. From an employers' perspective the scheme is also intended to help
them find suitably competent employees.

Programmes on offer:   

Sales
Techniques and Customer Care (9.5 weeks)

Who should participate?

Eligible
individuals would be 16 years of age and older, who hold at least MQF level 2
qualifications in Mathematics, English and Maltese Language and speak fluent
Maltese and English. This course is targeted at those persons who wish to work
in the retail industry for the very first time.

Off-the-job training:

Trainees
will attend the following course/s deliver

ed by
the Corporation:

1. Customer Care

Duration of course: 12 hours

2.     Vocational
Education and Training Award in Principles of Sales Techniques

Duration of course: 45 hours

Handyman/ Maintenance (32 weeks)

Who should participate?

This
course is intended for individuals who are 16 years of age and older, who
ideally have MQF level 1 qualification in Mathematics, Maltese and English
Literacy and speak fluent Maltese and English. This course is targeted at those
persons who wish to work as a Maintenance Man /Handyman.

Training

The
Traineeship is based on a dual system of vocational training, providing a
combination of theoretical knowledge supplemented by related hands-on practical
training.

Typically
during any week, a trainee will attend on-the-job training for four days with
an assigned employer – on the fifth day trainee will attend off-the-job,
theoretical training organised by the Corporation.

Office
Procedures (15 weeks)

Who should participate?

This
course is intended for individuals who are 16 years of age and older, who hold
at least three passes at O' Level standard including Mathematics, English and
Maltese Language and speak fluent Maltese and English. This course is targeted
at those persons who wish to work in an office environment.

Off-the-job training:

Trainees
will attend the following course/s delivered by the Corporation:

Vocational
Education and Training Award in Office Procedures

Duration
of course: 120 hours

Cleaning
attendant (11 weeks)

Who should participate?

This
programme is aimed at those persons aged 16 and over, who speak fluent Maltese
and English and wish to work in the cleaning industry

Off-the-job training:

Trainees
will attend the following course/s delivered by the Corporation: Vocational
Education and Training Award for Cleaning Attendants

Duration
of course: 72 hours

Traineeship offers a mix of on-the-job (80%) and off-the-job (20%)
training.

Grant – National Minimum wage split between trainee (80%) and
employer (20%)

This scheme has just launched and applications will be received till
the end of this month. Programmes will run during remaining months of this
year.

For more detailed guidelines and application forms please use this
link:

http://etc.gov.mt/Page/51/Traineeships-jobseekers.aspx

Voting by
persons who shall be abroad or hospitalized on polling day – 24th  May 2014 – The Electoral
Commission informs those voters who shall be abroad or hospitalized on polling
day,  Saturday, 24th May, 2014, that they
may make a declaration on oath before the Electoral Commissioners so that they
may cast their vote at the Naxxar Counting Complex on Saturday, 17th May,
2014. 

This declaration on oath shall be
made at the Office of the Electoral Commission, Evans Building, Merchants
Street, Valletta, or at the Identity Cards Office, St. Francis Square, Rabat,
Gozo,  by not later than noon of Friday,
16th May, 2014,  according to the hours
indicated below:

 Monday
to Friday:                  from 8.00 am
to 2.00 pm and from 3.00 pm to 7.00 pm

Saturdays
and Sundays:         from 8.00 am to 1.00
pm

When the
person calls to make the sworn declaration it is important that he/she brings
his/her identity or residence card, and that on the day of advanced voting
(17/05/2014) he/she must be in possession of the voting document as, without
it, no one shall be allowed to vote.

Travel
arrangements are being made for eligible voters residing abroad to enable them
to vote in Malta at the forthcoming European Parliament Election on 24^th May 2014.

For this
purpose, Air Malta plc will be making available return air tickets on its services
at a charge of €35, inclusive of taxes and other charges, to persons who are
eligible to vote in Malta at the forthcoming European Parliament
Election.  Reservations may be made at the Air Malta Call Centre on this specific
number (+356) 2599 1230 from tomorrow 25^th April at 08:00am. The centre will be open
between Monday to Saturday from 0800-2100hrs and on Sunday from 0800-1700hrs.

Inbound travel to Malta is possible from 14^th May to 24^th May 2014 and
return travel is from 24^th May to 1^st June 2014. Those persons who will opt for early voting on the 17^th May can travel
to Malta from 14^th May and may return as of the 17^th May and not later than 1^st June 2014.
Those voting early have to apply at the electoral commission by latest noon on
Friday 16^th May 2014.

These travel
arrangements are available for:

eligible voters, including those
married to foreigners, studying, working or undergoing medical treatment
abroad; and

their dependents. A dependent means;

the child or step-child of such
person under the age of eighteen years;

the spouse of such a person.

Persons to whom
this directive applies must be eligible voters whose name appears in the
Electoral Register published within five days from the publication of the
General Election Writ.

The Electoral
Commission reminds persons who, on the 31st March, 2014, were qualified to be
registered as voters, of the importance of verifying that their name and
particulars have been included in the revised electoral register published on the
7th April, 2014.

Persons
who obtained Maltese Citizenship through naturalization or registration and
certified dual nationals are entitled to be registered as voters in this
register if, on the 31st March, 2014, they had the necessary qualifications in accordance
with the Constitution of Malta and the General Elections Act (Chap. 354).  These persons are urged to verify their
inclusion in this Electoral Register.

Any
person whose name has not been included in this register, or whose particulars
appearing in the Register need to be corrected, may appeal to the revising
officer up to Monday, 28th April, 2014, to have his/her name included in this
register, notwithstanding that no prior application may have been made to the
Commission for such purpose.  

Further information on the
electoral procedure can be found at: www.electoral.gov.mt

A survey
concerning family businesses is being circulated for your perusal and we
encourage all family businesses to fill it in so that Malta in line with the
other EU countries can start compiling statistical information about family
businesses.

This is
an EU level survey conducted by the European Family Businesses (EFB) which
together with KPMG, are launching the 2nd Family Business Barometer to track
business trends within the family business community. Last year EFB and KPMG
successfully published the first Family Business Barometer in Europe. The 1st
edition received significant media coverage across Europe and the report proved
to be highly insightful but unfortunately Malta was not represented at that
time.

The Barometer will seek to
gauge your views and opinions on specific issues and topics to aid in a better
understanding of family business in 19 Member States of the European Union.
Through your insight the organisation hopes to strengthen the voice of family
businesses throughout Europe.

The Barometer will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Please use the following link to complete the Barometer: http://xs.motivaction.nl/s.asp?u=4BDC2DC689162436D94AB9C9625DEFCC51B81194&l=36

GRTU Council Member Ms Joan Haber, President of the Crafts
Sector, and Executive Abigail Mamo have this week attended the official launch
of the youth guarantee in Malta. It is aimed that the initiative will reach
2000 Youths especially those referred to as NEETs (not in education and
employment) and youths that risk falling into this definition.

As part of the extended scheme, revision classes for those students who get low grades in
their O'Levels for the core subjects (Maths, English, Physics and Maltese) will
be provided free of charge during the summer months.  In a similar scheme,
students at MCAST who didn't succeed their May/June examinations will also be given revision classes. The scope
of these initiatives is to make sure that no youths drop out early, which would
leave them without the necessary skills to find good employment later on.

The Ministry
for Education and Employment, together with Jobs+, will also be embarking on an extension of the 'Alternative
Learning  Programme', which will provide additional training in ICT and soft skills – crucial attributes in order
to find quality employment.

Employers play a very important role in providing not only
job opportunities but also work exposure and support employment related schemes
issued by the authorities. In an intervention Ms Haber said that we welcomed
the many initiatives being launched and that Government should also think of a
scheme to encourage youths to also invest time in their hobbies as these many
often could lead to the generation of new enterprises.

Addressing the conference, Prime Minister Joseph
Muscat and Minister for Education and Employment Evarist Bartolo
both said that although the youth unemployment rate in Malta remains low
when compared to our European
counterparts, those young people who can contribute to the country are
still rejected by a rigid
educational system. Government will be delivering the Youth Guarantee
through a dual approach – the preventive approach which will identify at
an
early stage those youth potentially at risk of becoming early school
leavers,
before they actually leave school; and the reactive response which will
address
those youths who are already not engaged in education, employment or
training. Dr.Muscat added that the country wants to ensure that young
people rejected by the system
find the support they need to regain positive energy and ambition to
move
forward.

Last week MCESD met the Opposition at the PN headquarters and
the meeting discussed a variety of issues. Amongst others the opposition
expressed its concerns on the increase in unemployed. Opposition leader Simon
Busuttil emphasized that it is essential that new jobs are created and the
unemployment level is decreased. The Opposition leader also referred to the
increase in Government debt and asked social partners to analyze this issue.

GRTU has been arguing for years that the banks impose
exorbitant charges and interest rates. This has been confirmed by the Governor
of the Central Bank himself just two weeks ago who emphasized that lending
rates in Malta are amongst the very highest in the Euro Area and so are bank
charges.

It has also been confirmed by the European Commission that is
regulating on what they call the Multilateral Interchange Fees (MIFs) which
refer to fees that are hidden, which are paid without knowing exactly what they
cover and fees which the bank imposes for a service you are neither using nor
need.

These are arguments and actions made by institutions
that hold the highest standing. GRTU has documents in hand supplied by none
other than its own members that show that interest rates commonly vary between
5% and 7%. The fact that bank interest rates and charges are high is undeniable
and this is why the debate on the subject has geared up. This in not just a
national debate, it is a debate that has been going on both in the EU and
Global level to which Malta is finally catching up to and there is no turning
back.

Malta's banking sector has been praised even by GRTU
for not committing the mistakes other banks made. In any case however the
Maltese Government would have been there to support the local banks should they
have found themselves in difficulty as was the case in other countries. This is
much more than any small business could ever aspire for should it be in
difficulty. The crises in the EU financial sector revealed the cruel and
catastrophic domino effect we must by all means possible try to avoid in the
future. The banking sector and with it the financial system stopped working. As
a result businesses stopped and employment stopped. Difficulties in the
financial sector have proven therefore to have devastating effects on the
country's socio and economic stability which in turn also affects other
countries.

The European Commission's programme for the banking
sector was set up to protect the EU citizens, businesses, Governments and the
financial sector itself. The plan which is already being enacted aims to
ameliorate the fitness of banks and putting in place a backup plan, should a
crisis occur, which does not involve putting in jeopardy citizens, businesses
and Governments. This is the stability we should aim for not safeguarding the
banks' interests at the expense of everyone else.

Banks must be paid their fair share and nothing else.
The risk they take for providing loans is accurately calculated with the
Government having to intervene to make a guarantee should the banks not find
the collateral provided by the business sufficient. What about the risk the
enterprise owner takes when taking out a loan with a bank? A startup risks not
only losing any starting capital he had but also his  

own house which is home to his family if things do not
go well and he cannot pay up! The percentage of defaulters in Malta is very low
and banks announce millions of Euros in profit on a yearly basis after having
taken precautionary measures towards defaulters. So yes we can easily say that
the risk is very well calculated.

The bottom line is that today Maltese businesses
compete not only with Maltese companies but also with foreign companies and the
interest rate of the loans they take out impinges heavily on their
competitiveness. How can a Maltese enterprise taking out a loan at 6% compete
with foreign enterprises taking loans at under 3%. It is not an issue of
Government control. If banks lending interest rates and charges are excessive
and impinging on the competitiveness of our enterprises and our country, then
yes, they need to be regulated. This based, of course, on evidence found by
competent authorities. We are therefore very pleased the MCCAA is taking action.
GRTU has already held a meeting on the subject with the authority and we are
informed work is underway.

If this is now an issue that is being taken up
seriously and is an issue of public debate it is only thanks to GRTU that has
relentlessly continued to represent the interest of its members. GRTU squarely
and solely stands behind the interest of its members which are micro, small and
medium enterprises. We stand behind no one else. While GRTU has collaborated
with local banks only for the benefit of its members, GRTU is not linked
financially to the banks. This is GRTU's clear and transparent position.

In a report published on gender equality, findings show that the
European Commission has continued to take action to improve equality between
women and men, including to close the gender gaps in employment, pay and
pensions gaps, to combat violence and to promote equality in decision-making.

The report reveals that gender gaps have significantly shrunk in recent years
but that progress is uneven among the Member States and gender gaps continue to
exist in different areas – to the detriment of Europe's economy. Vice-President
Reding said: "Europe has been promoting gender equality since 1957 – it is
part of the European Union's ‘DNA’. And the economic crisis has not changed our
DNA. For us Europeans gender quality is not an 'option', it is not a 'luxury',
it is an imperative. I am convinced that together we can also close the
remaining gaps in pay, employment and decision-making jobs."