Author: SME Chamber

Il-KummissjoniEwropea reċentement nediet inizjattiva dwar
l-immodernizzazzjoni ta' dawn l-istrumenti.  Għaldaqstant ippubblikat
kwestjonarju biex tiġbor rispons mill-partijiet interessati. Il-MEUSAC,
flimkien mad-Dipartiment tal-Politika Ekonomika fi ħdan il-Ministeru tal-Finanzi,
Ekonomija u Investiment, qed jorganizza laqgħa ta' konsultazzjoni dwar dan
il-kwestjonarju u l-Istrumenti ta' Difiża tal-Kummerċ bl-għan li jqajjem
għarfien aħjar kif jaħdmu dawn l-istrumenti.

Biextirreġistra, inti ġentilment mitlub(a) tinforma
lill-MEUSAC fuq l-indirizz elettroniku  sa mhux aktar tard minn nofsinhar
tal-Ġimgħa 15 ta' Ġunju 2012.

Prepare yourselves for the final calls
for the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) for Research and Technological
Development. The Malta Council for Science and
Technology (MCST) is holding an Information Session on the FINAL FP7 Calls. The
last calls for this Programme are expected to be published next month (July
2012). FP7 has already provided 127 Maltese participants with around €11
million in funds in over 100 projects. Other benefits include increasing your
international networks, widening your field of expertise and gaining a
competitive edge.

The Information on the upcoming calls
of each Thematic Area will be provided in the parallel sessions:

Date:     11th June

Venue:  Villa BighiKalkara

Time:    9.30 –
14.30

FP7 in General, including parallel sessions on each
Thematic area

Participation is limited.

Please visit the website to complete
the registration form:
http://www.mcst.gov.mt/fp-funding/events/your-last-chance-participate-fp7

For more information about FP7, contact

Christa Sedlatschek, Director of the
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, on ways to help older people
stay active in the labour market. 2012 is the
European Year for Active Ageing, or to
give it its full title, the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between
Generations. Most of us are aware that we have an ageing population throughout
most of Europe. Partly this is for reasons that we can be proud of – we can
expect to live considerably longer than we did in previous generations.

On
average we're living eight years longer than we were in 1960 and over the next
four or five decades we're likely to see life expectancy rising by another five
years or so. That's a good thing for all of us. But combine this with the low
birth rates that we've seen over the last few decades, and you get a pattern
that is repeating itself all over the developed world, with many more older
people in absolute terms, but also a much higher proportion of older people in
the overall population.

Europe's population is ageing fast, in
other words. In 2010 there were slightly more than 87 million people over 65,
or some 17.4 % of the total population. Compare that with the figures from
1985, when there were 59.3 million people who were 65 and over – 12.8 % of the
total. And the number is expected to increase still further relative to people
of working age, doubling by 2060. This is a challenge, but also a chance to use
the competences and abilities of older people.

How can we deal with these profound
changes? As LászlóAndor, the European Commissioner for Employment, Social
Affairs and Inclusion, has pointed out: ‘the key to tackling the challenges of
an increasing proportion of older people in our societies is ‘active ageing':
encouraging older people to remain active by working longer and retiring later,
by engaging in volunteer work after retirement, and by leading healthy and
autonomous lives.'

Active Ageing

Hence the importance of the European
Year for Active Ageing, which was launched in Copenhagen in January. Its aim is
to raise awareness of the contribution that older people can make to society,
and to encourage decision-makers to help people age ‘actively'. Active ageing
is about growing old in good health, continuing to live independently, and
playing a full role in society.

A key part of this involves enabling
older workers to stay healthy for longer in the labour market. The employment
rates of older workers (55-64 years old) in the EU-27 are currently less than
50%. In other words, for a variety of reasons more than half of older workers
are leaving work before they have to retire, and that means that there is huge
untapped potential in people working longer, to help to support the longer
lives of European citizens.

Projections point in particular towards
increasing numbers of older women within the EU-27's labour market, with the
employment rate for women aged 55 to 64 being expected to rise by 20.9 %
between 2010 and 2060, as against an 11.5 % rise among men.

Are people happy with this increasing
role for older people in the workplace? According to a recent Eurobarometer
survey it would seem so, with broad support for the idea of older people
working up to and even beyond current retirement age. 61% of Europeans, for
example, think that people should be allowed to continue working once they've
reached the official retirement age, and one third say that they themselves
would like to continue working after they reach the age when they're entitled
to a pension.

If we're going to achieve it, though,
surveys also show a broad awareness of the importance of occupational safety
and health (OSH), if people are to work longer. The second European Opinion
Poll on Occupational Safety and Health, which we recently commissioned from
Ipsos MORI, shows that 87% of people across Europe believe that good
occupational health and safety is important if people are to work for longer
before they retire (56% say it is ‘very important'). But according to the
Eurobarometer survey, many Europeans also think that conditions in their
workplaces might not allow them to continue working to an older age: only four
in ten (42%) said they thought that they would be capable of doing the work
they are currently doing until the age of 65 or beyond, while 17% expect that
they will not be able to carry on in their current job past the age of 59. More
than half said that their workplaces are not adapted to the needs of older
people.

Older workers´ safety and health

While we at the European Agency for
Safety and Health at Work are promoting the European Year, then, we are also
emphasising the crucial importance of good safety and health and workplace
health promotion at all stages of working life, if older people are to be able
to work for longer.

If we are to encourage people to stay
longer in the labour market, we need to challenge some of the discrimination
that exists against older workers: changing negative attitudes is largely what
the European Year is about. Rather than older people being seen as a burden on
the working-age population, they should be recognised for the valuable skills
and experience that they have, and the contribution this can make in the
workplace.

But older people are in some ways more
vulnerable at work, too. They are more likely to be involved in fatal workplace
accidents. Long-term health problems also increase with age: musculoskeletal
disorders are a particular issue, and depression is also one of the most common
reasons for early retirement. In jobs with a high physical workload, of course,
we see higher levels of sick leave at all ages, but this increases
significantly for workers aged between 45 and 50. Nevertheless, there are wide
differences between individual workers at any given age in the work that they
can do, and most older workers are able to stay healthy and physically capable,
given the right conditions.

Age management in the workplace

What we need, then, is a real emphasis
on the importance of ‘age management' in the workplace: managers need to take
age-related factors into account in assigning particular tasks to individuals,
so that everybody, regardless of age, is able to do their job.

This means focusing on what we call
‘work ability': finding the right balance between work and individual
resources.

And there is plenty that employers can
do in this area. Workplace health promotion, for example, helping workers to
adopt a healthy lifestyle in terms of eating, drinking and exercise. And
carrying out proper risk assessments, taking into consideration individual
differences between workers in terms of their capacities and health: age becomes
just one of the many factors that need to be taken into account, when managers
think about the ‘fit' between employees and particular kinds of work.

Finally, a vital part of age management
involves redesigning individual work tasks to fit the strengths, needs and
capabilities of older workers. Research shows that there is a variety of
measures that can promote work ability related to work organisation, working
hours, training, ergonomic measures etc. And the most effective and efficient
way to adapt the workplace to the needs of workers is to let them participate
in the planning and implementing of measures. They are the experts of their
workplace.

There are plenty of examples of how
this can work in practice. One manufacturing company, for instance, has
introduced an ‘Age Master' scheme, which offers extra days off for workers over
58, giving them more time to rest after carrying out physically demanding work.
As a result, older people in the company have tended to work about three years
longer before retiring. An energy company, meanwhile, has introduced an
‘80-90-100' programme, which enables older workers to reduce their working time
by 20%, reducing their salary by 10% but keeping all their pension benefits:
again, this has led employees to work longer before retiring.

Examples like these show that people
are able and willing to work longer when they are motivated to do so. And
research shows that this all results in lower rates of sick leave, lower work
disability costs and better productivity: the return on investment for these
types of schemes can be between three and five to one after a few years.

Taking active ageing seriously pays
off, then, and not just for workers and their employers. Recent research shows
that the better our work ability before retirement, the better our quality of
life later on, with lower levels of sickness and physical or mental
deterioration. And that means reduced healthcare costs for all of us: investing
in occupational health and safety is an investment for everyone. What is
important is to start early, today's young people are tomorrow's older workers.

The basis for all this is to establish
a preventive culture and to empower people to participate actively in creating
a better working environment. Good leadership and worker participation is a
proven success factor.

http://osha.europa.eu/en/priority_groups/ageingworkers

or download the resource pack from our
sister EU agency,

the European Foundation for the
Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), at

http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/resourcepacks/activeageing.htm

Malta Enterprise, the University of Malta and the Malta
Council for Science and Technology in collaboration with the Ministry of
Finance, the Economy and Investment launched the digital gaming strategy for
Malta to facilitate the growth of this lucrative niche as an offshoot of the
flourishing ICT industry.

The strategy was launched during a one-day-conference on
April 27 that was opened by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and which was attended
by several industry stakeholders as well as students who are looking at a
career in digital gaming.

Malta's Special Envoy for Digital Gaming Chris Deering
highlighted not only the exponential growth registered in digital gaming in
recent years, but also the wide ranging opportunities that social media and
portable devices have created and that Malta could target to become the world's
leading country for trans-media interactive digital arts.

On his part, Prof. William Latham presented the findings of
the report compiled by Games Audit Ltd team, which was commissioned to
research, carry out interviews with stakeholders and analyse the digital gaming
sector in Malta and its potential for growth as a guide to setting up the
national policy for this industry.

The report focused on the attraction of global gaming
companies and the encouragement of local company start-ups, as well as
initiatives that need to be taken to enhance education in this sector and to
nurture a games eco-system.

Amongst other recommendations, the report suggests that
possible areas of specialisation for Malta could be downloadable games for
mobile, tablet, pc and consoles, as well as browser games such as html, flash
and social games including for the popular social network websites.

Whilst noting that the digital gaming industry is still in
its early stages in Malta, the report comments positively on the country's
potential particularly in view of the strong ICT industry and the possibility
of transferring skills not only from other existing sectors such as software
development or iGaming, but also from other industries such as film and
audiovisual which make use of similar skills as those required by the digital
gaming industry.

The report also highlighted other benefits that Malta offers
and which could attract other foreign companies or encourage local start-ups,
such as the support of educational institutions which provide tailor-made
courses as well as the availability of wide-ranging fiscal and financial
incentives to support the industry's growth.

The conference also provided the opportunity for those
present to discuss the report prepared by Games Audit Ltd, the industry's
prospects and issues of concern during a panel discussion.

Malta Enterprise has opened the foyer
at its head office at Pieta' for the hosting of art exhibitions, thereby giving
local artists another possibility to showcase their works.

The initiative is being supported by
Malta Enterprise to encourage an ongoing insight in the better development and
understanding of local artists, both established ones as well as emerging
artists.

Exhibitions will be held on a regular
basis and will not be restricted solely to paintings, but can also comprise
other artistic techniques such as drawings, sculptures and photography.

The first exhibitor at Malta Enterprise
is Pierre Giusti.  He derives his
inspiration from Malta's megalithic heritage and most of his work being created
in acrylic on canvas.  A selection of
Pierre's work can be viewed on www.pierregiusti.com.  The exhibition is open to the public for
viewing on weekdays during office hours from 08:00h to 16:45h, excluding public
holidays.

Local artists who would like to take
the opportunity to showcase their work within this highly frequnted area may
contact Malta Enterprise on 2542 0000 or via email on
.

This initiative complements another
separate measure which Malta Enterprise has in place to support local artists,
namely the Create scheme, through which individuals or businesses operating in
the creative industries may qualify for a tax credit of up to €25,000 or 60% of
the eligible expenditure incurred in the development and publication of a
creative work.

Why
did you become an entrepreneur? I
always had the interested to do something on my own, with my own ideas. Plus I
also wanted to be my own boss. How
have you come to choose your line of business?

My
interest in becoming a pharmacist goes before my sixth form years. I never
wanted to become a doctor or anything related, I was sure I wanted to be a
pharmacist.

Where
did you go on your last holiday?

Assisi
and Rome. In Assisi the serenity, peace and calmness strike you while the
culture and history of Rome are very impressive. There was excellent weather as
well.

What
is your earliest memory?

The
small and innocent mischief my twin brother and I would do. I don't have
stories of exchanging girlfriends, which once happened but at no fault of ours,
or of writing each other's exams. We never abused of the situation.

If
you could chose to be someone famous who would you be and why?

I
cannot think of anyone famous but I admire a Maltese Kappuccin who is younger
than me but whom I admire and find inspiring from him words.

A representative from the Malta
Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) will be at the Business First office in
Pietà every Friday morning, thereby enhancing the service offered from the
one-stop-shop for businesses, which already gathers more than 50 Government
services under one roof.

While applications will still need to
be submitted directly with MEPA, at Business First clients may check the status
of their MEPA application as well as obtain explanations on the pre-screening
process and on the general parameters of permits for specific developments.

The staff at Business First has also
been given basic training on MEPA procedures in order to be able to provide
basic guidance to businesses throughout the rest of the week.

The addition of the service to Business
First's offering reflects the commitment to monitor and analyse clients'
feedback to see what business services are required and, where possible, start
offering such services.

The initial list of services was also
based on a survey among 200 enterprises which amongst others asked what the
major issues of concern for local enterprises are and what services are
expected from such a one-stop-shop facility.

Amongst others, Business First already
provided services related to the Legal Entity Establishment, Employment
Registration, Registration for Tax purposes, Registration for VAT services,
Residence permits, Licenses including trading and tourism-related licenses, and
applications related to utilities services.

Moreover, through its professional
guidance Business First can help businesses find their way through the various
requirements they need to adhere to, what applications need to be compiled,
what documentation needs to be submitted, and – equally important – where all
this can be done.

By carrying out most formalities under
one roof at Business First, businesses can save time and unnecessary running
around, thereby having the possibility to focus more on their business
operations.

The growth and successful operation of
businesses is also supported through the guidance and provision of Malta
Enterprise schemes and services.

Since its launch in January, more than
3,700 contacts have been made by clients with Business First, which opens on
weekdays between 08:15h and 17:00h, with extended hours until 19:00h on
Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Further information may be obtained
from the dedicated website www.businessfirst.com.mt or by calling the Business
First helpline on telephone number 144.

Fil-proċess ta' ħidma biex titfassal strateġija
tal-Unjoni Ewropea dwar it-turiżmu marittimu u dak kostali, il-Kummissjoni
Ewropea qed tniedi konsultazzjoni pubblika biex tikseb l-opinjonijiet
tal-partijiet interessati dwar l-isfidi u l-opportunitajiet għat-turiżmu marittimu
u kostali fl-Ewropa.

Għal dan il-għan, il-Malta-EU Steering and
Action Committee (MEUSAC) flimkien mal-Ministeru għat-Turiżmu, l-Ambjent u
l-Kultura, se jorganizza laqgħa ta' konsultazzjoni marbuta ma' dan is-settur
vitali għall-ekonomija Maltija.

Il-laqgħa ser issir bil-MALTI nhar il-Ħamis, 14 ta' Ġunju 2012,
fis-siegħa ta' wara nofsinhar, f'Dar l-Ewropa, 254, Triq San Pawl,
il-Belt
Valletta.

Biextirreġistra,
inti ġentilment mitlub tkellem lill-MEUSAC sa mhux aktar tard minn nofsinhar tal-Erbgħa,
13 ta' Ġunju 2012 fuq l-indirizzelettroniku.

Around 20 Maltese companies from the building and
construction sector have been assisted by Malta Enterprise to participate in
the Libya Build 2012, where they had the opportunity to showcase their products
and services, establish relations with their Libyan counterparts and explore
business prospects within post-revolution Libya.

The companies – which operate in a wide range of sectors,
such as lifts and electromechanical systems, construction materials, furniture
and fittings, environmental solutions, turnkey contractors and project
management, paints, printing, aluminium, as well as garages, doors and windows
– reported good interest in their offering.

Indeed, they were kept busy throughout the entire event held
at the Tripoli International Fairground over a span of five days between May
20th and 24th, 2012 and shall now be following up on the business leads they
established.

Likewise, the Malta Enterprise representative at the
Commercial Office in Tripoli, who was also present at the event, had several
meetings to promote the trade opportunities that Malta offers to Libyan
companies as well as the assistance and support that companies operating in
Malta may benefit from.

After presiding over the opening ceremony, the Libyan
Minister of Economy Dr Ahmed Al-Koushli made it a point to visit the Malta
Pavilion, where he not only visited the Maltese companies but also had a short
meeting with Malta's Ambassador in Libya Victor Camilleri and the Malta
Enterprise representative in Libya Salem Megadmi.

Malta Enterprise also organized an information session for
Maltese companies with the Organization for Development of Administrative Centers
(ODAC), which executes a wide range of public projects particularly the
strategic and major infrastructural projects, as well as a networking session
for Maltese and Austrian businesses in collaboration with the Austrian Embassy
in Libya.

With infrastructure projects being among the Libya's
priorities after months of unrest, Libya Build provided the ideal setting for
those enterprises looking at opportunities within a market that is seeking to
establish itself as one of the most advanced in the region.

The event also featured expertise and technology across a
broad range of sectors from the international community, particularly from
countries in the Euro-Med region which had the strongest presence among the
almost 650 participating companies.

Malta Enterprise's own participation at the Libya Build 2012
and the support provided to local companies to participate in the event is part
of the initiatives being taken to strengthen the commercial links between the
two neighbouring countries, which also include participation in the Libyan
Healthcare Exhibition 2012 being held in the coming September.

The event is of strategic importance for companies engaged in
healthcare in view of the extensive support required by this sector in Libya.
It will provide a unique opportunity to establish direct communication with
Libyan decision-makers in the healthcare sector and to obtain information on
medical needs and planned projects in this field.

Malta Enterprise is currently registering local companies
interested in taking part in the event, which amongst others may include
private hospitals and clinics, pharmaceutical companies, suppliers of medical
equipment and products, as well as other medical related service providers.

These initiatives follow up on the visit by an official
delegation led by the Minister of Finance, Economy, and Investment and the
Minister for Fair Competition, Small Business and Consumers to Libya about a
month ago, when they held meetings with the Libyan Ministers for Industry, the
Economy and Transport.

On the sides of this visit, 20 Maltese companies operating in
the maritime industry formed a business delegation that visited the country to
explore business opportunities, view the operating environment at some of
Libya's major ports and meet their Libyan counterparts.

Following these meetings, the first meeting of the Technical
Committee for Trade and Investment was conducted with the aim of facilitating
trade and investment between the two countries, in line with the Memorandum of
Understanding signed between Malta Enterprise and the General Board of
Privatisation and Investment in Libya earlier this year.

Malta Enterprise and Transport Malta also organised two
separate seminars for Libyan officials involved in regulating these sectors
with the aim of providing training and assistance to these public bodies based
on Malta's expertise in these fields.