Youth Guarantee launched in Malta

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.