MaltaMedia.com

On Tuesday,minister John Dalli and Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said launched ETC’s new Employability Programme which is co-financed by the European Social Fund. The Employability Programme is intended to strengthen the skills and therefore the labour market prospects of jobseekers. It incorporates a collection of initiatives intended to boost the labour market prospects of jobseekers as well as those employed.

The training and retraining programmes include over 200 courses that will be offered to over 21,000 trainees in Malta and Gozo over the coming three years. Labour market integration training will also be offered, including job search assistance initiatives, training in basic skills and work orientation. Persons with little skills or qualifications will be provided basic, remedial skills and vocational training. Those in employment wishing to upgrade their skills will also be offered retraining programmes in a wide range of areas.

In addition to training programmes, ETC will be extending its popular traineeship model of on-the-job and off-the-job training in areas of labour market demand. For persons who have acquired skills but do not hold qualifications, the Employability Programme also provides for the development of a number of occupational standards and assessment, in close liaison with employers and the Malta Qualifications Council. Self-employed persons, and those working in micro-enterprises, will benefit from a refund of 75% of their training cost (up to a maximum grant of € 1,000) when they undertake training approved beforehand by ETC.

Much of this training will be delivered in ETC’s new training centre co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund. Also launched this morning was the second extension to this centre. Work on this extension, which is estimated to cost over €600,000, started this month and is expected to take one year to complete. The new block will consist of 10 training rooms, equipped with the latest technology, and will be adjoined to the old block by a steel bridge. The training complex will be fully accessible to persons with disability.