On 21 March, the very first day of spring, very appropriately, we celebrated International Youth Day. Spring reminds us of the freshness of youth as wherever we look, we do tend to see the pleasant side of things.

And in fact Maltese youths have a lot to be pleased about. Although it may seem to be the norm that young people never know what they want, in actual fact the young Maltese generation has a very clear vision of their objectives and of how to achieve them.

On a national level, young people are the future of our country, the ones who will be contributing towards the social and economic development of our country in years to come.

On a personal level, they have to plan for their future, to be at the forefront, to meet the continuous changes of the economy.

To help young people meet these demands, the government is investing a lot. And this is proof that the government believes in today’s younger generation. More than ever, today the government is investing heavily in all sectors of education.

The number of people continuing higher education has reached approximately 70 per cent of 17-year-olds. Both MCAST and the University have expanded their services to meet the demand. This year, the government entered into an agreement with a private institution to cater for the heavy rise in demand for ICT courses. Students taking science courses are also being given supplementary grants.

However, a major concern for young people is that they find suitable employment when they finish their studies. The government’s priority is not only to give the right training and education, but also to provide career opportunities to these emerging young employees. In this regard, the government is striving to attract foreign investment to Malta.

SmartCity and Lufthansa Teknik are two such examples. Educational institutions are also working more closely with employers in order to ensure that students are more employable. In fact MCAST has embarked on courses intended to meet the demands set by the ICT industry.

Through EU membership, young people have access to EU educational programmes where they can gain training and work experience in EU countries. Students in secondary schools have participated in projects under the Socrates programme and hundreds of students in higher education have participated in the Erasmus programme. Between 2000 and 2006 about 800 students benefited from an investment of e18million, while more young people participated in the Leonardo da Vinci programme.

Another ingenious programme is the Youth programme, an education programme that focuses on informal education.

The aim of the Youth programme is to encourage young people to participate in voluntary work abroad, community projects and youth exchanges, where priority is given to those emarginated by society.

In line with its policy of social inclusion, the government is not only investing in educational programmes for young people with intellectual capabilities but is also investing to help young people with social problems.

The Appogg Youth Outreach service offers intensive social work intervention to young people aged 13-18 who have very challenging behaviour.

Sedqa also has various programmes that address high-risk groups who are vulnerable for drug use and other anti-social behaviour. These programmes are intended to give young people a second chance in life, rather than be socially excluded for the rest of their lives.

These opportunities are just a few to mention. Further investment is that established by the Housing Authority enabling young couples to buy their first home.

Therefore, it is no surprise then that today’s young people have much to look forward to. Life for the younger generation today is very different from what it was like 20 years ago, where numerus clausus and high unemployment rates were the order of the day. Youth then was compared more to autumn than to spring.

But things do change, and young people should take full advantage of this gold mine that they have available to make sure that they remain at the forefront. Our younger generation has to understand that such achievements are the fruit of collective effort. While enjoying what has been rightfully given to them so far, today’s youth must themselves safeguard their future by investing in the provider of this blossoming spring.

Michelle Mallia is president of the Nationalist Party Women’s Movement