There is a key difference between employment and employability. Employment has to do with getting a job. Employability has to do with having an effective mix of skills, attributes and attitudes in order to be employed.

One of our aims in this sector is to equip young people with the key competences required to meet the challenges of Malta’s labour market. That is, not only for them to be employed, but to prepare them to be employable – by giving them all that is necessary in the ever changing world of employment and what this sector is requiring from our work force.

Employers are looking for skilled and capable talent, students are looking for courses which get them jobs and educational institutes are looking for industry participation to produce job ready people.

Education needs to be linked to employment to make it relevant and produce job ready candidates – hence industry participation becomes pertinent. The students go through customized curriculum and undergo industry exposure, a concept that has a long lasting impact on the students and also helps them develop cognitive skills which are much desired by any employer.

This reminds me of a visit to Lufthansa Technik Malta during the welcoming ceremony of its first services on the A350 aircraft. On the day I had remarked that Lufthansa Technik Malta have kept on investing and enlarging their operations in our country, not only due to Malta’s geographical position, but also because of a well-established trained workforce which provides companies like Lufthansa Technik Malta with the necessary skilled employees, who do not only possess technical qualities, but also a strong work ethic.

In this, the collaboration between the Malta College of Arts Science and Technology and Lufthansa Technik Malta provides for the necessary setup in training students on the job, whilst also guaranteeing exciting career prospects. The company’s workforce includes a fifth who are students and trainees in various stages of their training. Since its inception, Lufthansa Technik Malta, together with MCAST, has already produced and trained more than 500 people across various trades and skills.

And recently, I announced a collaboration between MCAST and the Air Conditioning Importers Association that will see to the development of qualified technical personnel in heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems.

In both the above, Science is fundamental.

So it is of the utmost importance that we continue to prepare our students, as was stated last week, in more areas such as Life Sciences, robotics, coding, IT infrastructure, software development, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Quantum, Cyber ​​Security and Industry 4.0 - the fourth industrial revolution.

It is instrumental that we push forward Science Education with relevance to today’s changing world in the employment sector, but at the same time acknowledging that other areas are also important and that we have to continue to support subjects leading to different skills.

Science education seeks to develop the scientific literacy of all learners enabling them to make informed decisions as they strive to improve their quality of life and to understand the changing contexts. Besides imparting knowledge, science education also develops skills and ways of thinking that are important for decision-making and problem solving using an evidence-based approach. It also needs to provide a strong foundation for learners who wish to pursue a career in science and other science-related careers that require them to focus on science at post-secondary and tertiary levels.

To address these purposes, our educational system has to be flexible enough to allow all learners with the potential of following a career in science or a science-related profession to do so at any point in their schooling. It also implies an inclusive educational setting that acknowledges, caters for and validates a whole range of abilities: from low to high achieving students.

The Science Centre in Pembroke, part of the Directorate for Learning and Assessment Programmes, has been working on this for quite a number of years.

In fact the Science Centre is responsible, and not only, for various STEM - science, technology, engineering and mathematics - initiatives taking place within the Directorate for Learning and Assessment Programmes, with the aim of instilling awareness of the importance of science subjects – even from a young age. STEM address education policy and curriculum choices in schools to improve competitiveness in science and technology development.

This week I enjoyed discussing with Desiree Scicluna Bugeja the Assistant Director of the Science Centre the centre’s work in this field. I had the opportunity to learn more about the work being done by the Centre’s Education Officers that are collectively responsible for the provision of quality STEM Education of all students from Early Years to Primary, Middle and Secondary schooling.

The Centre is highly committed to strengthening STEM Education on a national level through three main pillars namely: STEM Curricula reform, STEM Educator Support & Professional Development and STEM Popularization. To achieve this, the centre collaborates with numerous stakeholders ranging from schools, Local Councils, industry partners and NGOs to foster scientific literacy while nurturing learners' 21st century skills and competences.

This is an area which we have to strengthen and build on what has been done in recent years and even work to break the misconception that science is an area in which only men can have a rewarding career, but also to prioritise an important aim, that of equipping our young people with the key competences required to meet the challenges of Malta’s new trends in the labour market.