MUT president John Bencini explained that concern is growing among parents and teachers over the fact that young people study for a considerable number of years and then are not able to find work within their field.

The United Kingdom and Italy suffer from a lack of teachers while the little island of Malta is saturated with them, he continued. Some 1,000 new teachers are due to graduate in the next four years and jobs must be created for them. Mr Bencini told the prime minister that the MUT’s proposals to the Education Ministry will help with creating more jobs while focusing on the quality of education rather than quantity. This quality will obviously come at a higher price, he said, but hopefully more people can be used in different spheres of education.

In answer to the union’s concern on unemployment among new teachers Prime Minister Gonzi said that compared to all the other EU countries, Malta has the lowest rate of unemployed graduates. Despite this, Dr Gonzi said that any level of unemployment must be dealt with, “whether there are 7,700 or seven people registered as unemployed, the situation must still be given the same importance.”

Both Mr Bencini and Dr Gonzi agreed that the MUT and the government must support each other in order to move forward.

This was another in a series of meetings the prime minister is holding with unions in every sector for an exchange of opinions. Dr Gonzi said that all the social partners have something to contribute to the development of Malta, within different sectors.

After his meeting with the MUT, the prime minister met with the Federation of Professional Bodies to discuss its relationship with government and how to nurture it in order to provide a more solid basis for Malta’s development.