Over 6,000 people receive training each year under schemes provided by the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC). Unfortunately, however, many people still consider the corporation as an organisation which merely provides a registration and employment service for the unemployed.
This is only one of the objectives of the corporation.
However, the ETC has also been given the obligation of training under The Employment and Training Services Act 1990. Its powers and obligations are highlighted in sections 16 and 17 of this Act:
Section 16 of the Act provides that the corporation has the following functions:
a) To provide training programmes, schemes and initiatives that will serve to assist those persons desiring to fit themselves for gainful occupation, or desiring to improve or update the quality of their knowledge and skills;
b) To obtain information from employers regarding the number, educational level, skills and aptitudes of persons they may require for employment both in the short-term and in the long-term;
c) To enter into agreements with employers, or any other person, for the provision of training courses or other schemes as required.
Section 17 lays down that in order to ensure adequate training through courses and schemes, the corporation may:
a) Approve courses and schemes provided by other persons;
b) Enter into contracts of service or of apprenticeship with any person who intends to attend courses or avail himself of any other schemes it has provided;
c) Make arrangements for the application of selection tests and of tests or any other method to ascertain the attainment of the recommended standards and may award the certificates for the attainment of those standards.
The corporation also has the responsibilities of apprentices and trainees.
“In simpler terms the responsibilities of the Training Services Division within the corporation are to provide initial and ongoing vocational education and training to the different client groups within the labour market. Using European Union terminology, the ETC provides activation and prevention measures to those seeking employment and those in employment interested in client groups within the labour market,” division senior manager, Joe Cutajar, explained.
But who are the client groups?
These include people seeking employment, youths entering the labour market, those in employment interested in upgrading their level of knowledge and skills, women returning to the labour market, disadvantaged groups and employers seeking suitable employees, among others.
“The main goals and objectives of the division are therefore the upgrading of the skill levels of the labour force, the addressing of skill shortages, promotion of lifelong learning, the assistance of disadvantaged groups and consequently the socially excluded, the increase of female participation in the labour market and the decrease of youth unemployment through its activation measures,” Mr Cutajar continued.
Towards these aims, the training services division provides both training before entry into the labour market as well as continued vocational training programmes, providing training and re-training.
Some of the initiatives include:
• Apprenticeship schemes
• Traineeship schemes
• Short courses in basic and advanced level covering a variety of skills and occupations
• Entrepreneurship scheme (INT)
• Night institute for Further Technical Education (NIFTE)
• Basic Employment Passport Initiative (BEP)
Apprenticeship schemes
The corporation is currently responsible for the administration of the two apprenticeship schemes – the Technician Apprenticeship Scheme (TAS) and the Extended Skill Training Scheme (ESTS). Both schemes are based on the dual system of vocational education and training at an employer’s establishment and theoretical instruction at a recognised vocational education institution.
About 13 per cent of those opting to continue their post-secondary education chose one of these schemes. In fact, around 650 students apply each year to join one of the apprenticeship schemes.
How much is the training division catering for the emerging skills of the labour market?
“We continuously monitor the forecasting of the labour market situation in Malta. We also react positively to demands by new industries to provide them with apprenticeship schemes, sometimes tailored to the company’s needs. This was done in the course for aero technicians with Lufthansa Teknik and with the new pharmaceutical industry,” Mr Cutajar said.
Who gets the apprentices?
More than 89 per cent of the apprentices in both schemes are placed in the private sector. A large majority of TAS apprentices are sponsored by foreign-owned manufacturing firms while a smaller percentage are employed with service establishments. Contrary to the TAS, a large number of ESTS apprentices are employed with micro and small establishments. (See table below.)
Ms Maria Bartolo Galea, senior executive in charge of the schemes said that, “The apprenticeship scheme has so far proved to be an effective employment tool by increasing the supply of young people with the required occupational competences into the labour market”.
The setting-up of an apprenticeship board was an effort to further upgrade the apprenticeship scheme structure and to enhance the communication structures between stakeholders. Representatives from the ETC, MCAST, Education Division and ITS as well as representatives of trade unions, employers and constituted bodies make up the board.
The ETC can be described as one of the forerunners in the provision of short competence-based training programmes. For the past 10 years it has organised a large number of short courses. The aim is to upgrade and update the quality of the knowledge and skills required by job seekers for entering a gainful occupation and those in employment to retain their job.
ETC programmes are primarily aimed to assist the unemployed re-integrate within the labour market. They are also available to those in employment who are interested in upgrading their knowledge and skills. Other programmes target women returning to the labour market, persons with special needs and youths entering the labour market for the first time.
The training services division offers around 80 types of courses in this stream.
Mr Cutajar says that in order to increase accessibility to its courses, the courses are organised at the corporation’s training centres and other localities, in collaboration with training services providers and other institutions including local councils.
The short competence-based training programmes for the unemployed can be classified into five different categories:
• Basic skills/remedial training
• Basic and advanced competence-based trade
• Non-trade (office-related)
• Programmes in Care
• Basic and advanced IT.
The main aim of such programmes is to provide basic skills to those seeking employment as a high proportion of the registered unemployed have low levels of education and limited skills.
The corporation is now working towards developing a new training infrastructure that will include:
• Standards for literacy and numeracy skills
• Training and evaluation tools to assist the trainer in the delivery and to measure literacy levels at various stages, namely at entry level (employment advisor and course co-coordinator), on-going progress, at exit level on completion of training.
• Continued training and development for trainers engaged in providing literacy and numeracy skills training so that they may adopt the appropriate pedagogical skills appropriate for adult learners.
The Division has adopted a strategy which entails that trade programmes will be delivered at two different levels:
• Foundation level – compulsory for registered unemployed
• Advanced level – for those really interested in learning the trade.
Mr Cutajar explained that course schedules are made to suit the clients’ needs. A programme begins when the required number of clients are available. Timings are adjusted to suit ETC and the various clients’ needs – mornings for the registered unemployed and evenings for the non-registrants.
The ETC also provides short mainstream courses which are primarily aimed at assisting the unemployed, the inactive and those in employment to gain new skills and re-integrate or secure their position within the labour market. From the employers’ perspective, ETC courses help to satisfy the immediate skills needed.
Traineeship schemes
Currently there are seven traineeship schemes which are mainly directed at registered unemployed persons and new labour market entrants. These are NCC Diploma, laboratory technicians, childcare, childcare-service providers, digital graphic design, web design and retailing.
Business Promotion Act
The Training Division also administers the grant given to the industry under the Business Promotion Act. From 2002 until to date, 1,980 applications have been received while in the last six months a total of Lm73,444 in grants have been issued to a total of 24 organisations for training concluded in 2003.
Small business management programmes
The division is also responsible for the organisation of Small Business and Management Development programmes. These courses are organised by the Valletta Training Centre. Among the subjects provided are Managing People and Finance, Starting a Business, Negotiating Skills and various Legal aspects.
“The training courses which we provide all year round have proved to be an effective tool for the activation of the unemployed. The corporation has during the last few years done its utmost to create the mechanisms to anticipate skill needs so as to ensure more targeted training provisions,” concluded Mr Cutajar.
Night Institute for Further Technical Education
The Training Division also includes its Night Institute for Further Technical Education (NIFTE).
The Institute was established in 1990 and provides training courses to assist persons desiring to improve or update the quality of their knowledge and skills for better career management.
NIFTE courses are designed to combat the consequences of technological and restructuring changes and to provide supplementary education in technology and other fields. Thus it reduces the gap in knowledge acquired by those leaving or who have left the formal educational institutions.
The NIFTE organises technical courses, management and development courses as well as advanced technical courses.
Training projects assisted by the European Union
The Training Services Division is implementing two projects which were approved to receive funds under the Structural Funds Programme for Malta 2004-2006.
The projects are the Literacy Programme, partly funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Extension of the Skills Development Centre, partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The Literacy Programme, costing €200,000, aims to equip those who are currently inactive with the tools required to pursue further training, eventually become active within the labour market and, as a result, gain social inclusion.
Approximately, 20 per cent of those seeking employment state that they are illiterate. The employment prospects of persons who lack these basic skills are decreasing. The aim of this programme is to equip them with basic literacy skills that enhance their employability prospects in a labour market which is increasingly demanding higher level skills on the part of the workforce.
The extension of the Skills Development Centre at Hal Far costs €300,900; 75 per cent of which are coming from the ERDF.The Centre will focus on improving the accessibility of life-long learning opportunities by provided an environment that is conducive to the learning experience.
The construction and extension of the Centre will permit the ETC to increase the number of training programmes on offer and consequently the number of participants in lifelong learning.
Mr Inguanez is communications coordinator at the Employment and Training Corporation.