There has to be a greater political will to eliminate derogatory remarks against those who lose their job or those who are registering for work, if the country wants to make better use of its human resources, David Bezzina, managing director of Outlook Coop, said.

Speaking before the presentation of certificates to participants in the TEES scheme, Mr Bezzina said the scheme’s success showed that people over 40 still had a lot of potential.

Malta Employers’ Association director general, Joe Farrugia said that with today’s dynamic and ever-changing society, the perception that people over 40 are irrelevant for today’s society has to change.

TEES (Training and Employment Exposure Scheme) is a project set up by the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC), partially funded by the European Social Fund of the European Union. Seventy-five per cent of the total expenditure of TEES was forked out by the European Union, under the Structural Funds Programme for Malta 2004-2006, while the remaining 25 per cent was paid out by the government.

Around 400 people registering for work and aged 40 and over were engaged in this scheme in three intakes. In the first intake, which started in March 2005, 130 people were engaged. Out of these, 71 people who at the end of February had successfully completed the scheme were in employment. Only 29 of the initial 130 were registering for work at the end of February 2006.

The TEES programme was spread out over a whole year. In the first phase, the participants went through a core skills training programme highlighting motivation and self-esteem. Skills sampling and an aptitude test was done to identify their job inclinations. In the second phase, the participants spent 20 hours a week on specific training in a skill or trade selected and on demand in the labour market.

The third and final phase consisted of the TEES participants being engaged with an employer for a 40-hour a week work experience, with the possibility for the TEES participants to be offered full-time employment at the end.

The scheme was considered successful by both employers and participants. The scheme offered the employer the opportunity to train participants on the job and provide both generic and specific training.