The Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) is interviewing its clients who have been registering continuously for a year or more. At present the ETC has over 3,046 clients who are classified as “long-term unemployed”. Out of these, 496 have been registering for more than five years.

The aim of this exercise is to reintegrate these individuals into the labour market in the shortest time possible by offering them relevant and useful training courses. The ETC has engaged a number of interviewers who will act as middle persons between the employment advisors of the corporation and the clients.

The interviewers will be responsible to compile a report on the qualifications, skills, experience and motivation of the individuals. Clients will be referred to training programmes according to their preferences of work, qualifications and experience. The ETC is quite aware that most of these jobseekers lack several skills which are not helping them to reintegrate in the ever-demanding labour market. The corporation presently offers over 90 training programmes to its clients.

The interviews are compulsory for all those who have been registering for employment for more than a year. Those who fail to attend without a justified reason will be struck off the unemployment register.

Interviews will be held at the Catholic Institute in Floriana.