The government yesterday published the second document for public consultation which lays down how Malta will be utilising the funds received from the European Union for the period 2007-2013.
This document is the third and final one in the programming process. The Operational Programme II, which is co-financed by the European Social Fund, is now open for public consultation, after which the government will make its final representations and begin negotiations with the European Commission.
Introducing this document, parliamentary secretary Tonio Fenech said the draft document contains the government proposals to utilise the funds in the fields of education and training with the aim of empowering people for more jobs and a better quality of life.
Mr Fenech said this programme provides for investment in human resources which are Malta’s main natural resource. He said it is the government’s priority to encourage and support people to realise their full potential in order to contribute to Malta’s socio-economic development.
He said that through this Operational Programme, the government aims to invest a total of over E95 million in Malta’s human resources. E74 million of them come from the European Social Fund. Mr Fenech said the government has identified five priority areas. These include improving the education and skills level of the labour supply; investing in the employability and adaptability of the labour market; promoting an equal and inclusive labour market; strengthening of institutional and administrative capacity and technical assistance.
He explained that each priority area has a number of objectives to be reached and a proposed budget. Under each priority area, a number of focus areas of intervention have also been identified to reach the objectives of each area. He said the main focus areas include investing in the education system, including training of educators to support the implementation of educational reform, investment in guidance and counselling, training in science & technology and Information and communication technology.
He said the government aims to provide continuous training and education, including lifelong learning beyond the formal education sector and community learning centres. He said employment and training schemes will be drawn up for the private sector, including giving the unemployed/inactive employment opportunities and providing training to increase the adaptability of enterprises.
Mr Fenech said the government is committed to spend a minimum of 10 per cent of the funds for projects in Gozo.
He said the next steps include the finalisation of the documents and a presentation and discussion at the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development. Following the end of the public consultation period – 14 August – the government will revise the document accordingly and make the first informal submission to the European Commission.
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