In the coming weeks, 31 apprentices from 40 small businesses will be taking part in a Leonardo da Vinci project called From a Student in Apprenticeship to an Entrepreneur.

The students will gain work experience in different EU countries, helping them to develop an entrepreneurial mentality to add to their already acquired skills.

The project was co-ordinated by the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC), the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) and the Secretariat for Small Business and the Self-Employed.

Addressing a press conference at MCAST, Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo praised the businesses that will benefit from the programme, saying that these set an example to other businesses by engaging apprentices in order to improve their products, while also participating in EU-funded projects.

Mr Vassallo concluded by saying that the government’s pledge to help small enterprises arises from the fact that in 2004, 96 per cent of Maltese businesses were classified as micro-businesses. To this end, the secretariat has taken over the bureaucratic procedures of applying for funds, thus facilitating the access of small enterprises to EU-funded programmes.

For his part, ETC chairman Michael Balzan said that more than 800 young people, 11 per cent of whom are women, are currently participating in apprentice schemes. The corporation is currently processing 400 new applications, while on 1 September, a total of 217 students – 94 per cent of whom are already employed – will receive their end of apprenticeship certificate.

The president of the board of governors of MCAST, Paul Attard, also addressed the conference, saying that “MCAST is giving due importance to entrepreneurship in the courses it offers,” thus encouraging the entrepreneurship spirit of students.