Although full employment can be a far off dream for many countries, it is encouraging to note that the Employment and Training Corporation in Malta is working hard to create schemes and incentives for those without a job to enter into the labour market. Gerald Fenech spoke to ETC acting senior manager employment services division Raphael Scerri about the vast array of schemes available and an update on the corporation’s work in general.

The Employment and Training Corporation turned 16 years old recently and although it has found an important place in Maltese society, there is actually a large number of people who are still unaware of the corporation’s impressive range of activity across the whole labour spectrum. What makes it tick, I asked first, and what is the success rate?

“The ETC is relatively young but huge progress is being made. A large number of schemes have been launched with the assistance of European Union funds. Progress has also been registered in the way in which the corporation operates. In the early days, our clients were chiefly job seekers from traditional employment backgrounds but now we are intensifying our work in the area of single mothers, disabled persons and the socially disadvantaged, especially on a one-to-one basis. We are also dealing with work permits to foreigners now and so we are evolving continually, almost on a monthly basis,” Raphael Scerri, ETC acting senior manager employment services division, said.

All well and good then, but what are the requirements that the ETC is asked for when job seekers come to its counters?

“The ETC has a varied mix of clients ranging from university students to low-skilled workers. However, it has to be said that the largest number who are currently registering for work are unskilled persons, a percentage of whom are also illiterate. Unfortunately, this creates a situation where those who are suitably qualified move ahead and find jobs while we end up with a large number of people who may be deemed unemployable. However, we are doing our best to address this situation with courses, training and other similar programmes which attempt to address the long-term unemployed.”

In September 2004, there were 1,800 persons registering for labouring jobs, but after an intensive training programme this number reduced considerably to just 545 a year later, a quantum leap indeed. What sort of programmes is being offered for such unskilled persons, I asked?

“We are currently conducting an exercise with 2,500 people who have been registering for work for over a year. They are being encouraged to apply for two particular courses but we are also asking our clients for their suggestions in courses such as panel beating, spraying and other similar trades. Thus, the ETC is regularly updating its schemes and courses and, as much as possible, the total package matches our clients’ needs, both on the employer and on the employee side”.

However, has the ETC been successful in returning unemployed persons into the world of work?

“In 2005, the ETC had 7,531 vacancies submitted by employers, out of which we managed to fill 4,568 job placements, a success rate of 61 per cent, compared to 49 per cent the previous year. It is interesting to note that out of these placements, 3,279 were in the private sector and this shows that our success rate in this area has grown considerably (it was 2,801 in 2004). The figures for June 2006 show that we are more or less in the same waters of last year, with an improvement of around 700 more private sector vacancies,” Mr Scerri said.

The corporation also offers an array of services such as the Freephone, a website with thousands of hits per day, the possibility of CV placement online and other similar initiatives which do not feature in the ETC’s vacancy figures.

“We are also working hard to improve our service network and with the help of EU funds, we have created job banks at our regional centres where one can also print vacancies and access them online. That way, we are fulfilling the ETC’s role as the medium between the job seeker and the employer,” Mr Scerri added.

Incredibly, the ETC also offers a daily email service where one can send an email to employment@ etc.org.mt and s/he receives the whole list of vacancies not only available in Malta but also those in the whole of the European Union. What are the specialised programmes available from the ETC, I asked?

“From our early days, we always had schemes to assist the unemployed but with Malta’s entry into the EU, we gained considerable funding especially with the TEES programme that cost Lm2 million. This was fully funded by the EU. One scheme that has been provided ever since 1990 is the Employment Training Placement Scheme, where the ETC offers half the minimum wage to those employers who employ a person who has been registering for work.”

Mr Scerri briefly mentioned other schemes, including the Re-deployment scheme aimed at those persons who have recently been made redundant, and the Job Experience and Work Start schemes where youths who have never worked are granted some sort of experience with employers which can then be listed on their CV.

“After conducting a tracer study on these participants we found out that over 60 per cent of these youths found employment. The Work Start Scheme is aimed at adults or those people over 25 years of age such as newly-graduated university students. We have also widened this scheme to include people who have not worked for over five years. This principally aims to attract women who have not been in the labour market for long periods but wish to return to the world of work,” Mr Scerri said.

Another interesting scheme being offered is the Active Youth Scheme.

“There are a number of youths who are idle and are actually waiting for us to phone them! This scheme provides for youths to assist NGOs for six months on a 20-hour week with a payment of Lm30 a week and they can continue registering for work. Another similar scheme is Reach, which is targeted at students who do not even have a school-leaving certificate. We do our best to re-orient these youths back into the educational system and provide them with basic skills,” Mr Scerri said.

The most successful scheme was undoubtedly the TEES scheme for people over 40 years of age. Through EU funding, the ETC can provide the whole employee salary for a period of six months. Other schemes include those for disabled persons, assistance to mentors, illiteracy and a project for childcare centres.

Mr Scerri explained that another scheme called Bridging the Gap provides a percentage of the salary for disabled persons or those with social problems. Last year, 24 people managed to find a job placement under this scheme with the requests coming from the employers themselves.

“We managed to place 290 people in the TEES scheme and another 140 in the Job Experience Scheme. The Active Youth Scheme, which started this year, already has 60 participants so it looks like it is going to be successful too,” Mr Scerri said.

A problem that the ETC faces is the fact that most people are not actually aware of all the services that the ETC offers.

“We are attempting to address this issue by launching an Employment Service Pack for employers where all the services that we offer will be grouped together. Other initiatives include billboards and job fairs and also a number of meetings with employers.”

The ETC is also working hard to put the finishing touches to the EURES Job Fair, which is being held late next month.

“We are participating in this pan-European project where a job fair is being held in all 25 European countries on the same day and same time with over a million vacancies available within the whole European Union. This fair will take place at St James Cavalier and we will also be bringing a number of foreign experts over to Malta to provide assistance and expertise,” Mr Scerri said.