Politicians have a knack of unintentionally putting their foot in it without knowing, or intentionally saying something that is controversial that will gain them a few more Brownie points with their supporters (and a few column inches in the newspapers).

More often than not, their comments are based on facts, but tweaked in a way that will suit their political agendas. And in Malta, the story is not that different – just listen to news reports on NET TV and One TV.

But there are times when politicians make sweeping statements that show a lack of knowledge about a particular subject.

In an interview with this paper last Monday, Labour leader Alfred Sant commented on the efforts being made to boost the number of workers with qualifications in information technology. He said: “These crash programmes for IT students that are being launched now are a very amateurish way of doing things.”

Two words in his statement stand out: “crash” and “amateurish”. Sorry, Dr Sant, but you’ve either been fed misleading information or else you have absolutely no clue what you are talking about. The IT training courses taught in Malta are neither crash programmes nor are they being launched now, as Dr Sant thinks.

A wide selection of IT qualifications has been available in Malta for years. These courses range from entry level training, such as the European computer driving licence (ECDL), which proves the individual has basic competencies in Office applications, to bachelor’s and master’s degrees – no less – in information technology and computing.

In between are dozens of certifications – vendor-specific or vendor-neutral – that provide highly specialised skills in particular areas such as systems administration, systems development, programming or security. Some of these courses are available at university but the majority are provided by private institutions and, more recently, by the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology and various IT academies.

These courses are highly intensive, requiring in some cases a minimum of 12 months’ hands-on IT experience, and can take up to two years to obtain. They are taught by experienced IT trainers whose performance is monitored by the awarding bodies, and based on feedback from every single student they teach.

These are not crash programmes, Dr Sant, but certifications that are highly sought after by IT companies when employing staff. Individuals in possession of Microsoft, Cisco or Oracle certification have been shown to earn much better salaries than non-certified personnel.

The Opposition Leader also indirectly described as “amateurish” the MyPotential scheme, which is aimed at giving more and more young people an incentive to follow these highly-specialised courses. Over 330 people are at present following one of these courses and upon certification they will receive the cost of the training and exams back in the form of tax credits over a period of three years.

What the government has done, in very simple terms, is provide free IT training to those who want to specialise in the subject. Some of these courses can cost up to Lm2,000, and the exams alone can cost up to Lm100 each.

Until this year, many students had to fork out the money themselves. Now the government has stepped in to help. What’s so amateurish about that? If the MyPotential scheme is “amateurish”, then we invite Dr Sant to tell us what “professional” scheme he would introduce himself. Taking past performance into consideration, probably a change in the name of the scheme would suffice!

The Labour Party is working hard to prove that it is an alternative to the incumbent administration. It believes it has a vision and a strategy for the country. However, when the Opposition Leader describes as “amateurish” such an important opportunity for young people, the party’s credibility is severely dented.

One small piece of advice to the Labour Party: when your computer system crashes and it needs expert attention, do remember that the technician repairing it will probably have a certification he obtained by enrolling in what Dr Sant once described as a “crash programme” of study.