A meeting with representatives of the construction industry has been held by officials from the Apprenticeship Schemes Section of the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC).

The meeting was held to discuss the inclusion of more callings that will translate into more career paths within the construction industry. The organisations invited for the consultative meeting were the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, the Building Industry Consultative Council, the Kamra tal-Periti, the Chamber of Engineers, the FOBC, the GRTU, the Resources and Infrastruc-ture Ministry and members of the trade testing boards. Representatives from the Institute of Building and Construction Engineering within MCAST were also present to give information about the training programme apprentices will be following during their off-the-job training periods.

Apprenticeships provide excellent training opportunities for young people to obtain both knowledge and practical work experience. They are also an opportunity for employers to train prospective candidates as future employees.

At present, the ETC has over 800 apprentices (up from 300 in 1995) placed with over 450 employers. The ETC’s data show that over 95 per cent of apprentices who have successfully concluded their training are engaged in full-time employment.

In recent weeks, the ETC has launched a campaign addressed at raising public awareness of the career prospects that exist in the mechanical engineering sector. This campaign was launched because there is significant labour market demand for engineering technicians.

The ETC is responsible for the administration of the apprenticeship schemes. This involves the recruitment and placement of apprentices, the monitoring of them to ascertain that the delivery of training is taking place as planned, and final trade testing.

The ETC itself also engages in consultation processes with employers in order to ensure that the training delivered reflects the needs of the labour market.

Apprenticeship schemes are run on the dual system that sees apprentices spending time at a vocational education institution for the off-the-job training and at the workplace for the on-the-job training.

For more information on apprenticeship schemes, the public is invited to contact the Training Services Division of the ETC on 2220-1303 or by email at [email protected]