The economic factors and competitive advantages of the future are the skills, motivation and innovativeness of workers and employees, German Ambassador Karl Andreas von Stenglin said, adding that in supporting the creation of better jobs the German EU presidency was in line with the goals of the Lisbon Strategy.
That strategy, he pointed out, entails fair wages, employment rights, family friendly organisation of work and further education.
Mr von Stenglin was speaking at the Institute of Business and Commerce of the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology to explain the programme of the German EU-Council-Presidency and the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Rome Treaty in 1957.
New technologies and markets have to be utilised in order to create business opportunities and employment. Regarding Malta, the Ambassador said: “The Euro-Mediterranean Initiative for Innovation and Technology offers great potential for an enhanced cooperation of European research institutes in order to use Malta as a test bed, for example, for environmental technologies and to enter the emerging North African markets. The involvement of for instance the German Fraunhofer institutes guarantees the development of marketable qualitative products”.
In a personal meeting with the Deputy Principal of MCAST, Josephine Cilia, the Ambassador emphasised the cooperation between German companies in Malta and MCAST.
“There are more than 50 German companies in Malta which are substantially contributing to the modernisation of the country,” he said. “Their vocational training based on the German system does not only help the individual employee and worker in reaching high professional standards but furthermore supports the creation of a workforce which remains competitive and therefore safeguards jobs and attracts new investments. Modern management and a good working atmosphere are two other key elements for running a business successfully”.
Mr von Stenglin said he was looking forward to develop more initiatives regarding a closer cooperation between MCAST and German educational institutions.