Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi participated in the first of a series of public consultation meetings regarding the 2008 pre-budget document, yesterday evening.
The chosen theme for the meeting being increased employment opportunities and better work conditions, the discussion was very much focused on the country’s dependency on human resources and ways of making the best of it – to improve everyone’s standard of living and boost the economy.
The meeting, which was held at Auberge de Castille and lasted about two hours, was well attended and all those present participated in a constructive discussion on a wide range of issues directly or indirectly related to employment.
Predictably, SmartCity Malta, the formal agreement for which was signed on Monday, was mentioned a multitude of times by speakers, who all spoke about the project with pride, although many expressed concern regarding the availability of skilled and trained personnel to work at SmartCity.
Former GWU official Manwel Micallef, who opened yesterday’s discussion, stressed the need for Malta to reach the highest possible education level and for students to achieve the best possible results.
Like many other participants during yesterday’s discussion, Mr Micallef spoke about the need for more women in the workforce. He criticised the way things stand at present, saying that Malta will not reach the levels required by the Lisbon criteria with regard to the contribution of women to the economy.
Mr Micallef also spoke about the concept of employability and the fact that many employers nowadays consider certain soft skills, like communications, as important as, if not more important than qualifications, so this aspect should be given more importance from primary school level upwards.
Throughout the discussion, many also made reference to the need for a stronger link between educational institutions and industry, while one person commented that first and foremost, it was particularly important for there to be a good relationship between the university faculties themselves.
While Dr Gonzi limited himself to short interventions whenever necessary, since many made reference to women in the workforce, Dr Gonzi pointed out that a substantial part of the E855 million in EU funds at the country’s disposal, will go towards training for the unemployed, women, and other people in employment.
Speaking about students’ stipends, Dr Gonzi said the government’s target was to increase the student population at university to 20,000 and often enough, the stipends played a crucial factor as regards a young person’s choice whether or not to continue studying.
The environment will be the theme for the next public consultation meeting, which will take place on 2 May.