“Competitiveness depends on productivity,” said Social Policy Minister John Dalli yesterday at a round table discussion on the theme of education and employment, part of the series of discussions organised by the Nationalist Party leading to Independence Day celebrations.

Minister Dalli explained that by keeping wages low, competitiveness would not be assured, but it is productivity on which competitiveness depends. “Thus, it is better to pay e2 instead of e1 and have productivity levels assured,” Mr Dalli said.

Pointing out that multi-skills lead to a “safety net” that would help the country move forward, he explained that today’s reality calls for investment in employees. The Employment and Training Corporation was working on these lines to make sure that workers do not fall out of the system once they were employed.

“Investing in the workforce would lead to more flexibility, which is essential in a day and age when workers need to move forward and away from the job in which they start off,” Minister Dalli said.

In his introduction to the discussion, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi spoke of the important connection between education and employment. He also made an analogy between what our country gained since Independence Day and the “dignity and independence our children achieve by means of education”.

Dr Gonzi explained that since Malta’s accession into the EU, the number of gainfully occupied people increased by 6,395. National Statistics Office figures for April 2008 showed that the gainfully employed added up to 144,000. This showed an increase of 3,188 over a period of one year.

Meanwhile, the ageing population was increasing and so was the number of students who continued studying beyond the age of 17. Considering that a number of companies in the manufacturing industry had closed down in the past years, “figures were very encouraging,” the Prime Minister said.

He also pointed out that figures for the gainfully employed in Gozo were not so positive even though students were receiving higher stipends than Maltese and so they faced equal opportunities.

Thus, Dr Gonzi asked student representatives among those present to submit ideas regarding better incentives for students. Meanwhile, a number of areas which should be reformed to better suit workers needed to be identified.