The Malta Employers’ Association is embarking on a capacity building programme aimed at micro-business employers, who need to have access to knowledge and training in order to function effectively as employers, since they do not have a set up that includes a human resource unit or specialist.

MEA, in partnership with the Employment and Training Corporation, the Ministry of Finance, the Economy and Investment, and RKW Kompetenzzentrum, the German Centre for Productivity, has been awarded funding under Cohesion Policy 2007-2013 (OPII-ESF) Structural Funds for a project entitled “Capacity Building for Equipping and Representing Micro-business Employers”.

The project aims to create public awareness about the need of micro-business employers to be informed and active in policies and good employment practices; to equip, involve and facilitate the participation of micro-business employers for this purpose and to have more informed and active micro-business employers in related policy development and implementation in Malta.

The project aims to reach a minimum of 750 micro-enterprises and encourage them to be informed and participate in discussions on EU directives related to employment issues.

To date it has been the practice to inform, educate and consult enterprises through a “pull” approach, expecting employers of micro-businesses to attend centrally organised meetings. Conscious of the difficulties micro-enterprises encounter, especially where time is concerned, MEA will be using an outreach approach by going to them at their enterprises.

The project entails various activities, all aimed at reaching the micro-business employers, including research on the capacity and system needs of micro-business employers, focusing on employment-related EU directives, the outreach programme, training seminars on different topics related to employment policies and practices, and a visit by representatives from MEA’s German partners by sharing their experience in reaching out to micro-business employers.

The project will run for the next two years and will come to an end with a conference, expected to be held in the third quarter of 2012, where the project results will be published.