‘Technology and communications are key ingredients of any strategy for achieving competitiveness in today’s global economy. Enterprises with employees having low levels of ICT skills are becoming increasingly vulnerable to mounting competiveness from more ICT-savvy enterprises,’ commented Ms Celia Falzon, Chief of External Relations of the Malta Communications Authority at the 6th eCommerce forum held this week. ‘Undoubtedly, ICTs open new opportunities, especially for micro-enterprises, to improve their business operations. Micro-enterprises therefore cannot afford to fall behind when it comes to keeping up to date with developments in the ICT field which may render them more competitive,’ she continued.
It is for this reason that the theme of this forum centred on ‘Empowering micro-enterprises through ICT’. The forum provided attendees with an understanding of the issues surrounding the adoption of ICT by micro-enterprises.
The MCA presented the findings of two studies it commissioned of late, the ICT Skills Gap Analysis, which is one of the components of the EPITOME project, a project co-financed by the European Social Fund and National Funds (Co-financing rate: 85% EU funds; 15% National Funds) and the 7th eCommerce Household survey.
Marika Fsadni, Managing Associate and Irina Atanasova, Research Analyst from M.Fsadni & Associates gave a detailed overview of the methodology used to carry out the ICT Skills Gap Analysis and the resultant findings. Through a number of research phases the Study mapped the current level of ICT skills and their application in the Maltese micro-enterprise and measured them against a benchmark set of skills required to enable the effective use of ICT in business. Furthermore, the Study examined the ‘gap’ between the current and the required level of ICT skills of micro-enterprise owners and employees. The resulting findings of the Skills Gap Analysis Study will be used as a guide for the development of a bespoke training curriculum which will be the basis of a free training programme for employees of microenterprises to be delivered as part of the EPITOME project in the coming months
Denise Borda, eCommerce Analyst from the MCA presented the findings of the eCommerce Household survey, which is carried out on a yearly basis, and is aimed at obtaining an indication of the level of Internet and eCommerce use across Malta and Gozo and the potential for growth. The study revealed that 72% of the Maltese population have access to the Internet whilst 65% of the Maltese use the Internet mainly for shopping, sending and receiving e-mails, researching information, browsing for products or services and reading newspapers. Almost half of the Maltese population now shop online, with 48% claiming that they did so in the last 6 months. It is encouraging to note that online purchases from Maltese websites doubled from previous years, with items such as flight reservations, and concert/event tickets topping the list.
In addition, Alan Meadows from Monarch Marketing Communications and Ray Sciberras from Golden Island Ltd. also gave detailed presentations on the use of ICT in their micro-enterprises and how this has ultimately improved their day-to-day operations.