€12 million in EU funds is to be used for the launch of the ‘access to employment’ scheme, Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg and Employment Minister Evarist Bartolo told reporters in a joint press conference this afternoon.

The scheme is targeting individuals who have been registered as unemployed for over 6 months, said Dr Borg. The scheme will make use of approximately €2.4 million per year, he added.

The scheme is projected to help around 1,700 people over five years said Dr Borg.

In addition to benefitting the unemployed, employers will benefit from various subsidies depending on the persons being employed, he continued. Disadvantaged persons, severely disadvantaged persons as well as persons with disabilities over the age of 24 are the target groups where employers would be receiving subsidies when employing, said Dr Borg.

With regard to Malta's EU fund implementation rate, which is at 81% for the remaining 2007-2013 allocations, Dr Borg said that he is confident that this will go up to 100% in the coming months.

ETC chairman Clyde Caruana clarified that employee subsidies will be provided for employees’ salaries. From November, the ETC will be paying €85 of the employees’ weekly salary, he added.

He stressed that the pay-out of subsidies will not take years to reach employers, as was the case in previous years, but will take around 6 months.

Mr Caruana spoke of various other job initiatives, such as Investing in Skills, Training Pays and the Youth Guarantee Programme. He also said that through the European Social Fun, 500 work exposure placements and traineeships are being offered, as well as work programmes for the long term unemployed.

The number of registered as unemployed has gone town to 4,900 persons, with those registered and under the age of 24 having gone down to 580 persons, said Dr Borg.

Speaking about the Youth Guarantee Programme, both Dr Borg and Minister Bartolo said that adjustments have been made to address the psychological needs of young persons. Minister Bartolo said that there was a mistake in the belief that certain youth do not want to work or go to school, but rather certain societal and psychological factors are blocking these youth from entering the work force or training schemes successfully.

He said this is not a case of failure on the side of the educational system only, but rather a young person’s home life and exposure to work is creating several barriers.

"There is a lot of healing that needs to be done," concluded Minister Bartolo.