The Planning Authority has been awarded €1.4 million in EU Funds for two projects which will provide training and scholarship opportunities both at an organisational and national level, the PA said in a statement.
The projects, SpatialTrain Scholarship Scheme and PA+, which were inaugurated by the Parliamentary Secretary for EU Funds and Social Dialogue Hon. Mr. Aaron Farrugia and the Parliamentary Secretary for Planning and the Property Market Hon. Mr. Chris Agius, are both in line with the Government’s objective of having a public administration which has the skills and knowledge which can meet the current and future socio-economic demands of the country. The projects will both be financed by the European Social Fund (ESF).
The SpatialTrain Scholarship Scheme project aims at offering scholarships in the field of geospatial technology. A total of 175 scholarships will be offered at MQF levels 4 (certificates), level 5 (diploma), level 6 (degree) and level 7 (Masters). The project will ensure the enhancement of human capacity in the spatial themes across all governmental entities. The courses should commence by October 2018.
The SpatialTrain Scholarship Scheme stems from another much larger EU funded project which was awarded to the Planning Authority last year. The €7 million SIntegraM project is developing and implementing a national spatial data infrastructure. The infrastructure and range of systems, equipment, analytical and dissemination tools will be geared to enable inter-governmental data dissemination, knowledge gain and an integrated approach towards information foresight.
The second ESF project PA+, will provide training aimed at the specific requirements of the Planning Authority. This will ensure that the organisation’s human resource capacity and the capacity of all statutory consultees, including local councils, have the necessary know-how and skills to effectively continue implementing the necessary measures and steps to sustain the Authority’s ambition to become a lead player in the public sector. Training courses will cover various thematic areas including Operational Management, Strategic Policy Making, Architectural Design, Customer Care, ICT and Communications, amongst others. This will render both the Planning Authority and all statutory consultees, the possibility to be more efficient and user friendly in terms of public service delivery.