€10 million have been allocated in financial aid to enterprises which want to invest in training for their workers, the Ministry for Home Affairs, Security, and Employment said on Friday. This is through the renewal of the “Investing in Skills” scheme, which is operated by Jobsplus and co-financed by European funds.

The Ministry said that the scheme aims to maximise the potential of the skills of those already employed and help them develop new skills more adaptive to the needs of the labour market.

The Ministry said that as part of the previous scheme, more than €7.6 million had been invested in training from which 1,200 enterprises of all sizes benefited. In total over 22,000 workers were trained in more than 45,000 training experiences.

Byron Camilleri, the Minister for Home Affairs, Security, and Employment, said that the scheme benefits both the workers and the employers. He continued that it was initiated by the government’s policy which incentivises employers to invest and establish a better quality of work, as they have the best understanding of what skills workers need.

"In recent years the rate of economic growth of Malta and of those in employment were among the highest in the European Union and this scheme helps address the challenge of lack of workers with specialised skills because employers prefer to train their current workers rather than bring in workers from outside. The investment in skills results in workers being innovative and prepared to turn challenges faced by the country into opportunities,” the Minister concluded.

The Chief Executive of Jobsplus Leonid McKay said that this scheme meets the call from local enterprises to have external assistance in training their workers, as they consider it to be the most effective measure. He said that this is because you are training the employees as they work. You are investing in their skills and increasing the quality of employment and productivity.

The Ministry said that the scheme covers the expenses tied to the wages of those being trained while working, the payment of the training and the indirect administrative expenses. The scheme also considers for higher subsidies on the hourly rate of the trained worker’s salary, which will be linked to the average rate of salaries and not the national minimum wage.

It concluded that the assistance is provided according to the size of the enterprise, with large companies being given 50% of the rate, median companies being given 60%, and small companies given 70%.