National Action Plan for Employment
2004
MALTA
28th September 2004
Contents Page
Executive Summary i.
Section A: The Context and the Three Objectives
A.1 Overview 1. A,2 Full Employment 4. A,3 Quality and Productivity 6. A.4 Social Inclusion 7. A.5 Employment strategy, essential measures and targets for 2010 8.
Section B: The Guidelines
B.1 Guideline 1 11.
B.2 Guideline 2 16.
B.3 Guideline 3 23.
B.4 Guideline 4 28.
B.5 Guideline 5 36.
B.6 Guideline 6 38.
B.7 Guideline 7 44.
B.8 Guideline 8 49.
B.9 Guideline 9 52.
B.10 Guideline 10 55.
Section C: Governance and Partnership
C.1 Preparing the 2004 NAP 59. C.2 Use of Structural Funds 60.
Annexes:
A: Core Committee and Consultees 61. B: List of acronyms 62. C: Summary of feedback received 63.
Executive Summary
This National Action Plan on Employment sets out the principal employment strategies for the years 2005 to 2010, as well as the key measures under each strategy for the year 2005. The National Action Plan is a national document, based on consultation within and beyond government. The issues that arise in this document, and the measures intended to address them, have been identified as important by key stakeholders in the labour market. They are intended to serve the needs of various groups – employers, employees, jobseekers and groups facing labour market barriers.
It is important to be clear about the scope of the Plan. It is not a job creation strategy, but aims to bring about levels of efficiency, skill and inclusion that should allow jobs to be created, and taken up, with greater ease by all. The National Action Plan will henceforth be an annual process of consultation, reporting and evaluation. The actions described are tangible and modest in scope, based as they are on an annual timeframe. However, it is believed that this planning process will go some way towards meeting the felt need to articulate and co-ordinate labour market policies and to provide an enabling framework for the creation of more and better jobs.
This is the first National Action Plan on Employment to be submitted under the European Employment Strategy by Malta as a new member state. The National Action Plan (NAPemp) is the key instrument of this Strategy, submitted every year in accordance with the employment objectives and guidelines adopted by the European Council. In its present form, the Employment Strategy consists of three over- arching objectives relating to full employment, quality and productivity at work, and an inclusive labour market. It also includes ten action-oriented employment guidelines, which form the structure of this Plan. These guidelines will remain stable until 2006. Henceforth, Malta will be submitting a NAPemp in the autumn of every year.
The European Employment Strategy is based on the open method of co-ordination, where the efforts and outcomes of member states’ labour market policies are made visible through an annual cycle of planning, implementation and reporting. The NAPs submitted by member states are reviewed by the member states collectively, and by the European Commission, after their submission in the autumn. A Joint Employment Report is then drawn up, presenting an account of progress at the European level as well as by individual member states. After the Spring Council of the following year, the Council issues broad employment policy recommendations as well as recommendations for individual member states. The subsequent NAP is to take account of these recommendations in its reporting.
The European Employment Strategy is an important instrument to reach the targets set at the Lisbon Council in 2000, and at subsequent Councils, by 2010. In the field of employment, these targets include improved employment rates for all, but particularly women and older workers; improved participation in education and training; and the provision of childcare for children under three. This first NAP responds to these objectives and targets. In doing so, it takes into account the priorities
i. agreed to on the signing of the Joint Assessment Paper of the Employment Policy Priorities of Malta in October 2001; the recommendations of the Employment Task Force in 2003; the Council Decision on guidelines for Member States’ Employment Policies for 2005, as well as the priorities highlighted for Malta for the same period.
The NAPemp is structured in three main sections, in accordance with the template established by the European Commission. In Section A, a brief account is provided of the economic context of the Plan; an overview of progress towards the three overarching objectives; and employment forecasts based on the Labour Force Survey. This Section also describes the six strategic elements to be pursued between 2005 and 2010which reflect Malta’s employment policy priorities. These elements include: improving the levels of education and certification among the workforce; raising the national employment rate; enhancing the business environment; increasing productivity in the public sector; modernising the public employment service; and improving the governance of labour market policies.
In Section B, these six strategies are broken down further within ten sections, which respond to each of the guidelines. Each section sets out the institutional infrastructure for each guideline; followed by a brief analysis of the strengths and weaknesses with respect to each guideline; key data; and the measures that are being taken, and that will be taken within the timeframe of this Plan. Furthermore, based on forecasts deriving from the Labour Force Survey and the anticipated impact of current and planned measures, quantitative targets are provided to account for how Malta may be expected to approach the Lisbon targets for 2010. In Section C, an account is given of the governance structure for the Plan, and of the drafting and consultation process that was followed.
In essence, the Plan provides for a total of eighty one initiatives that will contribute to the development of the Maltese labour market, a number of which are novel and which have been stimulated through the consultation process in preparing this Plan. These include thirty projects that have been approved for funding under the European Social Fund (ESF) between 2004 and 2006. These projects aim to promote employability and adaptability; gender equality; lifelong learning and social inclusion; human resources development in Gozo; and to provide for ESF technical assistance. Total expenditure on ESF projects is expected to amount to EUR12.16 million, which will be jointly funded by the Maltese Government and the European Union. In addition, projects have also been approved for funding under the European Regional Development Fund, which will allow for infrastructural developments to support the broad aims of the ESF.
In parallel to the implementation of these measures, the institutional capacity of government and the social partners to define, co-ordinate and evaluate employment policy will be further strengthened. In particular, co-ordination will be strengthened with regard to ensuring coherence between the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines and the National Action Plan on Social Inclusion.
ii. This Plan was developed by a Core Committee chaired by the Minister responsible for employment. The Committee met on a regular basis as from February 2004, to review and develop draft chapters of the document as prepared by the drafting team within the Employment and Training Corporation. In parallel, key stakeholders were consulted as to their perceptions of the key issues surrounding each guideline, and any measures they have taken or planned in this regard. A first draft document was submitted to Cabinet for approval to enter this current phase of consultation. Approval was given in July 2004, followed by consultation in August and September 2004. A final draft was drawn up and submitted to the European Commission on the 1st October 2004 together with an appendix summarising consultee feedback. The document will also be reviewed by the Permanent Parliamentary Committee on Social Affairs by the end of November 2004.
It is to be noted that this Plan is one amongst other key documents aimed at securing sustainable social and economic development in Malta. Government is, at present, going through the process of bringing about a number of changes towards this end. These include the Convergence Programme, reforms in the Pensions and Health sectors, a National Action Plan for Social Inclusion, and a Lifelong Learning Strategy among others. Work is also underway towards the development of a comprehensive Social Pact.
iii.
A: The National Context and Progress towards the Objectives
In the 2000 Lisbon European Council, EU Member States established an ambitious long-term objective of strengthening the Union’s competitiveness and encouraging employment and sustainable growth by closely co-ordinating economic policy, employment policy and social policy. The Guidelines and Recommendations of the European Employment Strategy (EES) represent a vital instrument for attaining the goals set in the Lisbon Strategy. The Council of the European Union adopts Employment Guidelines in line with the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines (BEPGs). In 2003, the EES was reviewed with the aim of providing a stronger focus on the Lisbon targets in the employment fields. Full employment, improving job quality and productivity at work, and greater social cohesion and inclusion became the overarching objectives. Moreover, the new European Employment Strategy contains ten specific guidelines upon which this Plan is structured.
Malta, like all new Member States, was called to submit a National Action Plan for Employment (NAPemp) for the first time in 2004 This followed on the signing of the Joint Assessment Paper of the Employment Policy Priorities of Malta, co-signed by the European Commission and the Government of Malta in October 2001. This NAPemp was structured according to the ten guidelines and the overarching objectives. The document was also guided by the Employment Task Force Report (the ‘Kok’ report), the recommendations of the 2004 BEPGs as well as the Council Recommendations on the implementation of Member States’ employment policies. In the case of Malta, the specific priorities are:
• Increasing the adaptability of workers and enterprises • Attracting more people to the labour market and making work a real option for all • Investing more and more effectively in human capital and lifelong learning.
The NAPemp sets out Government’s policy priorities and measures for employment and the labour market, intended to effectively approach Malta attain the Lisbon objectives.
A.1 Overview
Malta is a Mediterranean archipelago with a population of 399,867. Around 8% of the population live in the smaller island of Gozo. Malta obtained independence from the United Kingdom in 1964 and has been a republic since 1974. The President is the Head of State, and appoints the Prime Minister for a five-year term after parliamentary elections.
In 2003, Malta had a nominal GDP of €4.5 billion. The standard of living in Malta has risen steadily over the years. In 2003, GDP per head in purchasing power standards was 69.7 compared to the EU15 index of 100. Life expectancy at birth in Malta is relatively high, and close to the EU15 average, at 75.8 years for men and 80.5 years for women in 2002. The total fertility rate is also close to the EU average, at 1.46 children per woman of reproductive age in 2002. The population of Malta is similar to EU countries in its demographic structure. The population is ageing rapidly, and the support ratio is due to fall from four to two by 2020; that is, while at present there are just under four persons of working age to every dependent person, this will fall to just over two persons by 2020.
Malta is a peripheral island region with a high population density. Malta is highly urbanised, with a Comment: Gordon density of 1,257 persons per square kilometre which is around ten times the European average. This places considerable pressure on natural resources, transport and communication and on demand for basic products.
Economic growth in Malta is largely driven by export-oriented manufacturing and by tourism. Manufacturing contributes just under one quarter of GDP, while market services, including finance and tourism, account for nearly two-fifths. Financial services and related activities are also growing in importance. The EU is Malta’s main trading partner, accounting for two-thirds of imports and two- fifths of exports in 2003, as well as four-fifths of incoming tourists, and almost ninety per cent of foreign direct investment. Deleted: ¶ ¶
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In the early nineties, the Maltese economy was strong with real GDP growth averaging over three per cent. Strong growth occurred in both tourism and trade, the latter being driven by trade liberalisation and stronger domestic demand. After the nineties, growth has slowed down due to both structural and cyclical factors. The impact of the global slowdown in economic activity was significantly due to Malta’s openness to international business. Furthermore, economic restructuring – particularly fiscal consolidation – is also having a short-term negative impact on GDP growth.
Malta’s small size and economic openness render it highly dependent on imports for investment and consumption, and on exports for the foreign exchange necessary to cover imports. At the end of 2003, imports were equivalent to 84% of GDP and exports to 88% of GDP. The openness of the Maltese economy was 1.7. Economic diversification – in terms of both products and export markets – is necessary if Malta’s openness is to be more of a strength than a weakness. This is particularly so at present, when low growth in global demand has made competition very intense. Malta’s size limits its potential for economies of scale and for diversification, and its separation from the European mainland makes for relatively high access costs. Wage costs have been driven up by the successful export- oriented activities, thus rendering traditional manufacturing uncompetitive internationally. Hence, sustainable long-term growth requires improved ability to attract higher value-added activities, particularly in export, which in turn requires greater investment in knowledge and innovation.
Government’s overriding economic policy objective remains the achievement of sustainable economic growth and a high level of employment. Macroeconomic stability is a contributor to this end. At present, Government has embarked on an extensive fiscal consolidation programme to reduce the deficit to EU targets, while monetary policy is operated by an independent Central Bank on the basis of a fixed exchange rate anchor.
Apart from macroeconomic stability, the attainment of higher economic growth and employment necessitates a continuation of structural reforms. A vital element in the attainment of Government’s economic reform programme has been the privatisation of public enterprises. Since the late 1980s, the privatisation effort included a number of successful divestitures as a result of which the role of Government in the economy has been significantly reduced. Despite the continued policy in favour of privatisation, the pace at which public companies have been divested in recent years was conditioned by the worsening international economic situation which has made it harder to secure the optimum financial offer on valuable public assets.
The overall goal underpinning these economic objectives is to improve the standard of living of the Maltese population. In order to ensure that all aspects of wellbeing are taken into account, due attention will be given to the social and environmental dimensions.
Within the above context, this NAPemp responds to the employment guidelines, the common recommendations and the priorities identified for Malta. With respect to the common recommendations (of which certain aspects have been highlighted as priorities for Malta), the following actions are being introduced or accelerated:
1. Increasing adaptability of workers and enterprises. This calls upon Member States to promote flexibility and to balance it with a modernised job security; to maximise job creation and raise productivity by enhancing the business environment and managing restructuring well. In particular, the priority has been identified for Malta to roll out its privatisation programme and redeploy employees as necessary; to reduce administrative costs and tax burden on labour; to build on the provisions of the Business Promotion Act and to monitor its impact.
With regard to this recommendation, Malta has recently revised its labour law, aiming for a better balance between flexibility and security for diverse employment contracts in the Employment and Industrial Relations Act 2002. Work to promote awareness of, and compliance with, this Act will accelerate in 2004/5. The management of restructuring has been improved through a strengthened legal basis for the social dialogue forum, the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, and the technical and administrative capacity of the Council will be further strengthened in 2005 and 2006. The administrative costs on business are being closely studied, in collaboration with business representatives, and recommendations for their reduction are being formulated. The Business Promotion Act is Deleted: ¶ ¶
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being revised towards, inter alia, improved incentives for job creation and training. The privatisation programme is being implemented and employees are being redeployed in more productive positions, a number of which are in the private sector.
2. Attracting more people to enter and remain on the labour market: making work a real option for all. This common recommendation calls upon Member States to adjust the balance between taxes and benefits to improve work incentives; to promote the entry into, and retention of, employment by older workers, women, young people, immigrants and the disadvantaged. Non-financial work incentives are also to be strengthened, such as quality in work and measures for work-life balance. Active labour market policies are to be strengthened, and personalised, for the unemployed and the inactive. The two main priorities identified for Malta are to (i) to raise the female employment rate in the formal economy, through inter alia, increasing childcare facilities; and (ii) reform the tax-benefit system such that the gap between minimum wage and benefit levels is less of a disincentive to work and that undeclared work is transformed into regular employment.
In response to the guidelines, Malta’s public employment service the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) has in 2004 undergone significant restructuring to meet the requirements for active and preventive measures and to play a key role in the analysis, drafting and co-ordination required under the European Employment Strategy. This has involved organisational restructuring, capacity building, the introduction of new active and preventive services and the re-design of existing ones. The unemployed will, from 2005, enter into a sequence of initiatives that will meet the requirements of the guidelines. As regards the female employment rate, a number of key measures have been planned. These relate to the promulgation of the Equality for Men and Women Act (2004) which defines direct and indirect discrimination and strengthens the machinery to address it; the establishment of childcare standards and subsidies; accelerated efforts to reduce gender segregation in employment and training; and the removal of fiscal distortions that may serve as a disincentive to married women wishing to take up employment. As regards the tax-benefit interaction, efforts to date have been focused on pension reform, with proposals having been submitted in 2004 for consideration by Government and the social partners. Government’s next task will be to examine the tax-benefit impact on employment and to propose reforms that would increase work incentives.
3. Investing more and more effectively in human capital and lifelong learning. This recommendation calls upon Member States to raise levels of human capital and R&D and to promote entrepreneurial attitudes and skills. Incentives for increased HR investment by firms are to be reviewed. Early school leaving is to be reduced, and access to lifelong learning increased, especially for the low-skilled and older workers. Innovative learning methods are to be developed, and investment in ICT skills to be increased. In the case of Malta, a number of issues were identified as concerns. These include the low levels of education among the workforce; skills mismatches; and high rates of early school-leavers1 and illiteracy. The priorities identified include raising educational levels of the workforce, reducing school drop- outs, raising participation in training (particularly for the low-skilled) and efforts to include the social partners in the development of education and training.
In recent years, the proportion of students completing compulsory lower secondary education, and continuing with higher secondary education, has risen sharply. However, overall, the proportion of youth with higher secondary qualifications remains lower than the EU average. The establishment of the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology in 2000 (MCAST), offering vocational education and training at higher secondary levels of education, goes a considerable way towards addressing this issue and its impact on the qualification profile of youth will become increasingly visible in the years to come. Opportunities for lifelong learning have also proliferated in the public and private sectors alike. Other key providers in the public sector include the Department for Further Adult Education within the Education
1 By the EU’s definition, an early school leaver is a young person who does not complete higher secondary level education. Schooling in Malta is compulsory up till the completion of lower secondary Deleted: ¶ education. ¶
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Division, the University of Malta, and the Employment and Training Corporation. The current picture of a low skilled workforce is due to the lack of a national framework for the award of vocational qualifications; it is recognised that many employed persons possess considerable skills which are not certified and recognised. With regard to entrepreneurial training, the last few years have seen a number of initiatives by different stakeholders, in a somewhat fragmented manner. In the timeframe of this Plan, action will be taken to streamline and strengthen entrepreneurial training. The Business Promotion Act (BPA) provides for grants to firms that train their workers, and these provisions will be reviewed and improved upon. As micro-enterprises are not included in the BPA, this Plan provides for a scheme to offer grants to individuals in such firms for approved training courses. Training in literacy and basic skills has increased; a range of providers catering for different audiences will continue to strengthen these services during the timeframe of this Plan. The social partners are represented in the governing body of MCAST and are regularly consulted by the Employment and Training Corporation in the formulation of its training services.
4. Ensuring effective implementation of reforms through better governance. This recommendation calls upon Member States to increase the participation of social partners and key stakeholders in labour market reform efforts; to define clear national employment policies and to set targets that meet European ones; to ensure an efficient use of public funds; and to promote the role and visibility of the NAPemp in achieving these goals.
No specific priority was highlighted for Malta on this issue. Nevertheless, it may be noted that preparation for, and participation in, the European Employment Strategy has given impetus in this regard. The requirement for co-ordinated development of employment policies, across Ministries and in consultation with the social partners, has proved a positive experience; the institutional capacity to undertake the analysis, consultation, co-ordination and reporting required under the Strategy is being developed and strengthened; the capacity to monitor and evaluate public funds spent on labour market measures is being strengthened; and the NAPemp will be used to promote awareness of the European Employment Strategy and of national employment policy and to bring about a coherence of goals and targets.
A.2 Overarching Objective 1 - Full Employment
The following employment targets were set for the EU at the European Councils of Lisbon and Stockholm:
• Overall employment rate to 67% by January 2005 and 70% by 2010; • Employment rate for women to 57% by January 2005 and 60% by 2010; • Employment rate for those aged between 55 and 64 to 50% by 2010.
The overall employment rate in Malta stood at 53.7% in the Labour Force Survey of December 2003. This is largely attributable to the gender difference in employment rates, which, for the same period, were 73.3% for men, 33.7% for women, and 32.6% for those aged 55 to 64. However, the female employment rate has risen in the past four years, while that for men has decreased.
The chart overleaf captures the rates for 2003 in relation to the 2010 targets and the EU15 averages for December 2002
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Chart 1: EU Employment Targets, 2010
Overall
EU Target EU15 Female AC9 Malta Categories
55 - 64
0 20406080 Employment Rates
Administrative employment data (compiled by ETC on the basis of mandatory engagement and termination forms submitted by employers when recruiting or releasing staff), allows for examination of longer trends than does the Labour Force Survey, introduced in 2000. According to administrative data, the employment rate has risen from 49.9% in 1983 to 57.2% in 2003, an increase of 7.8%. While the male employment rate has decreased by 1.5 percentage points to stand at 76.6%, the female employment rate has risen by 13.8 percentage points to stand at 38.4%. The rise in part-time employment has been very steep, rising by 214% from 1993.
Chart 2: Employment Rates 1983 - 2003
90 80 70 60 Males 50 Females 40 30 Total 20 10 0 1983 1990 1995 2000 2003
Source: ETC administrative data
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Administrative data also shows a fall in unemployment from five per cent in 1993 to 4.8% in 2003. Between 1993 and 2003, the public sector share of employment fell from 42% to 34% with a corresponding increase in private sector employment. In terms of sectors, it may be noted that direct production decreased from 33% to 29% (particularly in footwear and clothing, and transport equipment, though it grew in the manufacture of electrical equipment). Non-market services, too, have decreased from 27% to 24% while market services grew from 40% to 47% (particularly in hotels and catering, wholesale and retail, transport, and community and business services).
Based on Labour Force Survey methodology, taking both full-timers and full-time equivalents into consideration as per ILO definition of employment, and in the absence of NAP measures, forecasts for the year 2010 suggest that the male employment rate may be expected to remain quite constant at 72%; that for women to rise to 40%; and the overall rate to rise to 56%. It is to be noted that these forecasts differ from those provided in the Convergence Programme for the reason that part-time employment has been included. It is considered important for the purpose of the NAP as it has shown marked growth in recent years and is of a magnitude that requires consideration.
Raising the employment rate, particularly that of women and older workers, is considered to be a priority to promote equality of opportunity, to secure economic growth and ensure the funding base for social security. Firm efforts will be made to raise the employment rates in the direction set for EU Members by 2010.
However, the employment forecasts portrayed above indicate that the EU targets are unlikely to be met by 2010. A gendered division of labour with a male breadwinner and female home-maker has historically been strongly entrenched in Maltese social life. Proof of this is the way that the female employment rate in Malta is relatively high up to childbearing age, and decreases thereafter. Although change is being precipitated by smaller families and the desire for greater material well-being, the rise in female employment has occurred only gradually over the years, accelerating during the more prosperous nineties and slowing down after 2000. It is government policy to level the playing field in terms of access to and retention of employment, and to empower both men and women to reconcile work and family life. The Gender Equality Act 2003 defines and prohibits all forms of discrimination in relation to work and training. The Employment and Industrial Relations Act 2002 extends the rights of part-time and fixed-term workers. Plans to regulate and incentivise the provision of childcare are at an advanced stage and should be implemented within the timeframe of this Plan.
The low female employment rate over the years also explains a large part of the low rate of older workers. Another reason for the latter is the fact that pensionable age in Malta is currently 61 for men and 60 for women. Furthermore, a rise in the uptake of invalidity benefits over past years, as well as the temporary use of early retirement provisions for purposes of restructuring, have somewhat lowered the employment rate of older workers. However, it is government policy to encourage active ageing and particularly the retention of employment for as long as possible. In this respect, pension reform plans are at an advanced stage, and should provide inter alia for the raising of the pensionable age for both men and women. Potential abuse is being controlled with respect to access to invalidity benefits, and early retirement schemes are utilised only as a transitional measure in the restructuring of the public sector. The need has been identified to address, in a mainstream fashion, not only women and older workers but also persons with disability.
A.3: Overarching Objective 2 - Quality and Productivity at Work
Improving the quality of working life and raising productivity at work are seen to be two essential, inter-related aspects of employment policy in Malta. Security and satisfaction at work are believed to be important in their own right and prerequisites to any sustained improvements in productivity levels.
According to a recent study entitled Working Conditions in the Acceding and Candidate Countries by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (2003), Maltese workers have a high degree of satisfaction with their working conditions (81%, compared to ACC142 73%, EU84%). They also demonstrate a high degree of belief in the sustainability of their job (54%, compared to ACC14 50%). They enjoy the lowest level of work-related fatigue (20%, AC14 41%,
Deleted: ¶ 2 New member states plus Bulgaria and Romania. ¶
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EU15 23%), though, in apparent contradiction, they also report the highest exposure to painful and tiring conditions for at least a quarter of their time (50%, ACC14 47%, EU15 47%).
Maltese workers work an average of 40.4 hours per week compared to ACC14 44.4 hours, and EU15 38.2 hours. They report a low level of complex tasks (38%, ACC14 55%, EU15 57%). They experience relatively high control over the organisation of their work (93%, compared to ACC14 60% and EU15 65%), and over the pace of their work (93%, compared to ACC72% and EU15 70%). However, they also report the highest levels of influence exerted over the pace of their work by external demands, by colleagues and by superiors.
In general, the improvement of quality at work has called for a multi-pronged approach and has been actively promoted through legislative change, incentives and campaigns. The new Employment and Industrial Relations Act 2002 and subsequent legal notices have transposed labour acquis into local legislation and extended the rights of part-time and fixed-term workers. The Occupational Health and Safety Act 2002 provides for awareness raising and enforcement of good practices at work. The Business Promotion Act 2002 includes various incentives for in-work training. The Gender Equality Act 2003 defines and prohibits all forms of discrimination in work and training. The subsequent strengthening of the national machinery for gender equality, which promotes mainstreaming in social and economic life and particularly the public sector, is intended to enhance issues of equality at work. However, there is a clear need for more extensive reform with respect to quality at work, and three priorities may be identified in this regard
First, more extensive training of workers is necessary for a fuller exploitation of technological potential and economic growth. In-work training rates are still relatively low in Malta. The December 2002 Labour Force Survey indicated that 4.7% of employees within the private sector had actually undergone some form of training in the month under review, compared to 8.6% in the public sector. Male and female employees enjoy similar levels of training, though younger workers, and those with post-secondary education or above, are more likely to be trained than their counterparts. Closer liaison between educational institutions and industry is necessary to ensure an appropriate skills match. Moreover, acceptance of the need for lifelong learning, and the availability of opportunities for all, must continue to be developed. Employer investment in on-the-job training must be valued and supported through a national assessment and certification system.
Second, a better work-life balance is necessary for the well-being of current workers and their families as well as to promote women’s access to and retention of employment. The imbalance in gender employment rates, a significant proportion of involuntary part-time work, and the current lack of regulated, affordable childcare provision have led to the work-life balance issue gaining a higher profile on government’s policy agenda. The EU acquis on maternity and parental rights has been transposed into national legislation. However, efforts will also be stepped up to encourage awareness and measure for work-life balance at the level of the enterprise. Promotion of teleworking opportunities and incentives will be considered in greater depth, as will incentives for the provision of childcare services.
Third, the improved promotion and enforcement of occupational health and safety is considered to be critical to job quality. Although industrial accidents have decreased considerably in recent years, there remains scope for further improvement of health and safety awareness and measures, as well as for a reduction in the uptake of sick leave. Closer study of workplace stress is required. A priority sector for these improvements is the construction industry. A healthy work environment is also considered necessary to promote access to, and retention of, employment by older workers and persons with disability.
A.4: Overarching Objective 3 - Social Cohesion and Social Inclusion
Improving access to employment is seen to be the best way to prevent and to combat social exclusion. Malta subscribes to the European social model, seeking to develop an active welfare state with adequate protection for those who need it.
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Relative to the EU average, the unemployment level has been low in past years but is now at the EU average. In 2002, a relatively low proportion of children aged 0 to 17 lived in jobless households (7.2%, EU15 9.9%); the same was true for men aged 18 to 59 (5.8%, EU15 8.4%). Comment: NSO Benchmarking
Income disparities in Malta are at the EU average, with a Gini coefficient in 2000 of 30.4%. The gender pay gap stood at 10% in 2002 In 2000, around 14.9% of the population were at the risk of poverty (EU15 15%), that is, with incomes below 60% of the national equivalised median income – a considerable reduction from the 30.2% rate prior to social transfers. In terms of household type, single parents are at highest risk of poverty (55.1%; EU15 40%) and only 16.5% of lone parent households are in employment. Difficulties in balancing parenting responsibilities with paid employment are particularly acute for this category. The next highest group at risk of poverty are two-parent families with three or more dependent children (28.5%, EU15 26%). A major issue here may be the unemployment trap for low skilled workers, where the difference between unemployment benefits plus supplementary allowances for dependents, and the minimum wage, is too narrow to provide work incentives. In 2003, the rate of unemployment assistance stood at 58.3% of the national minimum wage; this rate rises to 84.6% in the case of a five-person household.
In terms of employment status, 50.4% of the unemployed were found to be at risk of poverty (EU15 38%). Here it must be noted that 45% of the unemployed are youths; those lacking a contributory record or not living alone are not entitled to social insurance or assistance. The rate of young persons without post-secondary education is a cause for concern in this regard, although marked improvements have been made in recent years. Schooling is compulsory until age 16 or the completion of secondary school. While the rate of drop-outs is relatively low by this definition, a recent representative survey has found that just under one in five registered unemployed youth left school without completing secondary education; this category are many times more likely to feature in the unemployment register than those completing school, and to have longer spells of unemployment than their counterparts.
The issues that arise from the above, in terms of social inclusion, are the need for measures to balance work and family life; measures to make work pay; preventing early school leaving and improving the skills of the unemployed, particularly unqualified youth and the illiterate. A number of measures have already been taken. Plans to regulate childcare, and to stimulate its affordable provision, are underway. Certain groups, including widows, single parents and the disabled are able to work without forfeiting social benefits up to a given income ceiling. A number of incentives are in place for employers who recruit older workers or persons from disadvantaged groups. Support to illiterate children and their families is provided by the Ministry of Education. Training, in a variety of trade and non-trade courses, are offered by various public sector entities to persons in and out of work. A number of relatively large projects have been submitted for consideration under ESF to address the needs of disadvantaged groups, such as literacy training, activation measures for older workers, a supported employment scheme for persons with disability, and childcare provision. Government intends to further address these issues in both the National Action Plans for Employment and for Social Inclusion, and the preparation of both has been co-ordinated.
A.5: Employment Strategy and Targets
Malta will be pursuing a six-pronged employment strategy between 2004 and 2010. Government will seek to:
• Improve levels of education and certification with a view to raising productivity; and
• Raise the national employment rate, and particularly that of women and workers aged 55 and over, through a package of measures that enable access to and retention of employment throughout the lifecourse;
• Enhance the business environment, and to identify and address labour market distortions that may serve as disincentives to the hiring of labour and/or the use of regular workers;
• Increase productivity in the public sector by implementing its privatisation programme and redeploying employees in more productive positions in the public and private sectors; Deleted: ¶ ¶
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• Modernise its public employment service, and equipping it to meet the preventive and active measures required under the European Employment Guidelines;
• Improve its governance of labour market policy, strengthening competencies with a view to better strategic co-ordination and a fuller involvement of the social partners in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of labour market policy.
If the public and private sectors respond positively to the proposed, as well as the current, measures referred to in this Plan, it should be reasonable to expect that the following targets be attained by 2010:
Target Situation Malta EU Target See December Target 2010 Guideline 2003 2010 Raising the overall employment rate by 3%1 53.7% 57% 70% All Raising the female employment rate by 7% 1 33.7% 41% 60% 6 Increase the formal provision of childcare to Not 15% 33% 6 1,800 places, ie. 300 per annum, for children available under 3 Raising the older workers’ employment rate 32.6% 35% 50% 5 by 2.4%1 Raising the average exit age from 57.7 years 59.7 years 5 year 5 employment by 2 years1 increase Long-term unemployed on active measures at 14.5% 20% 25% 1 any one time 2. Increase in business start-up rate of 1.2% 3. 6.8% 8% None 2 Increase in business survival rate of 2.1% 3 70.4% 72.5% None 2 Households with access to internet to 31% 40% None 3 increase by 9% 4. Increase of 17.5% in 22 year olds with upper 47.5% 65% 85% 4 secondary qualifications 3 Reduction of 13.5% in early school leavers’ 48.5% 35% <10% 7 rate 3 Increase of 3.8% in the number of adults in 3.2% 7% 12.5% 4 lifelong learning 3 Increase of 3.9% in the percentage of public 8.6% 12.5% None 4 sector employees receiving training 1. Labour Force Survey, December 2003 2. ETC Administrative Data, December 2003 3. Business Register 4. Benchmarking in Europe
A number of current and planned measures are detailed in this Plan that will contribute to the achievement of the above targets. Appendix B provides a list of all actions, for ease of reference. The essential measures to be attained in the timeframe of this Plan are the fifteen bulleted below. Each of these measures implies significant institutional strengthening and the introduction of a range of actions.
Strategy 1: To improve levels of education and certification
• Measure 1: Continued expansion and consolidation of MCAST
• Measure 2: Implementation of the first phase of the Lifelong Learning Strategy
• Measure 3: The implementation of the first Business Plan of the Malta Professional and Deleted: ¶ Vocational Qualifications Awards Council. ¶
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• Measure 4: Streamlined and strengthened literacy training.
• Measure 5: Improved incentives for enterprise training of low-skilled workers, and of workers in micro-enterprises
• Measure 6: Implementation of new Apprenticeship Framework.
Strategy 2: Raising the national employment rate
• Measure 7: Extending the 15% part-time work tax rate to spouse
• Measure 8: One year tax holiday for women returners after a minimum 5 year absence
• Measure 9: Introduction of childcare regulations and fee subsidy scheme
• Measure 10: Action plan to Make Work Pay
Strategy 3: Enhance the Business Environment
• Measure 11: Social Pact for Economic Development
• Measure 12: Creation of a One-Stop Shop for Business
Strategy 4: Increase Productivity in Public Sector
• Measure 13: Scheme to redeploy public sector workers
Strategy 5: Modernise the Public Employment Service
• Measure 14: Reform and extend preventive and active measures to comply with Guideline 1
Strategy 6: Improve labour market governance
• Measure 15: Strengthen capacities in employment policy definition, co-ordination and evaluation
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Section B. The Employment Guidelines
In this section, each of the guidelines is responded to in a similar structure, as specified in the Standard Outline for the NAPs 2004. In the first part of each Guideline, the national infrastructure and current situation are described. In the second part, Government policy, strategy, targets and measures (taken and planned) are laid out.
B.1 Guideline 1: Active and Preventive Measures for the Unemployed and Inactive
This guideline calls for active and preventive measures, to prevent inflow into long-term unemployment and to promote the integration into employment of the unemployed and the inactive. In respect of this guideline, Malta has noted the Council’s Recommendation that its “over-riding challenge is to expand its labour supply by raising the employment rate for women”. It has also noted the Council’s concern over the low employment rate of older workers.
The Guideline reads as follows:
“Member States will develop and implement active and preventative measures for the unemployed and the inactive designed to prevent inflow into long-term unemployment, and to promote the sustainable integration into employment of unemployed and inactive people. Member States will:
(a) Ensure that at an early stage of their unemployment spell, all jobseekers benefit from an early identification of their needs and from services such as advice and guidance, jobsearch assistance and personalised action plans;
(b) Based on the above identification, offer jobseekers access to effective and efficient measures to enhance their employability and chances of integration, with special attention given to people facing the greatest difficulties in the labour market.
Member States will ensure that:
- Every unemployed person is offered a new start before reaching six months of unemployment in the case of young people and 12 months of unemployment in the case of adults in the form of training, retraining, work practice, a job or other employability measure, combined where appropriate with ongoing job search assistance;
- By 2010, 25% of the long-term unemployed participate in an active measure in the form of training, retraining, work practice, or other employability measure, with the aim of achieving the average of the three most advanced Member States;
Modernise and strengthen labour market institutions, in particular employment services;
Ensure regular evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of labour market programmes and review them accordingly.”
B.1.1 The Current Situation
The Infrastructure
The Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) is Malta’s public employment service. It currently falls within the portfolio of the Ministry responsible for education, youth and employment. ETC was established in 1990 by the Employment and Training Services Act. It is a body corporate with a distinct legal personality. The ETC is governed by a Board of Directors which includes representatives from Deleted: ¶ ¶
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the various stakeholder groups and social partners, and is managed by a Chief Executive and a senior management team. The ETC is entrusted with the maintenance of an unemployment register. Its main functions are job brokering, training, labour market information and research, and the maintenance of work histories of people in employment. The ETC is responsible for the implementation of active labour market policies. In undertaking these functions it employs a number of employment and training schemes. Furthermore, it has a law enforcement arm. It has also been entrusted with the drafting and consultation related to this year’s National Action Plan.
Strengths and Weaknesses
In respect of this guideline, the strengths of the current situation are that unemployment – although it has risen in recent months – remains around the EU average, as does the rate of long-term unemployment. The public employment service – ETC – has, since 2000, undergone restructuring and modernisation in terms of both strategy and operations. Services and schemes have been improved and extended. Applications for ESF funding have addressed the real needs of the Maltese unemployed, and include proposals regarding literacy training, activation schemes, supported employment for persons with a disability and childcare measures.
The weaknesses of the current situation largely relate to the high level of female inactivity, the limited skills of the unemployed, and the resources of the public employment service to meet the new responsibilities it has assumed under the European Employment Strategy in the fields of vocational guidance, labour market forecasting, monitoring and evaluation and the implementation of ESF projects. Another weakness lies in the fact that a number of jobseekers who are offered work or submitted for job interviews go on to refuse the offer of work. This needs closer study, both from the perspective of work motivation as well as the conditions of work being offered by employers to jobseekers.
Key Data
In brief, the situation in December 2003 may be measured as follows:
• A low female employment rate (33.7%, EU15 55.6%) • A low employment rate of those aged 55 and 64 (32.6%, EU15 40.1%) • A rise in unemployment, standing at 7.9% (EU15 7.7%) • A rise in youth unemployment, at 10.2% (EU15 15.1%) • A long-term unemployment rate of 3.1% (EU15 3%) • A considerable proportion of jobseekers not receiving active measures (58.5% of youths, 91.6% of adults) • A large number of registered jobseekers opting for elementary occupations (50%) • A high illiteracy rate among the registered unemployed (20%) • A large number of registered jobseekers possessing skills/qualifications below those demanded by employers for particular occupations
The Labour Force Survey of September 2003 indicated that most of both male and female unemployed had attained secondary level of education (60.1%). The next largest categories were those with post- secondary education (16.6%) and primary education (16.4%). Women with post-secondary education made up the largest group of female unemployment (28.6%) while men with primary education made up the largest group of male unemployment (21.1%).
According to administrative data, at the end of 2003 the registered unemployed were skewed in terms of age, with 31% aged under 25 and 37.6% aged over 40. Half the long-term unemployed are aged over 40, with minimal educational attainment and low or negligible skills. Half of all registered unemployed are seeking work in elementary or plant/machine operations.
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In terms of preventive measures3, in January 2004, 26.4% of youth jobseekers who had been unemployed for six months had not benefited from such measures (m=26.1%, f=27%). The same was true for 15.9% of adult jobseekers who had been unemployed for twelve months (m=17.8%, f=5.9%).
In terms of active measures4, in January 2004, 58.5% of youth jobseekers who had been unemployed for six months had not benefited from such measures (m=63.8%, f=48.6%). The same was true for 91.6% of adult jobseekers who had been unemployed for twelve months (m=96.7%, f=64.7%).
In terms of active measures for the long-term unemployed, 36%of youth jobseekers who had been unemployed for twelve months or more were on an active measure in January 2004 (m=30%, f=52.9%). The same was true for 8.5% of adult long-term unemployed (m=7.7%, f=17.6%).
B.1.2 The Policy Response
Policy, Strategy and Targets
Government policy is to improve and extend its range of active measures with a view to reducing inactivity and preventing inflow into long-term unemployment. Its strategy for 2004 – 2006 is to improve its co-ordination of labour market policy, to modernise the public employment service and to offer earlier and improved measures to all categories of jobseekers.
In addition to its strategy to boost job creation and to maximise competitiveness (see Guidelines 2 and 3), a number of incentives will be introduced to raise employment rates. The public employment service will continue its re-engineering and the improvement and extension of its programmes to meet the requirements under this guideline. A permanent employment policy team will be set up by government, to prepare, monitor and evaluate annual national action plans. Details of particular measures will be provided in this and subsequent sections.
Measures
This section outlines measures to modernise the public employment service; to improve active and preventive measures for the unemployed; and to monitor and evaluate these services. a. Modernising the Public Employment Service
The prospect of participating in the European Employment Strategy has brought about a restructuring of the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC). In January 2004, top management was restructured in order to cover a broader range of functions concerning employment policy and strategy., though further management restructuring is needed to implement the requirements of the European Employment Strategy. The ETC now has two main arms, dealing with employment strategy and ETC operations, with a view to ensuring coherence between strategic commitments and corporate planning and performance. ETC will, from now on, be aligning its business planning period to the NAP cycle.
Also in line with this guideline is the establishment of a Monitoring and Evaluation Unit within ETC to review the effectiveness and efficiency of ETC’s labour market measures. The recently established Research and Development Division within ETC has been re-oriented to develop and implement an evaluation programme in addition to its current ad hoc client group, thematic and sectoral studies. From 2005, a cost-benefit analysis and a gender impact assessment will be carried out before launching any new, or revised, employment measure. Client satisfaction surveys will be extended, and conducted on a regular basis as will outcome studies. Once a European system is put in place for the benchmarking of the outcomes from public employment services, ETC will be able to benchmark its results with those of other European PESs and learn from best practices. Such a benchmarking system is being compiled within the EU network of Heads of Public Employment Services and the World Association of Public Employment Services.
3 Guidance, counselling, jobsearch assistance and personalised action plans Deleted: ¶ 4 Training, retraining, work experience, a job or other employability measure ¶
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ETC’s Clients’ Database is soon expected to be fully functional. It will automate and link ETC’s various interventions with all jobseekers, flagging registrants with a view to ensuring that preventive and active measures are offered to both groups within the specified timeframes.
ETC will launch a new website. Better use of IT will also be made to link the ETC website to other websites displaying job vacancies, and means of co-operation will be sought with private employment agencies. More use will be made of IT-supported systems to provide better and faster services to clients. Employers can now request a list of their employees appearing in the ETC database. Jobseekers who place their CV on the ETC website will be notified of job vacancies that are appropriate for them via SMS. Comment: Raphael
With a view to providing a better service to employers, ETC has changed its system of submitting candidates to vacancies notified by employers. Under the new system, the potential employer is referred only a manageable number of jobseekers to interview. Only should none of these meet the requirements are further candidates submitted. This minimises the amount of time an employer needs to spend on job interviews.
The EURES office is situated within ETC and is fully functional (see Guideline 3).
b. Preventive and Active Measures for the Unemployed
To date, the Employment and Training Corporation has offered a range of preventive and active measures to jobseekers. The following table indicates the spread of activities in the financial year 2002/2003 which will be maintained in the year 2003/2004:
Chart 3: ETC Measures
3%
Training 28% Apprenticeship
Job placement 56% Employment schemes
13%
Source: ETC Annual Report 2002/3
(Unemployed and inactive persons may also attend training at a number of other institutions, for instance, the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology, adult learning in the Department for Further Studies and Adult Education, and the Institute of Tourism Studies, to mention but a few. These will be returned to in Guideline 4).
Employment and training services are being improved. In 2003, the ETC developed a profiling methodology and has since profiled all unemployed registrants, the output of which will be used in Personal Action Plans and for job matching.
Following the launch of the first-ever Diploma in Social Studies (Occupational Guidance and Careers Counselling in 2003, a new Vocational Guidance Unit will be set up within ETC with effect from January 2005. This will be phased in over three years. In the first year, five Guidance Officers will be deployed to offer guidance to the inflow of unemployed registrants; in the second year, another four will be deployed to offer guidance to the stock of the unemployed; in the third year, another three will Deleted: ¶ ¶
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be recruited to focus on special client needs. These are most likely to be early school-leavers, women returners, and persons at risk of redundancy.
Malta Enterprise will be providing ETC with projected investments outlining jobs to be created and the sectors in which this will happen.
Following a re-engineering exercise in early 2004, ETC’s employment and training services have re- oriented their interventions to conform to the targets in this guideline:
Young jobseekers: On registering for employment, when their work preferences are noted, young jobseekers will, from October 2004, be required to attend a new one-day jobsearch training seminar within a fortnight of registration. Approximately 50 youths are expected to attend these seminars per week, which will be held for groups of twenty on a weekly basis. Those still registering after the lapse of three months will be appointed an Employment Advisor, who will take an in-depth profile of them and will refer them to Occupational Guidance at a new Unit to be set up within ETC. In the meanwhile, they will be referred to such job vacancies as may arise. On the lapse of the fourth month, youth registrants will be referred to a four week course consisting of two weeks on work motivation and two weeks of Jobclub, that is, more intensive training in jobsearch and preparation for work. Personal Action Plans will be drawn up following the four week course for clients identified as needing further assistance. If at any point in this preventive process, young jobseekers fail to comply, they will be appointed a Personal Advisor for more comprehensive assistance. Each Personal Advisor will have a caseload that does not exceed ten clients. By the second half of the fifth month of registration, jobseekers will be placed on an active measure, namely short competence-based courses or the Job Experience Scheme, which involves a 13-week work placement.
Adult jobseekers: The process is quite similar for adult jobseekers. Within a fortnight of registration, registrants will be required to attend the one-day seminar in jobsearch skills. Here too, there are expected to be approximately 50 adult jobseekers per week. Profiling and referral to Guidance will occur after only one month of unemployment (in view of the fact that adult unemployed have far longer unemployment spells than youth). Adult jobseekers will not be allowed to register for occupations for which they are not qualified, and will be invited to sit for a trade test where necessary. After the lapse of three months of registration, adult jobseekers will attend a two-week job motivation course and advanced jobsearch skills, with an emphasis on multiskilling. Personal Action Plans will be drawn up following this course. A Personal Advisor will be appointed to those who have failed to comply with any of the above steps. After the lapse of the ninth month of registration, jobseekers will be referred to short competence based courses, or placed on either the Employment Training Placement Scheme or the Training and Employment Exposure Scheme. Both involve training, work placements and differing degrees of wage subsidy.
d. Demand-Side Schemes
A number of schemes also operate on the demand side that aim to encourage employers to employ persons furthest from the labour market. Four such schemes operated by the ETC include:
(a) The Employment Training Placement Scheme, offered in respect of those unemployed for twelve months and over, and persons with disability or special needs, whereby the employer receives half the minimum wage during a period of on-the-job training, lasting up to one year but dependent on the training programme;
(b) The Training and Employment Exposure Scheme, mandatory in respect of those aged 40 and over who have been unemployed for six months and over, whereby the person undergoes (a) one month of induction training, (b) five months of in-depth training in return for minimum wage, and (c) by six months of on-the-job training with an employer, during which time he or she receives 111% of the minimum wage from ETC. This scheme has run in pilot form and has now been accepted for funding under the European Social Fund (see e below).
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(c) Bridging the Gap Scheme, in respect of persons with disability or special needs, whereby the person is placed at a work establishment for training purposes and to familiarise him or herself with the working environment. The person receives 65% of the minimum wage from ETC, which is frequently topped up by the employer concerned.
(d) Job Experience Scheme, whereby a youth who has never worked is placed with an employer for 13 weeks, for training and work experience, on a part-time basis and receives just under one third of the minimum wage as a maintenance grant
(e) ETC can also make use of the Community Work Scheme to assist adult long-term unemployed jobseekers to acquire new skills or to upgrade their current ones, thus becoming more employable and finding gainful employment after the placement ends. The Community Work Scheme is available for long-term unemployed persons over 30 years of age, who may be placed with NGOs and local councils to undertake community work. ETC pays half the salaries of such persons while the NGO concerned pays the other half. Placements on this scheme last for a maximum period of one year. e. ESF Funded Projects and Schemes
The Employment and Training Corporation has proposed a project for unemployed persons aged 40 and over, which has been accepted for funding under the European Social Fund. The project consists of a training programme which aims to re-train 400 registered unemployed persons of age of 40 years in areas where they can be re-integrated in the labour market. Under this project participants will be requested to join a scheme for one year which consists of 3 phases. The first 4 weeks of training are devoted to core skills particularly motivation and self esteem raising practices, followed by life skills and visits to companies to establish inclinations and wishes of participant. In the next 21 weeks participants are given intensive training in particular skills in demand in the labour market. In the last phase (27 weeks) participants will be assigned with an employer for work exposure. This project will amount to a total cost of €4.88 million.
The company WasteServ Malta Ltd. has proposed a project aimed to train the trainers, with a view to training jobseekers to assist in the implementation of waste separation at source. The funds allocated under this project will finance the training of a maximum of 25 job seekers in household waste separation methods, techniques and practices. The participants will then be assigned to Local Councils for 98 weeks in order to educate households, and if required also schools and offices about issues like waste minimisation, the separate collection from households, bring-in sites and civic amenity sites. The project will cost €200,000.
Guideline 2: Job Creation and Entrepreneurship
Guideline 2 calls upon Member States to promote job creation and entrepreneurship. The Guideline reads as follows:
“Member States will encourage the creation of more and better jobs by fostering entrepreneurship, innovation, investment capacity and a favourable business environment for all enterprises. Particular attention will be given to exploiting the job creation potential of new enterprises, of the service sector and of R&D. Supported by the process of benchmarking of enterprise policy and the implementation of the European Charter for Small Enterprises, policy initatives will focus on: simplifying and reducing administrative and regulatory burdens for business start-ups and SMEs and for the hiring of staff, facilitating access to capital for start-ups, new and existing SMEs and enterprises with a high growth and job creation potential, promoting education and training in entrepreneurial and management skills and providing support, including through training to make entrepreneurship a career option for all.”
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B.2.1 The Current Situation
The Infrastructure
Small business issues fall under the remit of the newly established Ministry for Competitiveness and Communications, which has taken on responsibility for the Small Business Efficiency Unit. Entrepreneurship falls under Malta Enterprise, which started to operate in January 2004, taking over the functions of the former Malta Development Corporation, the Institute for the Promotion of Small Enterprise, and Malta Export Trade Corporation. Its two core functions are business development (including foreign direct investment and trade promotion) and support to local business. Malta Enterprise does not cover financial services, which fall under the regulatory Malta Financial Services Authority; nor does it address tourism, which is catered for by the Malta Tourism Authority.
Strengths and Weaknesses
There has been a growth in private market services, and a decrease in direct production and in public sector employment, in recent years. Self-employment has risen slightly in recent years and is distributed across age groups. Awareness of the need to simplify the business environment and to support business has grown in recent years; the infrastructure and initiatives in this regard have been strengthened. Malta has one of the lowest Internet access costs among new member states, and among the highest number of public Internet access points and household access rates. The development of eCommerce has been enabled by the Electronic Commerce Act (2002) and the Data Protection Act (2002).
There remain a number of weaknesses that Government intends to address in the period 2004 – 2010. Synergy on issues of job creation and employment must be improved across government and with the social partners. A number of government-induced costs still adversely affect business. There is need to continue to reduce bureaucracy and to simplify procedures in relation to the collection of VAT and other taxes, as well as to heighten awareness of the need for compliance in this regard. Better enforcement of tax and employment regulations is necessary to ensure fair competition between regular and irregular businesses. Another issue is the need to devise fiscal support for small firms falling outside the scope of the Business Promotion Act. Access to finance needs to be improved, as although banks do offer schemes to SMEs, they have high collateral requirements. A sound venture capital system needs to be developed.
There exists a big gender gap in self-employment. In general, the educational attainment of the self- employed is low, with over three quarters not having attained upper secondary education. Training initiatives in entrepreneurship and management are sparse and not well co-ordinated. Local business expenditure on R&D as a per cent of GDP is very low at 0.2%. Malta has a very low proportion of tertiary graduates in science and technology which will need to be raised for improved outcomes in R&D and innovation.
Key data
In 2003, the business start-up rate (that is, the number of legal births as a percentage of the total stock of firms) was 6.79%. The greatest absolute number of births occurred in Business Activities (554); Retail and Repairs (433); and Other Service Activities (334). However, relative to the stock in each area of activity, births were highest in Recycling (20%), Computer and Related Activities (17.5%) and Manufacture of Basic Metals (16.7%).
The business survival rate in 2002 for those starting in 1999 was 70.4%. The highest absolute number of survivors were in Retail Trade (442), Other Business Activities (295) and Construction (289); the highest number of deaths occurred in Wholesale Trade (78), Other Business Activities (31) and Hotels and Restaurants (29).
Over the past twenty years, employment in production and private market services has increased by ten percentage points from 55.7% in 1983 to 65.4% in 2003. In 2003, the services sector accounted for 67.4% of employment, an increase of 3% over 2000. There was a corresponding decline in industry, which stands at 29.4% of employment. Agriculture accounts for 1.8%. Deleted: ¶ ¶
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In terms of employment size, enterprise in Malta is distributed along similar lines to the EU average though slightly more heavily skewed in favour of micro-firms:
• Micro-enterprise, from 1 to 9 employees: 94% (EU15 91%) • Small enterprise, from 10 to 49 employees: 5% (EU15 8%) • Medium and large enterprise, over 50 employees: 1% (EU15 1%)
The self-employed share of employment has grown by 1.5% since December 2000, standing at 14.3% in December 2003. It is distributed as follows across economic activity:
Table 2: Self-employment by economic activity
Economic activity % Wholesale/retail/catering/transport 47.4 Manufacturing 12.6 Financial/real estate/renting 11.7 Construction 11.5 Other service activities 9.1 Agriculture 7.7 Total 100 Source: National Statistics Office
In terms of age, 24% of the self-employed are under 35. 60.4% are aged between 35 and 54, while the remaining 15.6% are aged over 55. Over half the self-employed have attained secondary level education (54.4%), while the remainder are evenly divided between those who attained only primary education (23.2%) and those with post-secondary or tertiary education (22.3%).
There remains a significant gender gap in self-employment: in December 2003, women’s share of all self-employment was 17.5%. 8% of all employed women are self-employed, compared to 17.1% of all men. Men are far more likely to employ others (34.6% of all male self-employed compared to 2.1% of all female self-employed).
B.2.2 The Policy Response
Policy and Strategy
It is Government policy to improve both infrastructure and incentives to further encourage private initiative. Entrepreneurship is recognised as presenting a key to unlocking economic growth and increasing employment opportunities. Entrepreneurs make jobs, rather than take them, by means of conceiving and establishing new businesses. Around 99 percent of enterprises are small and employ around 60 per cent of private sector employees. In this respect, Government will continue to support and encourage more individuals to become aware of business ownership as an alternative form of occupation. In achieving this, importance will be given to making the regulatory framework more business-friendly.
A defined entrepreneurial strategy has been in place for four years. The themes for each respective year have been: efficiency; quality; competition and innovation; and sustainable business. There are six elements to this strategy:
• Encouragement of innovation in manufacturing, trade and services; • Simplification of bureaucratic procedures; • Improved access to finance; • Training in entrepreneurship; • Improved and faster regulation of trademarks and patents • Legislative reform to accelerate business procedures. Deleted: ¶ ¶
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These elements will be given further impetus through an entrepreneurship task force to be set up by Malta Enterprise (ME). ME will be playing a major role in informing, educating and assisting entrepreneurs.
Measures
a. Establishment of Malta Enterprise.
Malta Enterprise started to operate in January 2004. Its main task is to attract investment with a view to job creation. Its two core functions are business development, including foreign direct investment and trade promotion; and enterprise support to local business. Malta Enterprise incorporates the former Malta Development Corporation, the Institute for the Promotion of Small Enterprise, and the Malta Export Trade Corporation. The new structure is intended to respond more rapidly to business clients’ needs on a range of issues, from factory space, financial programmes and mediation on matters of bureaucracy.
Since its set-up, it has been working to develop a national enterprise strategic plan; to promote business development in diverse clusters and segments; to create synergies within and across clusters and sectors, and between investment targeting and trade promotion initiatives; and to conduct focused client outreach and knowledge dissemination. Malta Enterprise will continue with these efforts in the timeframe of this Plan.
Representatives of business have, for some time, requested Government to set up a one-stop shop for licensing, importation of goods and setting up a business. Malta Enterprise is currently studying the prospects of setting up such a one-stop shop. It is also developing a start-up pack which includes all forms that need to be filled for all regulatory bodies, as well as licences, together with an instruction manual explaining each form. Malta Enterprise has already created a Relationship Management Division whereby relationship managers are assigned to businesses to assist them in overcoming all bureaucratic formalities, both when setting up and when already in operation. These Relationship Managers liaise with the various authorities and Government departments on behalf of these businesses.
Malta Enterprise is also considering, in liaison with the eMalta Commission, to develop their Small Business Support website into a comprehensive business portal, which will link to all government service and support functions as well as programmes and initiatives at EU and at other country levels, to simplify access to information by enterprises and support access to opportunities and to best practices. b. The Business Promotion Act
The Business Promotion Act (2001) superseded the Industrial Development Act. The BPA aims to help diversify Malta’s economic base to ensure both stability and growth. The Act introduced greater scope and flexibility to the incentives available for the promotion of business and covers a much wider range of qualifying sectors and activities with potential for growth and employment. The newly introduced fiscal incentives include reduced rates of income tax; investment tax credits; a value-added incentives scheme; investment allowances; reduced tax rate for reinvested profits; and tax deductions on research and development expenditure. Non-tax incentives include the provision of industrial buildings at competitive rents; soft loans; loan interest rate subsidies; loan guarantees; exemption from import duties; incentives for job creation and training grants.
The Business Promotion Act is being continually reviewed to improve the targeting and take-up of its schemes. Government will enhance its marketing campaign so that all stakeholders in the field are aware of the incentives in the Act.
In view of the fact that Gozo suffers from a more serious unemployment problem than Malta, due to its double insularity, specific measures will be considered to address this disadvantage. Initiatives will be multi-pronged. In the first instance, Government will review its administrative operations and identify additional back office functions that could potentially be transferred to Gozo. Second, the Business Deleted: ¶ ¶
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Promotion Act will be developed further to encourage economic activity of the island, and awareness of its provisions will be raised. (See also Guideline 10).
c. Assistance to Start-Ups
There exist a number of forms of assistance to business start-ups. The New Enterprise Loan Guarantee programme covers up to eighty per cent of the value of a loan required by first time entrepreneurs; this programme also includes favourable interest rates from two major banks in Malta. Access to this programme was increased in the 2004 budget. The Technology Venture Fund makes available seed and venture capital for small innovative enterprises. A rent subsidy exists for eligible businesses paying rent in the private sector. Malta Enterprise is currently designing a new Start-Up Programme which will include a grant element but also place considerable emphasis on research and development and investment.
Co-operatives are recognised as an important vehicle for business start-ups and the Co-operatives Board exists to advise and support potential and existing co-operatives. In a number of its courses the ETC includes a module on setting up and running a co-operative and will, in 2005, be identifying additional courses where such a module may be delivered. In addition to the Co-operatives Board, the programme SCOOPS offers secondary school students the opportunity to develop a co-operative.
Young potential entrepreneurs are encouraged in a number of ways. Two main programmes are Young Enterprise Malta, which receives state support to promote entrepreneurship among students in secondary and post-secondary education. Start-up Malta is a university-based foundation that promotes entrepreneurship among graduates and supports them in developing business plans.
The Special Market Policy Programme for Maltese Agriculture provides for aid to farmers to open up entrepreneurial opportunities that give a new lease of life to the rural economy.
The Malta Business Angels Network started to operate in October 2003, linking those who wish to start or expand a business with private investors. They have since signed a tenancy agreement with the Kordin Business Incubation Centre, joining forces to support start-ups. d. Development of land resources for employment
As far as the issue of employment generation is concerned, the role of the Malta Environment Planning Authority (MEPA) is primarily geared to providing the relevant policy framework within which the new sources of employment may get established and the existing ones flourish in the Maltese Islands. The current Structure Plan and the seven Local Plans which are being prepared under the aegis of the Structure Plan are considered to provide an adequate framework through their relevant policies to accommodate the varying requirements for different employment sectors. Mention needs to be made in this context that this policy framework has facilitated the approval of over 600,000 m2 employment generating floorspace over 2000-2003 by MEPA during the last four years alone (2000 – 2003) which has the potential to accommodate about 5,700 new jobs. e. Industrial Areas
Malta Industrial Parks Ltd has become operational and will be given the means necessary to be able to develop factory space for the future, to readapt existing factories, to monitor the needs for maintenance and to manage Government industrial property. An updated policy of factory allocation and leasing is currently being put in place, and more efficient use will be made of existing factory space. New methods for the generation of funds for the maintenance and development of industrial property on a purely commercial basis have been devised, while cutting down on the artificial demand for factory space due to the existing low leasing rates. Malta Industrial Parks Ltd became operational in January 2004.
In addition to the budgetary provisions for recurrent and capital expenditure on this item, provisions were also made for the development of industrial zones for SMEs and for the upgrading of infrastructure in industrial estates. The tendering procedure will be shortened by the end of 2004. Deleted: ¶ ¶
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Malta Industrial Parks Ltd. will be developing a package of incentives to encourage the private sector to develop privately owned industrial parks. Not only will such parks generate an increase in economic activity through the construction industry, but owners will have a vested interest in assisting Government to sell Malta as an industrial base to prospective foreign investors. Moreover, such a measure is bound to ease pressure on Government cash flows since the investment would be borne by the developer.
An Action Committee was set up in 2003 between the Malta Environment Planning Authority and the Ministry for Competitiveness to improve the organisation of industrial zones and to facilitate the permit and licensing process of all those working in such zones.
f. Advice to Small Businesses
The Small Business and Crafts Directorate plays an enabling role both in Malta and Gozo with regard to small firms, providing them with information, facilitating the relationship between small enterprises and government entities, and contributing to the improvement and simplification of the business environment through a Call Centre service. The Directorate also co-ordinates activities aimed to promote awareness and implementation of the recommendations contained in the European Charter for SME’s, signed by Government in April 2002. Numerous information brochures, seminars and consultation exercises are undertaken by this Directorate with a view to strengthening the implementation of entrepreneurship policy in Malta. The Directorate works to an annual action plan wherein its strategic objectives and related actions are stipulated, and a progress report drawn up each year. g. Enhancing the Business Environment Comment: Economic Planning
The Regulatory Impact Assessment function in the Small Business and Crafts Directorate will be further strengthened during 2005, with a view to submitting to Cabinet a report on the impact of each proposed law on the small business sector prior to its submission to Parliament.
With a view to reducing bureaucracy, in October 2004, a Working Committee will be set up to analyse the reporting requirements by Government of business; to streamline such reporting and to ensure that the instruments used therefore are made as simple as possible. The Committee will also draw up the terms of reference for a project whereby each Government Department will be required, in 2005, to eliminate one form or improve one process and to demonstrate their beneficial effect on business. This project is expected to run throughout 2005 and an award will be made to best-performing departments by the end of the year.
The Employment and Training Corporation and the Inland Revenue Department are currently collaborating on streamlining the notification of engagements or terminations, such that ETC may receive such information from the Department and no longer require the submission of forms by employers. This will reduce bureaucracy for employers and also ensure that both ETC and IRD have similar information about employers and employees.
The Trade Licences Act (2002) facilitates the start-up of trading activities. This Act ensures that a new application is processed within eight weeks, while an application for a change of licence is concluded within ten days. Dedicated software enables on-line connection to facilitate the process. Trade licences may also be paid on-line.
The Company Registration Office within the Malta Financial Services Authority now provides a one- stop shop service and concludes the registration of a company within twenty-four hours. Companies can register on-line with MFSA.
The Value Added Tax Act exempts SMEs with low annual turnover from charging and collecting VAT, and allows them to fill a simplified declaration once every calendar year.
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h. E-Government and E-Commerce
Much headway has been made in recent years in the field of e-government, as a result of well- developed network and concerted effort to promote the best use of ICTs. An increasing number of fees are now payable on-line. The Ministry for Information Technology and Investment has launched a new IT strategy based on the objectives in eEurope 2005. In 2004/5, the Ministry will launch a number of initiatives for the commercial sector. The eMarketplace will enable entrepreneurs to set up an on-line store within a national electronic shopping mall; the eTrust will be a self-regulating mechanism to screen on-line merchants for their business practices; and an eCommerce Awareness Programme will provide basic knowledge of ICTs and e-commerce to entrepreneurs.
i. Entrepreneurship Training
Training in business planning, start-up and management has been offered by various providers in recent years. Work is underway to clarify roles, and to streamline and strengthen entrepreneurial training. A plan of action in this regard will be spearheaded by the Ministry for Competitiveness by June 2005, to be implemented in October 2005.
A project has been submitted for consideration under EQUAL involving the training of a number of selected unemployed individuals in entrepreneurship. This project is expected to train around thirty individuals, to expose them to hands-on experience in the field of entrepreneurship, to assign the best performers with start-up grants, and to support them in running their own business. This project, if accepted, is expected to be launched in 2005.
ETC will be reviving the Entrepreneurship Scheme (INT) to train persons to start their own business, to assist them through mentoring services and to provide them with an enterprise grant. Furthermore, courses in small business management will continue to be delivered to assist primarily persons who are already in business to better manage their operations and to stay in business.
j. Business Development in Tourism
The tourism industry point out that employment in tourism can be increased if there is increased demand and increased tourism earnings. The Malta Tourism Authority is working on both aspects, and is reviewing its efforts in this regard. The Authority envisages that the use of structural funds should enhance competitiveness which in turn should help to increase demand.
As the tourism industry has developed, so have a number of ‘new’ job profiles to respond to the way work is organised. These include the consultancy role in tourism-related establishments; travel consultants rather than travel agents; site management of tourist attractions; and the growing importance of heritage management. The Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) will offer advisory services and provide market information on potential areas for investment. Tourism operators and entrepreneurs will be able to access this information with a view to diversifying or expanding their business through product improvements and marketing avenues, with the aim of increasing tourism demand by potential travellers and tourists whilst in Malta. EU opportunities will also be used for this purpose.
k. Strengthening Financial Services
Financial services account for a growing contribution to GDP, and for a significant proportion of Malta’s professional and white collar employment. In recent years, Malta’s international credibility as a financial centre has been strengthened, enhanced by EU membership. Malta has an advanced regulatory infrastructure, with a critical mass of professional practitioners, and can accommodate considerable additional growth. Financial services gives rise to a high degree of local value added, and to multiplier effects across the economy and particularly the services sector.
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In 2004/5, the Malta Financial Services Authority will implement a programme of initiatives designed to help financial services to further develop its potential. These initiatives include human resources development, the introduction of technology-based services, and the development of SMEs.
l. Research and Development
The Malta Council for Science and Technology has assisted in the drawing up of a research and development programme, that will provide assistance to both small and large enterprises to create and develop research and innovation capacity. The programme commenced in January 2004.
m. Consultation on Enterpreneurship Policy
In June 2004, a consultation exercise was carried out by Malta Enterprise and the Commerce Division to gauge progress towards the implementation of Malta’s entrepreneurship policy. A range of suggestions were made by various stakeholders which will be taken into consideration in the next entrepreneurship action plan.
n. ESF Projects
A project has been proposed by the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology to conduct training courses on preserving traditional Maltese crafts. The project has been accepted for ESF funding.The funds allocated towards this project will finance three training courses with the aim to provide candidates with entrepreneurship skills and entrepreneurship skills to encourage self-employment within the traditional crafts sector (these include lace making, glass blowing and boat building). Successful trainees will be provided with an internationally recognized vocational qualification. The total cost of this project is €242,020.
The Malta Council for Science and Technology has proposed a Research and Mobility Action Plan for developing in-house research capacity. It provides for training courses and mobility grants, and is aimed at staff in public organisations and SME’s, university graduates and the unemployed. The funds allocated for this project will go towards the financing of training and mobility grants with the aim to develop local Research and Development and innovation capacities of public and private sector organizations. Existing or potential employees of a public organization or SME will embark on a one- year project focused in the design of a feasibility plan for developing in-house research capacity. This project also aims to use the know-how and learning generated through the project to develop e-learning programmes in order to achieve a wider public outreach. The project will amount to a total cost of €259,860.
Guideline 3: Address Change and Promote Adaptability and Mobility
This Guideline calls upon Member States to address labour market change. The Guideline reads as follows:
“Member States will facilitate the adaptability of workers and firms to change, taking account of the need for both flexibility and security and emphasising the role of the social partners in this respect.
Member States will review and, where appropriate, reform overly restrictive elements in employment legislation that affect labour market dynamics and the employment of those groups facing difficult access to the labour market, develop social dialogue, foster corporate social responsibility and undertake other appropriate measures to promote:
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- Diversity of contractual and working arrangements, including arrangements on working time, favouring career progression, a better balance between work and private life and between flexibility and security,
- Access for workers, in particular for low skill workers, to training,
- Better working conditions, including health and safety; policies will aim to achieve in particular a substantial reduction in the incidence rate of accidents at work and of occupational diseases,
- The design and dissemination of innovative and sustainable forms of work organisation, which support labour productivity and quality at work,
- The anticipation and the positive management of economic change and restructuring.
Member States will address labour shortages and bottlenecks through a range of measures such as by promoting occupational mobility and removing obstacles to geographic mobility, especially by implementing the skills and mobility action plan, improving the recognition and transparency of qualifications and competencies, the transferability of social security and pensions rights, providing appropriate incentives in tax and benefit systems, and taking into account labour market aspects of immigration.
The transparency of employment and training opportunities at national and European level should be promoted in order to support effective job matching. In particular, by 2005, jobseekers throughout the EU should be able to consult all job vacancies advertised through Member States’ employment services.
B.3.1 The Current Situation
The Infrastructure
The Malta Council for Economic and Social Development is the tri-partite forum between Government, employers and trade unions which serves as a consultative and advisory body regarding national economic and social policy. Its legal basis was strengthened in 2002. The Department for Employment and Industrial Relations, within the Ministry for Education, Youth and Employment, is responsible for the drafting of labour legislation, which is vetted by an Employment Relations Board. The Department also intervenes to settle trade disputes, keeps a register of collective agreements and assists persons in employment on matters of working conditions. The Occupational Health and Safety Authority was established in 2002 and focuses on legislative reform, capacity building, awareness raising and ensuring compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (2002).
Strengths and Weaknesses
The legislative basis for the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) has been strengthened to meet its role as a platform for social dialogue in Malta. The social partners are actively involved in legislative reform. The rights of part-time workers and of parents have been extended to come into line with European legislation. The rates of fatalities and occupational accidents in Malta are low. The Malta Professional and Vocational Qualifications Awards Council has been established to define and accredit standards of occupational competence. A EURES office has been set up at the ETC and training is being undertaken by EURES advisors.
On the other hand, while the proportion of workers in non-standard employment is low, around one third of male and female employees would prefer an indefinite contract of work, while one third of men would prefer to work on a full-time than a part-time basis. Of considerable concern is the fact that workers’ participation in education or training is low, and significantly so for low-skilled workers. Balancing work and life is still a significant challenge for many, particularly women, and the dearth of childcare facilities or after-school services is an obstacle. The introduction of parental leave in the private sector is seen to be a considerable burden on small employers and may in effect discourage the employment of women. Deleted: ¶ ¶
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Key Data
The local situation may be categorised as follows:
• A low proportion of employees in part-time or fixed-term employment (7.5%, EU15 28.7%) • A marked gender gap in part-time and fixed term employment (m=3.2%, f=17.4%) • A low proportion of workers in training (6.1%) • A low proportion of adults in lifelong learning (3.2%) • A low number of fatalities at work (8.2 per year) • A decrease in occupational incidents
The share of employees in non-standard employment is relatively low in Malta. Compared to an EU15 average of 38%, 22.1% of employees in Malta are in part-time, fixed-term or self-employment. The discrepancy between the national and European rates derives from the small size of part- and fixed- term employment in Malta, as Malta’s self-employment rate is higher than the EU average. The former two categories account for 7.5% of all Maltese employees compared to 28.7% of EU15 employees. A marked gender difference is apparent in Malta as in the EU. In Malta, 3.2% of all male employment is either part- or fixed-term (EU15 16.5%), compared to 17.4% of all female employment (EU 43.4%). One third of all men and women were found to be working on a fixed-term contract because they could not find an indefinite one. Male part-timers also cited the difficulty in finding full-time employment as their reason for part-time work (32.4%) but the same proportion of women said that they did not want a full-time job.
In December 2002, 6.1% of persons in employment had been in training in the weeks prior to the survey. According to the LFS of September 2003, 3.2% of all 25 to 64 year olds had participated in education and training in the weeks prior to the survey. This was true of 4.3% of male respondents and 2.2% of female respondents. Participation appears to decrease by age, from 6.4% among 25 to 34 year olds to 4% among 35 to 44 year olds; under-representativeness does not allow for indicators on older age groups. Public sector employees are twice as likely to undergo training than those in the private sector. The likelihood of training increases with the level of one’s educational attainment. In December 2000 (the most recent representative data in this regard), only 2.1% of those with low educational attainment had been in training prior to the survey, compared to 13.2% and 20.3% of those with medium and high educational attainment respectively.
As regards health and safety at work, the number of fatalities at work is low, averaging 8.2 per year between 1994 and 2003. Occupational incidents have decreased in recent years; taking 1998 as a base year, the index has gone down from 100 to 63.8 in 2003.
B.3.2 The Policy Response
Policy and Strategy
Government’s current policy focus is on promoting competitiveness, while undertaking a wide-ranging programme of structural reforms in the product, capital and labour markets. In the labour market, government has harmonised its labour legislation with EU acquis; it has started the process of accreditation of occupational competencies; it has sought to promote awareness and implementation of good health and safety practices among employers, and seeks to increase the opportunities, and take- up, of lifelong training and retraining. Recruitment to public companies has been halted except for critical, high-level positions, and restructuring of these companies is underway.
Government’s strategy is also to strengthen social dialogue through increased support for the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD), This will increase MCESD’s relevance to economic policy formulation and ensure that the latter is based on wider consensus. This has becoming increasingly essential in the current period of rapid economic change ushered in by membership of the EU, the rapidly evolving international market conditions and the need for fiscal consolidation in a negative cyclical setting. The MCESD is striving to meet these challenges through the derivation of a Social Pact which will consider issues such as national competitiveness, the role of the state in the economy and the reforms of the welfare and national health systems. The Council also regularly Deleted: ¶ ¶
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discusses economic developments so as to increase mutual awareness and learning among the social partners.
Measures a. New Employment and Industrial Relations Act
A new Employment and Industrial Relations Act was enacted in 2002. It transposes most of the provisions of the labour acquis. Subsidiary legislation has since been published, with regulations covering: protection of maternity; European Workers’ Council; parental leave entitlement; organisation of working time; urgent family leave; young persons’ employment; the treatment of part-time employees; collective redundancies; fixed-term contracts; posting of workers in Malta; information to employees; a guarantee fund; and transfer of business (protection of employment) regulations.
In 2004/5, the Department for Employment and Industrial Relations will be publishing its legal notices in a format that will make them readily accessible and comprehensible to all, with a particular view to promoting common understanding between employer and employee. The Department will be improving its reconciliation system with a view to further reducing industrial action. It will also be promoting good practices in industrial relations by means of company visits and the dissemination of educational material. b. Improving Work Organisation
The Employment and Training Corporation will, by January 2005, be printing and distributing a manual to all employers, to guide them in establishing gender-friendly organisations. The manual will provide a rationale, check-list, advice and resources on a number of human resource issues. c. More adaptable Public Service
A White Paper on the Public Service was drawn up in 2003, and proposes greater decentralisation of authority from the Public Service Commission to department heads and strengthens results-based accountability in the civil service and public entities.
Civil servants at or below Scale 14 in the Civil Service are entitled to apply for up to one year unpaid leave in order to establish a business or to try alternative employment, with the right to re-instatement should they so wish.
The Staff Development Organisation within the Office of the Prime Minister is responsible for the training of public servants. A wide range of training courses are offered, at different levels and to different grades within the public sector. It also organises overseas study and training, which opportunities are allocated on a competitive basis. The SDO is currently engaged in developing a programme for a service-wide Training Needs Analysis.
d. Access to Training
The measures proposed under this theme are addressed in Guideline 4.
e. Working Conditions
All occupational health and safety legislation has been harmonised with the European Union acquis. The Occupational Health and Safety Authority has, since its establishment in 2002, recruited technical and specialist personnel, and runs an ongoing training programme for staff. OHSA conducts numerous awareness raising activities with employers, schools and the general public. In 2003, the OHSA launched a Workers’ Health and Safety Representatives Course and also, conjointly with the University of Malta, runs a Diploma in Social Science (Occupational Health and Safety). The Authority delivers tailor-made training to requesting organisations. In 2004/5, the Authority will be developing the infrastructure to ensure compliance with existing legislation. By the end of 2004, the Authority will be publishing its strategic plan for the years 2005 to 2007. Deleted: ¶ ¶
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f. Management of Economic Change
In mid-2003, the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development set up a National Competitiveness Working Committee to develop and analyse indicators and benchmarks, and to discuss concrete measures aimed at improving Malta’s competitiveness. These recommendations, which should be presented to Government in late 2004, will be categorised under ten headings:
• Economic policy • Role of the public sector in the economy • Legislation • Infrastructural services • Human Capital • Innovation • Wages and Productivity • Social cohesion • Market opportunities • Investment attraction
In the meanwhile, in the first half of 2004, two detailed discussion documents were submitted for consideration in the process of developing a social pact. One was by a major trade union and the other by an association representing employers.
g. Anticipating and Addressing Labour Market Developments
The Malta Council for Science and Technology has conducted three national foresight projects as part of the EU-funded FP5 project eForesee. To date, the biotechnology, ICT and marine sectors have been studied. The foresight projects encourage a long-term and participative approach to policy-making, with a view to developing national strategy including the human resource dimension.
The Employment and Training Corporation has, since late 2002, been conducting a bi-annual Employment Barometer, which seeks to forecast short-term labour requirements based on information derived from interviews with all employers of over fifty employees. The findings are fed back into the programme planning of the employment and training divisions. The Employment and Training Corporation has also responded rapidly to the expressed demand by employers for trained employees in a number of sectors, providing them with traineeships or short-term courses.
The Malta Tourism Authority will, by the first quarter of 2005, finalise a comprehensive Skills and Employment Forecast for the Tourism Sector. This is being partly funded by the EU. The objective of this study is to estimate the number of jobs that will be available until 2010 as well as the skills which are currently lacking and likely to be so in future.
h. Seasonality and Skills Mismatches in the Tourism Sector
The tourism sector in Malta and Gozo, suffers considerably from seasonality – with a high inflow in the summer months and subdued inflow in the remaining seasons. Employers in the hospitality industry therefore have to carry surplus labour throughout the low season. A Working Group will be set up between the Malta Tourism Authority, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, the Institute for Tourism Studies, the Employment and Training Corporation and the major trades unions. These will together develop the skills and attitudes required for multiskilling amongst current and potential employees, and the management skills required of employers. The Group will also explore alternative approaches to employment in this sector, including the feasibility of a temporary work agency and/or the stimulation of co-operatives offering services to the hospitality sector.
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i. Redeployment of public sector workers
In 2003, the government-owned Industrial Projects and Services Limited was set up to absorb workers who did not opt for early retirement in the restructuring of the Maltese shipyards. In 2004, an agreement was reached between government and the Federation of Industry whereby the ex-shipyard workers will be retrained and employed by the private sector over a three-year transition period. The FOI will find private enterprises to retrain and employ the workers. During the three year period, workers will remain on the government’s payroll, though the firms concerned will provide the government with half the workers’ salary in the first year, increasing to 60% in the second and 70% in the third year of the agreement.
This agreement will also be extended to the workers who will be made redundant from the Public Broadcasting Services, Malta Export Trade Corporation, Malta Development Corporation, and the Institute for the Promotion of Small Enterprises
j. Transparency of Employment and Training Opportunities
Two EURES advisors have been trained to date, and more will be trained over the coming months. Work is underway to link ETC’s vacancy website to the EURES network by the end of 2004. By 2005, jobseekers throughout the EU will be able to consult job vacancies in Malta on the EURES portal. In early 2004, Malta submitted its EURES Activity Plan for the years 2004 to 2007 and it was approved by the Commission. This Plan provides for awareness raising and dissemination of EURES information. Since the 1st of May 2004, the EURES office within ETC has been responding to numerous daily requests for information from Maltese and EU nationals alike.
k. ESF projects
Malta Enterprise has proposed a project, which has been approved for ESF funding, to enhance the competitiveness of SMEs and Microenterprises through lifelong learning. The aim of this project is to facilitate job retention and reskilling of Maltese employees through training to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of small and medium sized enterprises. The funds allocated for this project will finance a needs assessment of enterprises with a potential for growth in terms of training content by a selected group of diagnostic consultants. It will then finance the provision of specialised client training and general management training courses as per needs identified. The total cost of this project is €300,000.
Guideline 4: Promoting Development of Human Capital and Lifelong Learning
This Guideline calls on Member States to promote the development of human capital. The Guideline reads as follows:
“Member States will implement lifelong learning strategies, including through improving the quality and efficiency of education and training systems, in order to equip all individuals with the skills required for a modern workforce in a knowledge-based society, to permit their career development and to reduce skills mismatch and bottlenecks in the labour market.
In accordance with national priorities, policies will aim in particular to achieve the following outcomes by 2010:
At least 85% of 22-year olds in the European Union should have completed upper secondary education,
The European Union average level of participation in lifelong learning should be at least 12.5% of the adult working age population (25 to 64 age group) Deleted: ¶ ¶
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Policies will aim in particular to achieve an increase in investment in human resources. In this context, it is important that there is a significant increase in investment by enterprises in the training of adults with a view to promoting productivity, competitiveness and active ageing. Efficient investment in human capital by employers and individuals will be facilitated.”
B.4.1 The Current Situation
The Infrastructure
The Ministry of Education, Youth and Employment provides the state infrastructure for this guideline. Education in Malta is compulsory until age sixteen, or the completion of the five year lower secondary education course, and is provided in the state, Church and private sectors. Kindergarten is available between the ages of 3 and 4; compulsory schooling starts at age five. Primary education runs from age 5 to 10, and lower secondary runs from age 11 to 16. Post-secondary education is offered in both academic and vocational fields at state, Church and private ‘sixth forms’, the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) and the Institute for Tourism Studies. The University of Malta offers tertiary education, as does MCAST. Post-secondary and Adult education and training is offered by the statutory Department for Further Studies and Adult Education, as well as by MCAST and the Employment and Training Corporation. A number of private education and training institutions provide a variety of courses. The statutory Foundation for Educational Services primarily exists to empower parents in the education of their children, and to provide additional educational support to low achievers.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP is, at 5% in 2001, equivalent to the European average. Recent years have seen a sharp rise in the number of students taking up post-compulsory secondary and tertiary education. Awareness of the need for lifelong learning has risen, and opportunities in this regard are multiplying across different providers. Access to the internet has risen sharply, trebling between 2000 and 2002 to stand at 31.3% of all households.
However, Malta has a high rate of persons without higher secondary education in the EU. Participation in lifelong learning, and on-the-job training, is still low, and particularly so for low-skilled workers. While the female share of post-secondary and tertiary education exceeds that of men, segregation persists in the choice of subjects studied. Participation in science and technology subjects is still low in Malta and particularly so amongst women. The tourism industry has identified the need to incorporate the work ethic into secondary and adult education, highlighting the need for persons to be made aware of their duty to perform well. It has also identified the need for the educational system, from primary to tertiary level, to develop skills that are critical for the service industry.
Key Data
The current situation has the following features:
• A rising proportion of 20 to 22 year olds with upper secondary education (47.5%) • A high proportion of the workforce with less than upper secondary education (69%) • A high rate of early school leavers (48.5%) • Low participation in lifelong learning among the working-age population (3.2%)
According to the September 2003 LFS, 69% of the current workforce have achieved less than upper secondary education level, followed by 17.3% and 13.7% with post-secondary and tertiary education respectively. 47.5% of 20 to 24 year olds have achieved at least upper secondary education, as depicted in the chart below:
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Chart 5: 20 to 24 year olds with upper secondary education
55 50 Males 45 Females % 40 Total 35 30 2000 2001 2002 2003 Years
As may be noted, the rates of upper secondary education have risen by 7.5% between December 2000 and September 2003, though much faster for young women (+11.6%) than for young men (+2.8%). It is estimated that around one quarter of 20 year olds have followed a university course.
3.2% of adults aged 25 to 64 had participated in education and training in the weeks prior to the September 2003 LFS. The rate for those aged 25 to 34 was double; it declined with age, though under- representation does not allow for the use of indicators for older age groups. The latter is also the case with indicators for participation in education and training by working status and by educational attainment. Focusing solely on workers, in the December 2002 LFS it resulted that 6.1% of persons already in employment had undergone recent training or education. This was true of 4.7% of private sector employees and 8.6% of public sector employees. Workers aged under 40 were more likely to receive training (7.6%) than those aged forty and over (4.1%). Workers with tertiary education were most likely to receive training (15.1%) followed by those with post-secondary (11.6%) and primary and secondary education (3.1%).
In the academic year 2001/2002, a total of 6,772 persons, or 4.3% of the working age population, attended public and private evening classes. The five most popular areas were Arts and Humanities (27%), Computing (21%), Engineering and related trades (13%), Handicrafts (12%) and Business and Administration (9%). 60% of students were female. Engineering and Computing were the most popular with men, while Arts and Humanities and Computing were the most popular with women.
The rate of early school-leavers, defined as those not attaining higher secondary levels of education, currently stands at 48.5%. This rate has decreased progressively in recent years.
Chart 6: Early School Leavers
60
55 Males 50 Females Total 45
40 % 18 to 24 year olds % 2000 2001 2002 2003 Years
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B.4.2 The Policy Response
Policy and Strategy
Government policy is to promote lifelong and life-wide education and training in both Malta and Gozo, and to provide the required institutions and programmes in order to offer the widest possible range of opportunities to satisfy the needs of individuals as well as the changing economy.
Government is pursuing a motivational strategy to encourage learners continue their studies at higher secondary level. This is targeted both at students in education as well as youth and adults who have already left school. Collaboration between all stakeholders will be fostered towards this aim; the range and quality of education and training is steadily improving, and made more flexible and accessible to all. New areas of lifelong learning will be developed, particularly in ICT, and education in science and technology will be strengthened and promoted. Government will also improve its incentives to employers to provide training to their employees and will lead the way by raising the number of public sector employees in training.
Measures a. The National Curriculum
The 2000 National Curriculum lays emphasis on providing students with the skill and motivation for autonomous learning in order to facilitate lifelong and lifewide learning. Government is stepping up its vigorous educational awareness campaign aimed at both parents and students to show that education is the key to a better quality of life. The National Curriculum is now being revised. b. Improved Certification
The Matriculation and Secondary Education Certificate Board will be reviewing the Secondary Education Certificate Examination by 2005. This review should provide an incentive for more students to continue their education.
The Employment and Training Corporation will, in 2005, extend the assessment and/or trade testing of the unemployed who participate in training programmes and to provide the relevant certificates.
Government will be providing the necessary resources required by the Malta Professional and Vocational Qualifications Awards Council to enable the Council to develop a national framework for the award of vocational qualifications including the development , assessment and certification of competences. The Council will on its part attempt to seek EU funding to help it meet its purpose. c. Strengthening Basic Skills
The Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) has developed a Basic Skills Unit to provide basic literacy courses to young and adult students and refugees. In 2004/5, it will introduce an Individual Student Learning Plan to record, monitor and evaluate all basic skills support provided to each student. It will expand its provision of basic skills to more students in mainstream vocational programmes, and create more training opportunities for adults without formal qualifications.
Literacy classes are offered by the Education Division, the ETC, the Local Councils and the Paolo Freire Institute to offer a broad programme in literacy and personal skills to disadvantaged youth as well as to undertake community development. A partnership agreement exists between ETC and the Paolo Freire Institute.
The Foundation for Education Services runs family literacy programmes to combat illiteracy together with the family and runs a Community Literacy Outreach programme for families in socially challenged areas. These programmes will expand in 2004/5. The Foundation is currently collaborating with the network of basic skills providers in Malta, including the Education Division, the ETC, MCAST, Caritas, the Paolo Freire Institute and the trades unions’ educational arms. The FES aims to Deleted: ¶ ¶
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develop child-minding services to encourage participation, and to provide child minding training for this purpose.
The Education Division has significantly stepped up its training in ICT to provide students and teachers with the requisite training and tools. Web-based email accounts and web-hosting facilities are available to all state school students and teachers. The Division, MCAST and ETC as well as commercial training entities provide ECDL training modules. In 2005 the Education Division is aiming to increase substantially the number of 16 year olds with full ECDL certification, and will be increasing the number of computer laboratories in secondary schools.
The Employment and Training Corporation is currently designing a Certificate in Occupational Readiness, which will be a six-month course targeted at school leavers not proceeding to higher education and will offer essential work-related knowledge and skills. This course is expected to be launched in October 2005.
d. Reducing Skills Mismatches
In 2004 and 2005, Government will be evaluatingand acting upon the report of the Higher Education Funding Review and the Student Maintenance Grants Review, in order to provide a more sustainable base for the funding of higher educational institutions, and also to encourage students to pursue courses that are in greatest labour market demand.
Both the ETC and MCAST have established links and partnerships with employers to assist with workforce development programmes and to reduce skills gaps according to employers’ expressed needs.
The ETC provides traineeships of between 13 and 52 weeks duration to meet the specified needs of employers. Traineeships offer a combination of employment, off-the-job and on-the-job training. Recent examples have included traineeships in the ICT and pharmaceuticals sectors.
The tertiary education funding system is being reviewed, to take account of the needs of society, students and industry.
e. Facilitating Lifelong Learning
A Working Group on Early Childhood Education aims to improve the development of children’s potential for learning at an early stage. The Kickstart programme, which shares this aim, is to be evaluated and extended. The current kindergarten system will also be revised.
The Further Studies and Adult Education Department within the Education Division provides courses in a wide range of subjects for adults, from basic literacy to lower and upper secondary certification. Amongst others, it offers a day course leading to secondary level certification for women returners. In 2004/5, it will set up an Adult Learning Unit to advise learners wishing to follow day courses. A system of competence-based certification will be introduced for adult learners following assessment.
MCAST has introduced flexible modular programmes with international recognition and clear progression routes to encourage students to continue to further their vocational qualifications and to facilitate lifelong learning. This should eventually lead to the introduction by MCAST of an Accreditation of Prior Learning Framework to encourage adults to return to education. MCAST is linking with similar institutions in EU countries to ensure comparability and mutual recognition of qualifications.
The University of Malta will continue to actively encourage the take-up of tertiary education by mature students. It will establish a Lifelong Education Unit to attract more adult students, particularly those in mid-career and others seeking post-graduate education.
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The Education Division launched e-learning secondary certification courses in core subjects in 2003, and will further enhance the service in 2005. The University, too, intends to expand its distance- learning programmes through the media.
The Malta Tourism Authority has a Human Resource and Support Services Directorate. One initiative they work on is to promote career prospects in the tourism industry. A number of training initiatives have been proposed by the MTA under the European Social Fund (See J below).
f. Retraining of Workers
The establishment of an Occupational Guidance Unit within ETC was referred to in Guideline 1.
In addition to the adult evening classes offered by the Education Division and those offered by the ETC and MCAST, the Institute of Tourism Studies also pursues a retraining strategy and works closely with the Malta Tourism Authority, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association and the ETC in this regard. In 2004 and 2005 it intends to introduce an array of new short courses for those seeking employment in hospitality or those already employed in this sector. These courses will provide an entry point to further studies.
As noted in Guideline 3, the Malta Tourism Authority is conducting a skills and employment forecast in the tourism sector. This study will be utilised to identify the training requirements for current and future employees in this sector.
g. Encouraging In-Work Training by Employers
Regulation 14 of the Business Promotion Act provides for training grants to employers who train certain categories of their employees. Malta Enterprise is currently reviewing the Act to render its provisions more appealing to employers. Amendments will be made by mid-2005 and the new provisions will be widely promoted. Faster application-to-payment timeframes are being considered for training grants.
The Employment and Training Corporation is studying the feasibility of introducing an incentive scheme for persons in micro-enterprises to undertake training. The employee applying for this incentive needs to have been in employment with this enterprise for at least six months before the starting date of the training programme. The employee will apply to the Corporation to undertake training in an area directly linked to his or her employment. If the Corporation approves in advance both the training programme and the training provider, it will reimburse the employee 75% of the cost of training upon certified, successful completion. The ETC will reimburse up to Lm200 per individual trained, for a maximum of 300 persons in 2005.
h. Strengthening VET
Apprenticeship Schemes are administered by the ETC; the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, and the Institute for Tourism Studies, are major training providers. The Apprenticeship Board has worked on the creation of a new apprenticeship framework that is expected to be launched in October 2004. Under this new framework, training will be formalised in a training plan and will lead to a competence based qualification. The training plan will be underpinned by a written training agreement between the employer, the apprentice and the VET institution. The new framework will consist of an integrated pattern of formal vocational training, work-based skills development and appropriate vocational education. Key employability skills will be incorporated throughout the programmes. Greater involvement of the social partners will be sought in managing apprenticeship schemes.
Both the Education Division and the ETC are participating in CEDEFOP’s TTnet which is a network of providers of teacher education in VET settings, and of training the trainers. It functions as a ‘network of national networks’ and supports national goals in the field (eg. Professionalisation of VET teachers, validation of non-formal learning, use of ICT in training, quality assurance) by disseminating Deleted: ¶ ¶
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information and examples of good practice, by supporting research and giving it visibility and by fostering thematic projects. The Education Division and ETC are also participating in ReferNet which is a European networked system of information collection and dissemination concerning vocational education and training.
i. Strengthening of ICT Competence
The Ministry for Information Technology and Investment has published a National ICT Strategy with a number of strategic objectives and related measures which will be implemented between 2004 and 2010. The thirteen strategic objectives include:
• Stepping up the fight against the digital divide • Promoting and extending holistic ICT education and accessibility to technology • Using ICTs to improve the quality of life for Maltese as well as the tourist experience • Using ICTs to improve management and work quality in the public sector • Promoting the use of ICT by SMEs • Enabling local business to participate in the global eBusiness community • Consolidating the external ICT environment • Making the Internet a secure place • Strengthening indigenous private sector ICT activity • Strengthening Maltese ICT industry to compete in the global environment • Making best use of EU membership to attain a first-class information society • Promoting the Maltese contribution to global ICT
j. Use of European Social Funds
A number of projects have been proposed, and accepted, for funding under the European Social Fund that aim to retrain and reskill workers in various industries.
The Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) will be offering training courses in the engineering industry. The project consists of three training courses designed to provide candidates with new and transferable skills relating to engineering disciplines including new engineering techniques, entrepreneurship and self-employment in a commercial environment. The aim of the project is to upgrade the human resource base to enhance the competitiveness of the Maltese economy. On completion of the course successful trainees will be provided with an internationally recognised qualification. The cost of this project will amount to €291,940.
MCAST will also be offering training courses in the electronics industry. The project consists of three training courses designed to provide candidates with new and transferable skills relating to electronics, mechatronics and modern technology industrial techniques. The course will also cater for entrepreneurship, self-employment, IT and customer service. On completion of the course successful trainees will be given an internationally recognised qualification. This training is estimated to cost €194,380.
MCAST will also be offering training courses in the Building and Construction Industry. The project consists of three training courses designed to provide the trainees with transferable skills required for the expanding building and construction industry. The courses will also include entrepreneurship, self- employment and technology skills. On completion of the course successful trainees will be given an internationally recognised qualification. This training will cost €193,480.
MCAST will be offering Foundation Training for adults with no formal qualifications. This training will cost €192,915. The project consists of three training courses designed to provide adults with vocational training that match a trade or profession to which he/she is best suited. The courses will also include basic skills, entrepreneurship, self-employment, IT, employability and self-development skills. On completion of the course successful trainees will be given recognised qualification.
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The Fisheries Conservation and Control Division has submitted a proposal for training courses in traditional boat building, which has been approved for ESF funding. The funds allocated for this project will go towards the financing of training courses on the traditional craft of designing and building wooden traditional fishing vessels (luzzu/ kajjik). This will support the maintenance of this sector of the fleet and ensure the continuation of this craft. This project will amount to €150,000.
The Department of Further Studies and Adult Education within the Education Division has proposed a project on the training of trainers, which has been approved for ESF funding. The project consists of training and certification of 250 teachers in European recognised ICT skills courses and the training of selected (15) teachers in using Authoring/ Programming software to develop educational software/exercises/resources over the internet and create websites for other teachers and students. The 15 teachers will then train up to 120 teachers in using Authoring Software. Furthermore, the project will finance the setting up of a computer lab for the ICT Learning Centre and a computer lab in Gozo. This project will also involve an awareness programme for educators on Child Safety on Internet. This project amounts to a total cost of €122,989.
The Department of Technology in Education, in the Education Division, has also proposed a project on training the trainers, which has been approved. This project will finance research work with the aim to develop pedagogical tools applied in the context of basic literacy skills courses for adults. The research will feed into a training programme for non-formal adult educators facilitated by foreign & local experts. The project will also involve the development of working manuals which will serve as future textbooks for the teaching of basic Maltese to adults. The project will amount to a total cost of €227,137.
The Foundation for Educational Services has proposed a project for initiating and managing a community-based life-long learning centre. The funds allocated for this project will finance the training of ten unemployed/ underemployed teachers and youth workers as managers/co-ordinators of experiments that link up Local Councils with School Councils in the transformation of local schools into Life Long Learning Centres. Moreover the project will finance the training of 55 programme workers to provide a broad range of learning opportunities for youths and adults at the community level. The programme workers will be given training through a course to upgrade their skills in family literacy, basic skills and community learning work that will enable them to become trainers of other teachers in this area. Through this project the co-ordinators and programme workers shall be involved in the provision of training to learners at community level. The project also envisages the formulation of a manual on how to manage a Lifelong Learning Centre. The total cost of this project is €239,779.
The Malta Tourism Authority has proposed a project, which has been approved, to run a Tourism and Support Services Training Programme for semi-skilled and unskilled workers. The funds allocated for this project will finance new training & human resource development programmes while strengthening existing ones. These programmes will target human resource development needs of direct employment in core tourism service providers and employment within the support service industries dependent on tourism. These will include training programmes with the aim of improving the customer service culture in the tourism industry; supporting tourism businesses in implementing best practices, improving customer service skills of transport operators; improving the services provided by support operators; and supporting tourism related SMEs to identify training needs. This project will also involve a study on life long learning for the Tourism Sector. The total cost of this project will amount to €328,000.
St. Luke’s Hospital has proposed a project, which has been approved, to train the trainers. This is aimed at medical doctors, with a view to improving retention of specialist staff by developing post- qualification training programmes in collaboration with professional associations and non- governmental organisations. The project involves the setting up of a structured post qualification specialist training programme in Malta. It will provide the necessary impetus for the introduction of structured and planned post qualification specialization programmes for doctors who need and wish to specialize in any of the hospital based clinical specialties. The project will assist in the recruitment and retaining of training doctors in local employment and to create the appropriate environment for locally based post-graduate training and research initiatives. The total cost of the project is €212,631.
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Guideline 5: Increase Labour Supply and Promote Active Ageing
This Guideline calls upon Member States to increase labour supply. It reads as follows:
“Member States will promote an adequate availability of labour and employment opportunities to support economic growth and employment, taking into account labour mobility, as indicated in specific guideline 3. In particular, they will:
- increase labour market participation by using the potential of all groups of the population, through a comprehensive approach covering in particular the availability and attractiveness of jobs, making work pay, raising skills, and providing adequate support measures,
- promote active ageing, notably by fostering working conditions conducive to job retention – such as access to continuing training, recognising the special importance of health and safety at work, innovative and flexible forms of work organisation – and eliminating incentives for early exit from the labour market, notably by reforming early retirement schemes and ensuring that it pays to remain active in the labour market; and encouraging employers to employ older workers,
In particular, policies will aim to achieve by 2010 an increase by 5 years, at European Union level, of the effective average exit age from the labour market (estimated at 59.9 in 2001). In this respect, the social partners have an important role to play. Any national targets should be consistent with the outcome expected at the European Union level and should take account of particular national circumstances.
And, where appropriate, give full consideration to the additional labour supply resulting from immigration.”
B.5.1 The Current Situation
The infrastructure for increasing labour supply includes the educational establishments referred to above as well as the public employment service. As regards active ageing, a key institution at the moment is the Welfare Reform Commission, currently drawing up its final recommendation on pension reform in Malta. The social partners are also key actors in the promotion of job retention and good working conditions among older workers. Immigration Regulations were published in April 2004 by means of Legal Notice No. 205/2004 addressing inter alia the procedures to be followed by both EU and third country nationals to obtain residence, study and work permits.
Strengths and Weaknesses
In general, workers in Malta still enjoy considerable security of employment, extending into the older age brackets. However, at less than one-third of the 55 to 64 cohort, the proportion of older workers in employment is low, though it must also be mentioned that pensionable age to date has been 61 for men and 60 for women. The effective exit age from employment is low. Access to training for older workers is also low. The potential impact resulting from immigration after May 2004 has not been quantified.
Key Data
The employment rate of those aged 55 to 64 is 32.6%. The likelihood of employment decreases progressively with age, and drops markedly after the age of 55 in the case of men. The average exit age from the Labour Force, in September 2003, was 57.7 years (58.5 for men and 54.8 for women.) Deleted: ¶ ¶
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Chart 7: Employment by Age Groups
100 80 Men 60 Women 40 Total 20
Employment Rate 0 15 - 24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 Age groups
B.5.2 The Policy Response
Policy and Strategy
Government’s policy is to increase labour force participation with a view to a more inclusive labour market, increased productivity and a sustainable dependency ratio. This also applies to older workers. The strategy in this regard is to design and implement measures to make work pay; to take a lifecourse approach to improving quality of work; to ensure that lifelong learning opportunities are accessible and relevant to older learners; and to implement pension reforms whereby the retirement age of men and women will be raised in a phased manner. The Immigration Act regulates, among other matters, the right of non-nationals to work in Malta. Only EU nationals have the right to work in Malta. Third Country nationals – unless spouses of Maltese citizens – require a work permit.
Measures a. Research Project on Older Workers
In the summer of 2004, the Employment and Training Corporation will be conducting a research study on the aptitudes and aspirations of inactive workers aged 55 and over with a view to developing an action plan in this regard by January 2005. The plan will include incentives as well as tailored training courses.
b. Employment Schemes
The public employment service operates a number of campaigns and schemes to promote active ageing. In 2003/4, it conducted an intensive campaign to encourage employers to recruit and retain older workers, and to recognise their strengths. Two major schemes it has operated for older workers include (a) the Employment Training Placement Scheme, whereby employers recruiting unemployed workers over 40 receive a subsidy of half the value of the national minimum wage for a specified duration; and (b) the Training and Employment Exposure Scheme, where the unemployed aged 40 and over receive intense training, work exposure and a monthly allowance exceeding the minimum wage for one year. Programmes will be intensified in 2005.
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c. Early Retirement
Early retirement in the public sector, where required as a transitory measure for restructuring purposes, will be restricted. Potential abuse of invalidity benefits is being controlled and entitlement will, from 2005, be reviewed on a regular basis. d. Pension Reform
Pension reform is a key priority. The Welfare Reform Commission was established to review the Social Security Act for adequacy and sustainability, and will submit its recommendations in mid-2004. The Commission has liaised with the World Bank to develop actuarial workings and to formulate proposals. The gradual raising of the retirement age, and the possibilities for flexible retirement with a premium on later retirement, are key features of the proposals. Changes in the calculation method are also envisaged to reduce undeclared work. The proposals also include measures for modernising the pension system in line with the EU’s open method of co-ordination, primarily aimed at strengthening the link between contributions and benefits. The proposals are currently being discussed by the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development.
e. Increasing female labour supply.
See Guideline 6. f. Making Work Pay.
See Guideline 8.
Guideline 6: Gender Equality
This Guideline calls for an integrated approach to promote gender equality. The Guideline reads as follows:
“Member States will, through an integrated approach combining gender mainstreaming and specific policy actions, encourage female labour market participation and achieve a substantial reduction in gender gaps in employment rates, unemployment rates and pay by 2010. The role of the social partners is crucial in this respect. In particular, with a view to its elimination, policies will aim to achieve by 2010 a substantial reduction in the gender pay gap in each Member State, through a multi- faceted approach addressing the underlying factors of the gender pay gap, including sectoral and occupational segregation, education and training, job classification and pay systems, awareness raising and transparency.
Particular attention will be given to reconciling work and private life, notably through the provision of care services for children and other dependents, encouraging the sharing of family and professional responsibilities and facilitating return to work after a period of absence. Member States should remove disincentives to female labour market participation and strive, taking into account the demand for childcare facilities and in line with national patterns of childcare provision, to provide childcare by 2010 to at least 90% of children between three years old and the mandatory school age and at least 33% of children under three years of age.”
The Infrastructure
The National Commission for the Promotion of Equality for Men and Women was appointed in early 2004 to incorporate the former National Commission for the Advancement of Women and the Deleted: ¶ ¶
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Department, Women in Society. The Commission will identify and monitor national policies with a view to preventing and addressing discrimination and promoting gender equality. Another key actor is the National Council of Women, a prominent non-governmental organisation working in the field of gender equality. The NCW organises a wide range of information sessions on issues such as women’s health, training, employment, and provides regular feedback to government on policies and programmes.
The key legislative instrument of relevance is the Equality for Men and Women Act 2003, though gender equality is also served by a number of other laws such as the Employment and Industrial Relations Act 2003. The Employment and Training Corporation also established, in late 2002, a section dealing with gender and employment within its Research and Development Division. Government departments, as well as other entities, including the trades unions, employers’ associations and the University of Malta, have focal points dealing with gender issues in employment and training.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Gender equality has been given a firm legislative basis by means of the Equality between Men and Women Act (2003) which also strengthened the national machinery for gender equality. The gender pay gap is relatively low; at 10% in 2001, it was 6 percentage points lower than the EU15 average. Awareness of the need to promote the skill levels and employment opportunities for women in Malta has risen sharply in recent years. Civil society organisations have played an important role in raising such awareness, and both the trades unions and the employers’ associations are taking a closer interest in gender equality issues. A Gender Equality Action Plan for Employment, 2002-2004, has led to the implementation of a number of campaigns, training, tools and studies on various aspects of gender equality.
However, a number of gender gaps persist and will require firm action. The most notable is the gap in employment and self-employment, but gaps are also evident with respect to pay and occupational and vertical segregation. Regulated and affordable childcare facilities are not yet available, and although kindergarten caters for children aged between 3 and 5, they do not operate for the whole working day, and only open during scholastic terms and not during holidays. The problem of reconciling service hours with full-time work remains a considerable one.
Key Data
The current situation as regards gender equality in the labour market has the following features:
• A gender gap in employment of 39.6% (m=73.3%, f=33.7%) • Rapid growth in part-time work among women • Low self-employment among women (m=17.1%, f=8%) • A gender gap in unemployment of –0.4% (m=7.8%, f=8.2%) • A gender pay gap of 10% • A greater percentage of female workers undergoing training (m=5.9%, f=6.5%) • Childcare coverage of ages 3 to 6 of 98% though only during school hours • Childcare coverage of children below three as yet unquantified
As noted above, the female employment rate in December 2003 stood at 33.7% (in full-time equivalents, 29.6%). Although this has risen over the past two decades (a rise of 13.8% according to administrative data), there remains a substantial gender gap of 43.1% (in full-time equivalents). As may be noted in the chart below, while the employment rates of youth are broadly similar, they diverge in the age group 25-34, when women having their first (or second) child tend to leave the labour market. The female employment rate decreases with age. The data suggest the need for effort to (a) enable the retention of work by women having children and (b) to encourage women returners from older age groups.
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Chart 8: Employment Rates by Age and Gender
100 80 60 Men % 40 Women 20 0 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 Age Groups
In terms of age, the gender gaps are highest in the 25 – 54 age bracket (54.5%), followed by the 55 – 64 year olds (40.8%). It is relatively small in the 15 – 24 bracket (3.3%). It is highest among those with less than upper secondary education (46.9%) decreasing for those with upper secondary (23%) and tertiary (13.2%) education.
There remains a significant gender gap in self-employment: in December 2003, women’s share of all self-employment was 17.5%. 8% of all employed women are self-employed, compared to 17.1% of all men. Men are far more likely to employ others (34.6% of all male self-employed compared to 2.1% of all female self-employed).
Female unemployment currently stands at 8.2%, having risen from 5.4% in December 2000. Just under two-thirds of female unemployed are aged under 25 (63.4%) and over 45 (14.6%). Male unemployment rates are spread more evenly over the age groups. Women define their unemployment spells as being shorter than those of men: while 54.5% of unemployed men claim to have been so for twelve months and over, the same was true for only 38.6% of women.
Table 3: Unemployment by Age and Gender, December 2003
Men Women Total % % % 15 – 24 36.1 63.4 45.0 25 – 34 25.2 13.2 21.3 35 – 44 20.7 8.8 16.8 45 – 54 14.9 14.6 14.8 55 – 64 3.1 0 2.1 Source: National Statistics Office
While 96.1% of employed men work on a full-time basis, the same applies for 79.7% of women. 3.5% of women work on a full-time basis with reduced hours, an option for largely public sector employees with caring responsibilities (male equivalent 0.7%). 16.8% of women work only on a part-time basis, compared to 3.2% of male employees. The number of women working on a part-time basis only has risen five-fold since 1990. Of those female employees working on a part-time or full-time (reduced hours) basis, only one third stated that they did so as they did not want a full time job. While men work an average of 41 hours per week, women work an average of 34.
According to the Labour Force Survey of September 2003, nearly two-thirds of inactive women cite personal or family responsibilities for their inactivity (64.1%), with the next largest group citing retirement (16.4%). The two largest groups of inactive men cite retirement (55.2%) and education or training (25.7%) as reasons for inactivity.
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Children aged 3 and 4 all have access to state and non-state kindergartens and thus coverage of this age group is practically complete. However, this is only the case for six hours per day on school-days, and therefore does not offer year-long coverage for parents working on a full-time basis. Coverage of children under 3 is as yet unquantified. The extended family is the primary carer of the children of working parents in Malta, and this has attenuated the expression of need for public incentives and/or provision of childcare services. However, it is recognised that as female employment rates rise, the informal provision of childcare will lessen over time; quality, affordable childcare will be needed to cater for the increasing number of younger women in employment.
While childcare provision for the under threes is not provided in the public sector, day centres for the elderly are well-established. Twelve such centres exist around the island, some of which are run in partnership with the private sector. The elderly are also offered other services such as a Handyman service, meals on wheels and the Telecare emergency assistance system. Government also provides residential care for the elderly.
Post-obligatory education has risen sharply over the years, and almost quadrupled between 1980 and 2002. The female share of post-obligatory education has risen from 23.2% of 4,571 persons in 1980, to 49.8% of 16,284 persons in 2002. In 2002, women made up 56.9% of the University population. Women had the greatest share of the following faculties in 2002: Education (75.2%), Health Care (68.5%), Arts (66.7%), Communications (61.9%), Law (57.1%), Medicine and Surgery (56.1%) and Economics, Management and Accountancy (51.5%). They continue to be under-represented in architecture, engineering, computing, science and technology fields.
In terms of occupation, in December 2003, as a proportion of all male and female employees respectively, the share of male employment was higher than that of female employment in the category of legislators, senior officials and managers (5.6%); elementary occupations (4.7%), and crafts and trades workers (17.1%). On the other hand, the proportion of female employees is higher than that of male employees in clerical work (13.4%), services and sales (10.4%), professionals (6.9%) and technicians and associate professionals (1.6%).5
Segregation occurs in both the public and private sectors. A smaller proportion of female employees than males work in the public sector (m=34.3%, f=30.1%). Women are under-represented in top level and decision-making posts in both the public and the private sector. In 2003, women constitute 7% of senior public officials and 20% of judicial officials.
B.6.2 The Policy Response
Policy and Strategy
Government is committed to raising the female employment rate, through preventing and addressing discrimination, providing incentives for women to seek and take up work, and measures to enable a balance between work and family life. To this end, Government has promulgated the Equality for Women and Men Act, 2003. Government will, between 2004 and 2010, introduce a package of incentives to increase female labour market participation. It will also promulgate standards to regulate the provision of childcare, provide incentives to both providers and users of childcare, and will make best use of the European Social Fund to further childcare provision. A key actor in the promotion of gender equality in the labour market will be the National Commission on the Promotion of Equality between Women and Men. Its strategic priorities for the years 2004 – 2006 are to raise awareness of equality and of the Commisison itself; develop guidelines and procedures for handling complaints of discrimination; network with other entities to strengthen women’s labour market position; study the issue of gender targets; and monitor laws and collective agreements from a gender perspective. The social partners will also be actively involved in the definition and implementation of gender-related strategies.
Measures
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a. Encouraging female labour market participation
In addition to various campaigns on different media by diverse stakeholders, the ETC published its first Gender Equality Action Plan to cover the years 2002 to 2004. This Plan included a range of initiatives to encourage women to seek and take up work, especially in non-traditional areas; to retain their job through improved work-life balance; and to progress in their careers. As at June 2004, the majority of measures listed in the Plan have been implemented and are referred to in the sections below.
Efforts to encourage female labour market participation are strongly supported by the National Council of Women (NCW). In collaboration with ETC, the NCW organises a regular Empowerment Course for Women, covering a range of personal, social and occupational skills.
At present, a full-time worker or self-employed person is entitled to be taxed at a flat rate of 15% on earnings from a second job, up to earnings of Lm3,000 from the second job. It is being proposed that in the case of a couple opting to be taxed at the married rate, this 15% entitlement may be transferred in part or in whole to a spouse working on a part-time basis only – while the other spouse remains taxable at the preferential married rate. The tax system will automatically identify those cases where this new entitlement would be more preferential than both spouses being taxed at ‘single’ rates. This measure is not likely to result in lower taxes on present taxpayers but only to generate new taxable income by removing a disincentive to work, mainly in households with one breadwinner in an income bracket which is highly progressive and a second earner contemplating work for a relatively low income.
Women in the public sector have been entitled to parental leave for five years now; there exists no corresponding entitlement in the private sector. In recognition of this fact, from January 2005, women who have been inactive for at least five years will be given a one-off tax holiday in the first year of their full-time or part-time employment in the private sector.
b. Addressing segregation
To date, measures to address segregation have involved strenuous efforts to increase the number of girls taking up non-traditional career paths. Awareness raising campaigns in this regard have been implemented by the Employment and Training Corporation through various media, including printed media, radio and billboards. The Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology have also sought to increase the uptake of non-traditional courses by female students.
In 2004, the Employment and Training Corporation developed a manual on Gender-Sensitive Vocational Guidance and is conducting a training programme in this regard with all teachers responsible for guidance in schools and for personal and social development education. The ETC has also commissioned a qualitative study into the ways in which segregation is shaped in Maltese society.
The National Council of Women has submitted a project on Women Role Models under the Equal Programme with a view to increasing gender integration in Malta. If accepted, this project should run from 2005.
The University of Malta intends to start a mentoring scheme for students and staff, and to conduct information seminars with the use of role models to encourage women to break new ground. At present, there is only one female representative on the University Senate and Council, and various university committees are not gender-balanced in their representation.
c. Reconciliation of work and private life
In the past two years, the issue of balancing work and private life has achieved much greater prominence in Malta. Various seminars and campaigns have been conducted on this issue by a range of stakeholders, including the Employment and Training Corporation, the National Council of Women, and the Foundation for Human Resources Development in collaboration with the mental-health NGO the Richmond Foundation. The ETC has launched a campaign in all media on the sharing of family and professional responsibilities, in close collaboration with the National Commission for the Family and the Malta Employers’ Association. Deleted: ¶ ¶
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At present, the ETC is working on the publication of a manual on organisational good practices in the field of gender equality, due to be completed by the end of 2004. It will consist of a number of themes that employers should consider in ensuring that their organisation is gender friendly, together with a check-list of organisational practices as well as resources that the employer may utilise in this regard. Guidelines to ensure equal pay for work of equal value will feature prominently in this manual. The ETC will provide consultancy on the issue to any employer requesting assistance. After its dissemination to all private sector employers in early 2005, organisations will be invited to submit details of their best practices, which will be disseminated, and a high-level award ceremony will be held in autumn 2005.
In May 2004, the ETC launched a study on teleworking, which will identify the prerequisites for such practice to be effective in the local context. This study will address regulatory, organisational and social issues and will make recommendations for any changes necessary for teleworking to be feasible in Malta. This study is expected to be complete by June 2005.
During 2003, a Childcare Technical Committee was established within the Ministry for Social Policy to study the development of quality, affordable childcare in Malta. Childcare standards were developed and have been finalised. They have been launched for consultation, and the requisite standards will be promulgated in the timeframe of this Plan. The regulations will guarantee basic standards of childcare, incentivise and regulate market provision of childcare, and regulate the funding of childcare on a tripartite basis between government, employers and parents.
From June 2005, working parents of children aged below 3 will be granted capped assistance in the purchase of childcare services from a registered childcare provider.
d. The Social Partners
In recent years, the social partners have stepped up their efforts to promote gender equality. The two major trades unions, the General Workers’ Union (GWU) and the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin, (UHM) both organise a range of activities in this regard.
The GWU has adopted a gender mainstreaming policy within the Union, and has an advisory Female Works Committee with representatives from all sections of the Union. GWU is currently piloting a mentoring scheme to encourage female participation on committees. Through its educational foundation Fondazzjoni Reggie Miller, the GWU offers various courses to a large number of women, thus contributing to their lifelong learning and employability. The GWU also offers childcare services for Union members and for residents in the surrounding community. In 2005, the GWU will continue to run a range of courses and to provide childcare services.
The UHM also has a Gender Equality Committee with the brief to highlight areas which need to be addressed in order for women at work to enjoy equal treatment, and equal opportunity, as their male counterparts. The UHM also offers a range of courses to foster lifelong learning and employability amongst women. In 2005, the UHM will continue to run courses and provide advice to its members.
e. ESF Projects
A number of projects have been approved to promote gender equality in the labour market in Malta.
The Ministry for Health, the Elderly and Community Care have proposed a project which has been accepted for ESF funding, that aims to improve the representation of women at managerial levels in the main public hospital in Malta. The funds allocated for this project will mainly be used for the carrying out of a study on gender equality at St. Luke’s Hospital which will include an analysis of the senior management and recommendations to introduce job-sharing and flexible work arrangements. Training will then be delivered on management and gender-sensitivity. The cost of this project amounts to €85,135.
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The National Commission for the Equality between Men and Women has proposed a number of studies related to measures intended to improve gender equality. These have been accepted for ESF funding. The project will finance an evaluation study of five private companies that employ more than ten workers. The study aims to identify the benefits of family-friendly working arrangements as a basis for the sensitization exercise to be undertaken amongst the social partners. It will analyse how such measures meet the needs of both employees and employers. The responses will be used for a SWOT analysis which will assist in the identification of best practices. A training programme will be developed to produce a family-friendly model. In addition the project will consist of a gender pay review where the project applicant will undertake an equality audit and establish barriers to equal pay levels. Finally, a tracer study to follow the career path and conditions of work graduates in the labour markets and a teleworking pilot project in the Public Sector (a quantitative analysis of the systems) will also be supported. These studies will amount to €214,980.
The Employment and Training Corporation has submitted a proposal to increase female participation through childcare services at the workplace. The proposal has been approved. The project will amount to a total cost of €1 million. The project involves the training of child-carers. The funds allocated under this project will finance a foundation course of tuition on child development and child-care. The project offers in-depth discussions of child care methods and hands-on practice in a functioning child- care centre. Furthermore, the project provides for a package of incentives for companies to set up and run childcare services for their employees.
The Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology has proposed a project on promoting technology skills among women returning to the workforce; the project has been approved. The project consists of three training courses designed to provide women returnees with qualifications in IT and customer service. Entrepreneurship will also be an intricate part of the courses. On completion of the course successful trainees will be given an internationally recognised qualification. The project will amount to €294,380.
Guideline 7: Promote the integration of, and combat the discrimination against, people at a disadvantage in the labour market
This Guideline calls upon Member States to promote labour market integration. It reads as follows:
“Member States will foster the integration of people facing particular difficulties on the labour market, such as early school leavers, low-skilled workers, people with disabilities, immigrants and ethnic minorities, by developing their employability, increasing job opportunities and preventing all forms of discrimination against them.
In particular, policies will aim to achieve by 2010:
- An EU average rate of no more than 10% early school leavers;
- A significant reduction in each Member State in the unemployment gaps for people at a disadvantage, according to any national targets and definitions,
- A significant reduction in each Member State in the unemployment gaps between non-EU and EU nationals, according to any national targets.”
B.7.1 The Current Situation
The Infrastructure
As noted above, education at primary, secondary, tertiary and adult levels, falls under the responsibility of the Ministry for Education, Youth and Employment. In addition to state, Church and private primary, secondary and post-secondary schools, education is also provided by the University of Malta Deleted: ¶ and the Malta College for Arts Science and Technology. Adult training is also offered by the Institute ¶
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of Tourism Studies, the Employment and Training Corporation and a range of private sector providers. The Education Act (1988) stipulates that education is compulsory until age sixteen or the completion of secondary education. Rare exceptions may be granted where a strong case is made for withdrawing a child from school.
There is an array of statutory and nongovernmental organisations that promote the welfare of various groups. The National Commission, Persons with Disability lobbies for the rights of persons with disability, advises government and takes legal action against individuals or entities believed to breach the rights of a person with disability as per the Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability) Act of 2000. The Foundation for Social Welfare Services is a public sector, social work organisation that has a number of branches that offer services to various client groups, including a range of services for families, persons with substance abuse problems, persons in need of assistance to live independently, and refugees. An array of voluntary organisations address the needs of substance abusers, the homeless, ex-convicts, persons with mental health problems and others.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Malta has a well-developed welfare system that reduces the risk of poverty by half. It also has a rich network of civil society organisations that seek to address the needs of various disadvantaged groups.
Further work needs to be done in connection with defining disadvantaged groups and measuring the extent to which they are integrated in the labour market. This will be done in close collaboration with the team working on the NAP on social inclusion. According to stakeholder groups, there exist numerous difficulties in bringing about the labour market integration of the disadvantaged. These involve the proximity of benefits to the minimum wage; hesitation on the part of employers; the absence of comprehensive, developed services to support persons with a disability in their search for and retention of work; and generally low levels of educational attainment and training.
Key Data
The situation may be characterised as follows:
• Over two-thirds of the employed have less than upper secondary qualifications • High rate of early school-leavers (not completing higher-secondary education) • Over-representation of early school leavers in unemployment • Low participation in education and training of low-skilled workers • Low labour market participation of persons with disability
At present, a number of groups may be identified as facing disadvantages in the labour market. Youth unemployment has risen, and youth with low educational attainment are disproportionately represented on the unemployment register. According to the EU definition of early school-leavers, 48.5% of youth between 18 and 24 left school with lower secondary education or less. This is still far higher than the EU target of 10% for 2010. As noted above, schooling in Malta is only compulsory until age sixteen, and the rates of youth in post-secondary education has risen constantly in recent years. However, there remains further effort to be made to encourage young people to pursue their studies beyond lower secondary level.
As regards the low skilled, in September 2003 the LFS indicated that 69% of the employed aged 15 and over had less than upper secondary qualifications. 17.3% and 13.7% had upper secondary and tertiary qualifications respectively. It also resulted that workers aged between 25 and 64 with only primary education had a negligible participation rate (0.5%) in education or training in the weeks prior to the LFS, followed by those with lower secondary education (3.2%). The equivalent rates for those with higher secondary (13.2%) and tertiary (20.3%) education were much higher.
According to administrative data, almost four in five of the unemployed have not attained Ordinary Level (lower secondary) qualifications. 12% do hold such qualifications, while the remaining 6.6% hold post-secondary qualifications or above. The LFS indicates that only 2.6% of unemployed men, Deleted: ¶ ¶
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and 1.1% of inactive women, had participated in education or training in the weeks prior to the Labour Force Survey.
Difficulties of definition and measurement arise for disadvantaged groups such as ex-prisoners, persons with substance abuse problems and homeless persons. A law was drafted whereby recognised refugees are granted equivalent employment rights to Maltese citizens, including the right to register. However the law has not yet been enacted. Furthermore, data on the gap between the employment rate of this group and of Maltese citizens are not available.
B.7.2 The Policy Response
Policy and Strategy
For purposes of both social cohesion and economic growth, Government aims to increase the labour supply from groups with low employment rates and to enhance their employability and productivity. It recognises that groups requiring particular focus include early school leavers, the low-skilled and persons with disability. Its strategy until 2010 is, in collaboration with civil society groups, to accelerate its efforts to extend lifelong learning opportunities to these groups, to prevent and address instances of discrimination and to encourage their recruitment by private sector employers.
Measures a. Improved definition and measurement of disadvantaged groups
In October 2004, a Working Group will be set up to define disadvantaged groups in the labour market, and to establish procedures for the measurement of employment and unemployment gaps at a national level. The target is to have such measurement available for the subsequent National Action Plan. The group will be run jointly by the National Statistics Office and the Employment and Training Corporation and will involve broad consultation with stakeholders. b. Increased efforts to promote training among the low skilled and the disadvantaged
Regulation 14 of the Business Promotion Act provides for training grants to employers. These provisions were launched in February 2003. Malta Enterprise is to evaluate and amend these incentives through Legal Notice by the first quarter of 2005 and will consider whether preferential grants may be awarded where training is provided to low-skilled workers.
In 2003 and 2004, the ETC provided programmes on literacy, computing, lifeskills and entrepreneurship for persons with substance abuse problems and inmates at correctional facilities. These programmes will be maintained throughout 2005.
The Foundation for Information Technology Accessibility was established in 2002 and has since organised a number of ICT training courses together with the Malta College for Arts Science and Technology for persons with intellectual and visual impairments and persons with communication difficulties. Training will be extended to persons with hearing problems and mental health difficulties. FITA also raises awareness as to the ways in which ICT can improve the quality of life for persons with a disability, and assist with applications by disabled persons for financial assistance to purchase ICT or assistive technology for education and employment purposes. FITA are currently working on increasing awareness, and availability, of assistive technology solutions to help persons with disability at their workplace.
c. Reducing the risk for early school leavers
Young people who are given an exemption from attending school until the compulsory age of sixteen will, as from January 2005, be required to attend evening classes for one day a week over three months which will guide them on issues arising in the working world and will include, among other matters, the significance of training and the options open to them. Failure to attend these classes without Deleted: ¶ ¶
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certified reason will lead to the withdrawal of their exemption from education and the treatment of the case as truancy.
d. Reducing early school leavers’ spell in unemployment
To a large extent, this should be reduced through the re-engineered preventive and active services within ETC, referred to in Guideline 1, whereby young registrants will receive preventive measures in the fourth month of their unemployment and an active measure in their fifth. However, additional effort will be made in the case of unqualified youth to encourage them to take up a traineeship or apprenticeship course to enhance their long-term employability. School drop-outs are also most likely to be offered a Personal Adviser who will take a holistic approach to empowering such youth.
e. Preventing and addressing discrimination
All discrimination – including in employment and training – against persons with a disability is prohibited under the Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability) Act 2000, and aggrieved persons may seek the assistance of the National Commission, Persons with Disability to help seek redress through the law courts.
f. Promoting the employment of persons from disadvantaged groups
The Supported Employment Unit within the ETC assists registered unemployed persons from disadvantaged groups to seek and take up work. To do so, the Unit may utilise the Employment Training Placement Scheme (whereby the employer receives a subsidy equivalent to half the minimum wage) and the Bridging the Gap Scheme (which also provides incentives to employers to recruit and train persons with disability). In a survey in 2002, it was found that the ETPS has enjoyed a success rate of 73%, that is, two years after placement, three quarters of placed registrants were still in employment. Similar tracer studies are being conducted for Bridging the Gap scheme.
Regulation 13 of the Business Promotion Act provides for tax incentives for the recruitment of persons from certain groups. Although they were launched in February 2003, these incentives have not yet been utilised. As noted above, the Act is being reviewed, and will be made more accessible and attractive to employers.
The nongovernmental Eden Foundation runs an Ability Centre which provides training and support to persons with intellectual disability seeking work. Another nongovernmental organisation for persons with disability, Equal Partners, has since 2003 run a cooperative where seven persons with disability work alongside four able-bodied persons in the agricultural sector. The persons with disability are assured of their benefits, and the initiative is providing training and work exposure in a supported setting.
One nongovernmental organisation that addresses, among others, problems of substance abuse, Caritas Malta, visits various employers to share information on the drug rehabilitation process, to encourage their recruitment of persons who have completed a residential programme, and to advise them of the schemes and incentives they may use if they do. These activities will be kept up in 2004 and 2005. Caritas also conducts awareness raising campaigns, seeks job placements and offers group counselling and support.
Since 2001, the ETC has developed and implemented partnership agreements with these and other nongovernmental organisations, whereby these NGOs are funded on a results-basis to provide training, placement support and jobcoaching to disadvantaged persons in various categories. These include, for instance, Paolo Freire, providing literacy training, Caritas (working with substance abuse), the Eden Foundation (working with intellectual disability), and the Richmond Foundation (working with mental illness). These partnership agreements will be maintained in 2004 and 2005.
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g. Employment and Third Country Nationals
The illegal employment of immigrants is widely thought to have increased in recent years. While ETC has stepped up its enforcement efforts, these are not yet adequate to deal with the issue, and there exist health and safety concerns over the utilisation of such persons in fields such as construction. Government is reviewing its policy in this field, with the aim of being better placed to process work permits from third country nationals and to decrease the potential exploitation of illegal immigrants.
ETC launched English language courses for refugees in 2003 and will continue this programme in 2004 and 2005.
Recognised refugees and persons enjoying temporary humanitarian protection have already been granted employment licences to enable them to work in Malta. h. Use of the European Social Fund
The Employment and Training Corporation has proposed a literacy training project, which has been approved for ESF funding. The funds allocated towards this project will finance the training of illiterate persons to improve their skills base and adaptability through functional literacy programmes at ETC training centers, local councils and employers’ establishments. It will also involve the monitoring of the levels of literacy of those seeking employment and of those already in the workforce, develop training materials and provide training in functional literacy to 426 clients (142 per year). Besides, the project will involve the identification & evaluation of existing training material, administration and co- ordination of the literacy programme and recruitment of trainers. The total cost of this project amounts to €197,941.
The Employment and Training Corporation has also proposed a scheme for persons with disabilities who register as unemployed. The project has been approved for ESF funding. The aim of this project is to develop the capabilities of persons with severe disabilities through training and work exposure which leads to placement in employment. After the competence level of the individuals is assessed, individuals will be placed with employers for 8 weeks for work exposure. Individuals are further re- assessed to determine support needed and to provide individualised job matching. ETC will provide temporary and permanent support through job coaching, personal assistance and financial incentives to employers. This project will cost €793,653.
The social welfare agency Agenzija Appogg has proposed a training scheme, which has been accepted, and is aimed at unemployed persons facing social exclusion. This project will finance training with the aim of increasing the employability of persons at risk of social exclusion and assist them in the achievement of gainful occupation. The project aims to increase the participation of socially excluded persons in the labour market through the scaling up of their qualifications and the provision of assistance to retain employment. The project will upgrade the skills of those who are responsible to facilitate the integration of people at risk of social exclusion into gainful occupation. The project will cost €180,400.
Agenzija Appogg, together with the Malta Association of Women in Business, has proposed a project, which has been accepted for ESF funding, to set up ‘EdUkate’, an Education/Training/Information Centre for Disadvantaged Women. The funds for the project will be utilised to support the establishment of an education/ training /information centre that will target disadvantaged women in order to enhance, promote, encourage and motivate the active participation of disadvantaged women in socio-economic development, in preparation for employment in the labour market and public life. Funds will support training in empowerment, motivation, self-esteem, literacy, IT, vocational and up- skill courses in order to enhance the participants’ employability potential. A component of the project will also include training and advice in the planning and preparation phase of a ‘start-up’ business for self-employment and in the setting up of a business cooperative. The cost of this project will amount to €278,878.
The Student Services and International Relations Department has proposed a project, which has been accepted for ESF Funding, to train Inclusion Co-ordinators. It is aimed at teachers and persons with disabilities. The funds allocated towards this project will go towards the financing of a course for 15 teachers who will be trained to co-ordinate all the education and care necessary for students with Deleted: ¶ ¶
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special needs. During the course teachers will practice co-ordination work to the educational needs of students with special needs. The cost of this project will amount to €118,179.
Four projects have been submitted for forthcoming consideration under EQUAL. These provide for (a) a holistic package of support for young men and women leaving institutional care, in terms of housing, training and employment schemes; (b) entrepreneurship for disadvantaged groups; (c) assistance to asylum seekers and (d) gender role models.
Guideline 8: Making Work Pay
This Guideline calls upon Member States to make work pay. It reads as follows:
“Member States will reform financial incentives with a view to making work attractive and encouraging men and women to seek, take up and remain in work. In this context, Member States should develop appropriate policies with a view to reducing the number of working poor. They will review, and where appropriate reform, tax and benefit systems and their interaction with a view to eliminating unemployment, poverty and inactivity traps, and encouraging the participation of women, low-skilled workers, older workers, people with disabilities and those furthest from the labour market in employment.
Whilst preserving an adequate level of social protection, Member States will in particular review replacement rates and benefit duration; ensure effective benefit management, notably with respect to the link with effective job search, including access to activation measures to support employability, taking into account individual situations; consider the provision of in-work benefits, where appropriate; and work with a view to eliminating inactivity traps.
In particular, policies will aim at achieving by 2010 a significant reduction in high marginal effective tax rates and, where appropriate, in the tax burden on low paid workers, reflecting national circumstances.”
B.8.1 The Current Situation
The Infrastructure
Social benefits in Malta are administered by the Department for Social Security within the Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity, and contributions are collected by the Inland Revenue Department. Comment: Economic Planning The latter is also responsible for collecting income tax. The Social Security Act 1987, which has contributory and non-contributory schemes, and the Income Tax Act are the key legislative instruments. The Employment and Training Corporation maintains the unemployment register, operates demand- and supply-side schemes and is responsible to ensure that persons in receipt of benefits are not also in employment.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Tax rates on low wage earners are amongst the lowest in Europe. Entitlement to benefits, including unemployment, sickness and invalidity, is being better monitored and efforts to combat tax and benefit fraud have increased. The benefit management system has been strengthened, with improved use of information technology. Preventive measures including jobsearch assistance, profiling and guidance have been developed and improved, as have active measures.
The proximity of benefits to the minimum wage is, however, quite small particularly in the case of numerous dependents. Although a small number of groups do not lose entitlement to benefits until Deleted: ¶ ¶
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they reach minimum wage, these groups are very restricted and in-work benefits and/or tapering still do not exist.
Key Data
Indicators on the working poor, the poverty and unemployment traps, and the implicit tax rate on employed labour are not yet available for Malta.
The National Minimum Wage is topped up every year by means of an indexing mechanism based on the previous year’s inflation rate. In 2004, it stood at Lm53.88 per week or Lm2800 per annum (approximately €6800 per annum). The current income tax floors are Lm3100 for a single person or Lm4300 for a married person with a dependent spouse. The tax system has been simplified in recent years, and the following table depicts the tax rates payable at both single and married rates. As may be noted, income tax only becomes payable at 110% of the minimum wage for single people and 153% of the minimum wage for married persons with a dependent spouse.
Table 4: Income Tax Rates 2004
Single Rates Married Rates Chargeable Tax Rate Amount Chargeable Tax Rate Amount Income (multiplied by subtracted Income (multiplied by subtracted Lm income) Lm Lm income) Lm 0 – 3100 0 0 0 – 4300 0 0 3101- 4100 0.15 465 4301 – 6000 0.15 645 4101 – 5000 0.20 670 6001 – 7250 0.20 945 5001 – 6000 0.25 920 7251 – 8500 0.25 1307.50 6001 – 6750 0.30 1220 8501 – 10,000 0.30 1732.50 > 6751 0.35 1557.50 > 10,001 0.35 2232.50
Married couples may opt for joint or separate tax computations; where preference is not indicated, the Inland Revenue system automatically chooses the one that is most beneficial to the couple. Separate computations are more favourable when joint earnings exceed Lm6000 per annum. However, should the couple opt for separate computations, thereby losing entitlement to the preferential married rate, the woman has to earn in excess of Lm1200 per year in order to make good the difference.
Malta compares well on the tax-rate of low wage earners. Measuring the gross wage earnings plus employee and social security contributions as a percentage of labour costs for a low-wage earner, the rate for Malta is 17.4% compared to an EU15 average of 37.8%.
The minimum national insurance contribution payable is Lm5.39 per week, or 10% of the minimum wage (except for workers under 18, where the rate is fixed at Lm2.84 per week). When earnings exceed minimum wage, national insurance contributions are levied at 10% of the employee’s wage, and this 10% is payable by both employee and employer. The State then matches the joint contribution. National insurance contributions are capped at Lm12.98 per week for those earning at, or above, Lm129.77 per week.
In 2000, around 14.9% of the population was at the risk of poverty, living on income below 60% of the national equivalised median income. In terms of age, at greatest risk of poverty were those aged under 15 and over 65. In terms of household type, single parents with one dependent child or more are at greatest risk, a major factor being that only 16.5% of lone parents are in gainful employment. In fact, in terms of employment status, half the unemployed are at risk of poverty. Persons with disability are also at high risk of poverty, are unable to live independently on current social benefit levels and are far less likely than non-disabled persons to be in gainful employment. Children’s Allowance is payable to parents whose income does not exceed Lm10,600, or 377% the minimum wage, and is means-tested.
Unemployment benefits are available for the first six months of unemployment after which recipients pass into unemployment assistance. In 2003, this amounted to Lm30.97 per week for one-person Deleted: ¶ ¶
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households, or 58.3% of the national minimum wage. Additions are made for dependents, such that for a five-person household, benefits received amount to 84.6% of the minimum wage.
A person must register for work, right until pensionable age, in order to receive unemployment benefits. If found to be working while on benefits, current legislation empowers the ETC to strike off such a person from the Part 1 Register and to place him or her on the Part 2 Register for a period of six months, where entitlement to benefits is suspended. Such persons have the right to appeal against such a decision to the National Employment Authority which, if it finds in favour of the appellant, may require his or her return to the Part 1 register.
B.8.2 The Policy Response
Policy and Strategy
It is government policy to make work as attractive as possible for men and women, and in particular those from disadvantaged groups, while ensuring a minimum income for those unable to work. A strategic approach will be taken to this issue, whereby between 2006 and 2010, a number of reforms will be designed and introduced to ensure that the tax and benefit interaction have a favourable impact on those furthest from the labour market.
Measures a. Benefits and Employment
Generally, persons on benefits who enter work immediately lose their entitlement to same. However, in recent years, this principle has been changed for particular groups. Single unmarried parents, and persons undergoing rehabilitation from substance abuse, are now entitled to social assistance if they work, as long as the sum of their earnings and social assistance do not exceed minimum wage. The same is also true of widows and pensioners, who may work and receive their contributory pension as long as their total income does not exceed minimum wage. Widows with children under 18, however, retain entitlement to their contributory pension irrespective of the amount they earn.. Persons with a disability pension may work yet the pension received, decreases as the wage increases.
A project proposal has been submitted for ESF funding where jobseekers who have been registering for six months and more are obliged to undergo training and work placement. This scheme has been referred to under Guideline 1. The TEES scheme is intended both to increase employability and to transform undeclared work.
A Welfare Reform Commission was set up in 1999 to review the adequacy and sustainability of the pension system in Malta. In the light of demographic and fiscal issues, its first priority has been to address the pension system, and a final report is due in late 2004. Government’s next task will be to address the issue of Making Work Pay. Between October 2004 and June 2005, Government will establish how to remove the obstacles to (a) the labour market integration of people living on social security; persons with family responsibilities; persons with health problems; and older persons; as well as (b) obstacles to mobility between jobs; between employment statuses; and between employment and study. Government will also study the feasibility of providing in-work benefits, of enforcing the requirement to undergo active measures while in receipt of social benefits and of introducing a system of partial invalidity.
b. Encouraging female employment
Incentives to increase female employment have been referred to under Guideline 6 above. They include measures to help with the costs of using regulated childcare; removal of tax distortions on secondary earners; and a one-time incentive for women returners who have not benefited from recent parental leave opportunities.
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c. Persons with Disability
Measures to promote the take-up of employment by persons with disability were referred to under Guideline 7.
d. Demand-side Schemes
These were referred to under Guideline 1 above and are being improved and extended in terms of their incentives for employers. e. Enforcement
Potential abuse of invalidity benefits is being controlled. Since 2004, all applicants for such benefits are assessed by an independent medical panel. From January 2005, entitlement to invalidity benefits will be reviewed bi-annually by means of an extensive medical report. There has also been a tightening of eligibility to sickness benefits. Efforts to eradicate the fraudulent receipt of unemployment benefits have also been stepped up, and sanctions have been strengthened. f. Pension Reform
As noted in Guideline 5, changes to the pension calculation formula are being envisaged, with the objective, among others, to strengthen persons’ incentive to declare their work with a view to improved pension entitlement.
Guideline 9: Transforming Undeclared Work into Regular Employment
This Guideline calls on Member States to address undeclared work. It reads as follows:
“Member States should develop and implement broad actions and measures to eliminate undeclared work, which combine simplification of the business environment, removing disincentives and providing appropriate incentives in the tax and benefits system, improved law enforcement and the application of sanctions. They should undertake the necessary efforts at national and EU level to measure the extent of the problem and progress achieved at national level.”
B.9.1 The Current Situation
The Infrastructure
The three main entities involved are the Inland Revenue Department, the Department for Social Security and the Employment and Training Corporation. The Inland Revenue Department implements the Income Tax Act and is responsible for revenue collection as regards personal and corporate tax and social security contributions. The Department for Social Security within the Ministry for Social Policy operates the Social Security Act 1987 which has both contributory and non-contributory arms. The Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) has the mandate, under the Employment and Training Services Act 1990, to maintain a register of persons in employment and of those seeking employment. Employers are obliged at law to submit engagement and termination forms to ETC when recruiting or releasing employees.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Tax on low wage earners is low; at 15.2 in 2002, this stood at less than half the EU15 average of 37.8%. The need to simplify the business environment is well accepted and measures to this effect are gradually being implemented. Revenue collection and law enforcement, particularly with regard to benefit fraud, has been strengthened. Deleted: ¶ ¶
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However, the extent of undeclared work in Malta has not been measured, although generally believed to be significant in a number of trades and services. Furthermore, a comprehensive strategy to transform undeclared work, particularly by means of reform of tax and benefit interaction, has not been drawn up. The complement of employment inspectors within the public employment services has almost halved, with a consequent drop in the number of infringements identified. Competencies in investigation and reporting need to be strengthened.
Key Data
In Malta, it is generally believed that undeclared work occurs among men and women, employed and unemployed, though among men it is most likely to occur in construction and trades, while among women it is more likely to occur in crafts and in personal and domestic services. Both men and women are thought to undertake undeclared work in the hospitality and catering sectors.
With regard to law compliance, in recent years the number of infringements detected among persons whose employment is unreported, or who have been found working and registering for employment has come down considerably. However, this largely reflects a decreased complement of law compliance inspectors within the Employment and Training Corporation. The following table indicates infringements by category for the years 1999/2000 to 2002/2003 in absolute figures:
Table 5: Employment Infringements
Infringements processed by 1999 – 2000 2000 - 2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 ETC Law Compliance Unit Unreported employment 2,878 1,558 1,191 1,316 Working while registering 728 534 373 215 Employment of foreigners 161 77 46 96 Employment of minors 134 37 6 11 Source: ETC Annual Report 2003
B.9.2 The Policy Response
Policy and Strategy
Government intends to reduce the incidence of undeclared work. It will follow a five-pronged strategy to do so. Efforts will be made to make formal work more attractive, to reduce the administrative burden for employers and to combat labour market rigidity. Efforts will also be made to measure undeclared work using reliable methods. Mechanisms to control undeclared work will continue to be strengthened.
Measures a. Definition and Measurement
Direct methods to estimate undeclared work, when carried out in a comprehensive and sensitive manner, are generally thought to be the best way to gather reliable and valid information on undeclared work. In the second half of 2005, a direct survey will be launched among Maltese households to obtain estimates of the magnitude of employment in full-time equivalents that derives from the undeclared economy.
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b. Co-ordinated Enforcement
The Law Compliance Unit of the ETC has established a network including the Tax Compliance Unit, the Value Added Tax Department, the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit and the Commissioner of Police. In 2003, the Law Compliance Unit launched a freephone service for reporting illegal employment. In 2004 it launched a billboard campaign for the same purpose. Furthermore, the Unit forwards a list of employment infringements to the Department of Social Security for further investigation. On a monthly basis, the ETC also submits medical certificates received from unemployed persons as reason for non-registration, to the Department of Social Security for further investigation.
At present, the Employment and Training Services Act 1990, which defines the rights and obligations of employers and the unemployed as well as the processes to be followed by both, is being revised to ensure, inter alia, greater transparency and efficiency in the control of work during unemployment
c. Strengthening of Law Enforcement
With effect from October 2004, the staff complement in the Law Compliance Unit within the public employment service will be increased from six to ten inspectors. This is intended to bring about greater detection of infringements. Furthermore, in 2005, all Law Compliance Officers will be trained in investigative and reporting skills. Administrative co-ordination between control authorities in various Ministries will be reinforced.
A proposal will be drawn up by January 2005 on how best to streamline the inspectorates responsible for tax compliance, employment and occupational health and safety, with the possibility of consolidating and strengthening these inspectorates into one Compliance Agency.
d. Sanctions
The current penalty of Lm25 per employer found to employ persons without declaring their employment – irrespective of the number of persons employed – will be raised significantly, and made payable per irregular employee. This will come into force from January 2005. On payment of the fine, the employer will be compelled to regularise the employee’s situation by filling the ETC engagement form.
e. Fiscal Measures
As per Guideline 6 above, the 15% tax rate privilege for part-time workers will be made transferable to those spouses working on a part-time basis only, encouraging such second-earner spouses to move into the formal economy.
f. Awareness Raising
ETC will, in 2005, be conducting a campaign to inform workers of their rights and responsibilities in terms of declaring employment, as well as the implications of not doing so in terms of related issues such as social security contributory records and entitlement to other benefits at law.
Guideline 10: Address Regional Employment Disparities
Member States are called upon to address regional employment disparities. This Guideline reads as follows: Deleted: ¶ ¶
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“Member States should implement a broad approach towards reducing regional employment and unemployment disparities. The potential for job creation at the local level, including the social economy, should be supported and partnerships between all relevant actors should be encouraged. Member States will:
- promote favourable conditions for private sector activity and investment in regions lagging behind,
- ensure that public support in regions lagging behind is focused on investment in human and knowledge capital, as well as adequate infrastructure.
The potential of the Cohesion and Structural Funds and the European Investment Bank should be fully exploited.”
B.10.1 The Current Situation
The Infrastructure
Gozo is a separate region at the NUTS III level. A Ministry for Gozo was introduced in 1987 to co- ordinate government functions in Gozo and to promote the island’s development.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Gozo has a unique cultural and historical heritage and strong traditions in artisan and agricultural products. Gozo has great potential in terms of niche markets for these products and for an improved tourist product. Gozitan workers are generally believed to be hard-working, creative and multi-skilled. Although manufacturing has been hit hard in Gozo in recent years, growth has occurred in areas like food manufacturing, construction and market services.
Gozo’s GDP per capita was 31.6% of the EU15 in 2000. In 2002, a Special Needs Assessment was carried out for Gozo. The development of employment in Gozo is constrained by its small geographical size and working age population. Gozo suffers from double insularity, being on the periphery of Malta, and access to Gozo from Malta is limited and discontinuous. Transport costs for manufacturers bringing produce to Malta are relatively high. Manufacturing in Gozo employs around 6% less than Malta, and is mainly low-technology. In 2003/4, unemployment in Gozo has risen, due to the closure of a number of manufacturing concerns. Gozo’s tourism sector is under-developed and, like Malta’s, is highly seasonal. Despite the greater constraints faced by Gozitan firms, the Business Promotion Act does not offer preferential incentives.
Key Data on Gozo
• High public sector share of employment at 45% • Registered unemployment of 8.9% compared to 6% in Malta (administrative data) • High illiteracy rates (10% in Census 1995)
B.10.2 The Policy Response
Policy and Strategy
All measures referred to in Guidelines 1 to 9 also apply to Gozo. It is Government policy to assist in the economic, social and cultural development of Gozo while allowing maximal autonomy to the Ministry for Gozo. It will pursue a strategy of stimulating job creation, raising levels of knowledge and skills among business and employees alike, and minimising the costs of double insularity.
It is also Government policy to provide a holistic package of services to help enhance the Cottonera region and the opportunities and well-being of its inhabitants. Deleted: ¶ ¶
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Measures a. A Stakeholder Approach
The Ministry for Gozo works to a Business Plan and consults stakeholders individually on its implementation and monitoring. The Ministry’s Management Committee seeks to enable and promote the work of key stakeholders, including the Gozo Business Chamber, the Gozo Tourism Association, the NGO Association and the Association of Co-operatives in the Agricultural Sector. The Ministry has also set up a number of Councils to consolidate and develop strategy. These include the Vocational Training Council, the Health Council, the Sports Council and the Cultural Council. In 2005, the Employment and Training Corporation will collaborate with the Ministry for Gozo to develop a Training Needs Analysis for these Councils.
b. Regional Committee
In 2004, a Regional Committee was set up in Gozo to oversee the implementation of structural funds projects in Gozo as well as to develop a co-ordinated strategy for the island. It is chaired by the Minister for Gozo and includes representatives from a wide range of stakeholders.
c. Business Promotion
Together with Malta Enterprise, the Ministry for Gozo and the Regional Committee are studying the possibility of additional incentives under the Business Promotion Act which may mitigate the additional cost of insularity borne by Gozitan businesses, for instance, relating to transport of goods and the accommodation of non-Gozitan workers employed in Gozo. Also being studied is the possibility of extending assistance to the self-employed and to partnerships, as at present, only companies may benefit under the Act. All efforts are being made to attract investment in sectors such as ICT where the double-insularity of Gozo is least felt.
Malta Enterprise has inaugurated a centre in Gozo to help Gozitan entrepreneurs, as well as to provide training and workshop facilities for businesses in Gozo.
Gozo is different from Malta as a tourist experience and is marketed both as part of the archipelago and as a specific product. Work in this direction is being conducted by the Malta Tourism Authority. MTA, in its marketing, includes Gozo in the promotional activities it undertakes. Furthermore, MTA organises specific press trips to Gozo. Malta Enterprise will also encourage and assist business in Gozo to brand and promote their products.
d. European Structural Funds
Best use will be made of the Structural Funds to promote the development of Gozo. Priority Axis 4 of the Single Programming Document relates to the Regional Distinctiveness of Gozo. It provides for two key measures:
• Development of the basic infrastructure and the development of the tourism sector, which are aimed to upgrade transport infrastructure; support niche markets in tourism; and upgrade education centres in Gozo (ERDF;
• Activities to improve the employability, adaptability and skills of human resources in Gozo through training investment and the addressing of gender equality issues (ESF).
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e. The Public Employment Service
The Employment and Training Corporation recently commissioned a report on tailoring public employment services to the needs of Gozo. By early 2005, the recommendations of this report will be reviewed and a strategic plan will be drawn up for PES activity in Gozo. This will include, amongst others, a refocusing of training to meet the needs of Gozo, the provision of professional guidance services, and the improvement of enforcement with respect to unemployment benefits.
f. Mainstreaming the Regional Perspective
The Regional Committee will, in 2005, develop guidelines for all Government entities to enable the latter to conduct a regional impact assessment in their policy making and programme design.
g Improved Information to Business
A branch of the Small Business and Crafts Directorate will be set up in Gozo to disseminate knowledge and provide advice to small firms in Gozo. This Branch Directorate will also be responsible to consult Gozitan firms with a view to understanding the experienced impact of regulations and to capture their suggestions to improve the business environment in Gozo.
Firms in Gozo will also have improved access to information on issues relating to EU membership, particularly on matters such as subsidies on the transport of goods.
h. ESF Projects
The General Workers’ Union has submitted a training proposal that has been accepted for ESF funding. It aims to benefit the Gozitan public in general, through the provision of training courses at the Union’s office in Gozo. It complements an ERDF project which provides for the installation of equipment and computers to be used in the training. This project will amount to €2,000.
The Ministry for Gozo, together with the ETC Gozo Branch, has proposed various training schemes aimed at the unemployed, the labour force and SMEs in Gozo. The project has been approved. The cost of the project will amount to €260,071. The funds allocated will support five actions:
Graduate Scheme – this scheme will provide unemployed graduates with employment opportunities with Gozitan SMEs. Through this scheme the participants will gain training and work experience. Support to Small Businesses – This initiative provides for a training consultant to analyse the situation of ten SMEs. Following the analysis, a training plan will be drawn up. Foster Entrepreneurial Skills – this scheme will provide the necessary stimulus for those unemployed who wish to set up their own business. The participants will undergo training and will be assisted to draw up a business plan. A grant will be provided to successful business plans. Hospitality Skills – courses for the hospitality industry including courses in food preparation and production, food and beverage service, bartending and housekeeping. Customer Service Training Courses – this training will target employed and unemployed people who would like to acquire new skills to improve their job prospects.
The Ministry for Gozo, together with the Gozo Centre for Arts and Crafts, has submitted a training proposal entitled Crafts Courses for Sustainable Careers in Gozo. The project is aimed to benefit the unemployed, youths, semi- and unskilled workers, and is expected to amount to a total cost of €137,205. The allocated funds will increase vocational education in Gozo. A total of fifteen new courses will be introduced and these courses will be spread over three scholastic years thus five new courses will be introduced every year. The duration of each course will be 200 hours (140 hours related to crafts and 60 hours related to business skills). The aim of these courses is to train students to become highly skilled crafts-persons. This will be achieved through the use of the latest equipment available in Deleted: ¶ ¶
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the field thus nurturing the traditional art and crafts, while introducing modern work practices and techniques to make such operations feasible in today’s competitive work environment.
The Ministry for Gozo, together with the University’s Gozo Centre, has submitted a training proposal which has been accepted for ESF funding. It aims to benefit the unemployed, semi skilled/unskilled workers, women who wish to return to the labour market, persons with special needs and youth who want to join the labour force. The funds will support human resource development particularly addressing demand and supply mismatches of the Gozitan labour market with a view to increasing the employment rate in Gozo. The project proposes to set up the Vocational Education Programme (VEG- UGC) which will focus on agricultural studies, e-commerce and information technology, environment planning and management, and business studies. A total of 8 courses (2 on each subject) will be offered over a period of three academic years. Each course will spread over an academic year and lectures will be held on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. The project will amount to €93,523.
The Ministry for Gozo has submitted a project that has been approved, to set up the Gozo Educational and Training Foundation. The GET Foundation will consist of representatives of the six Gozitan institutions offering vocational training (i.e. Gozo University Centre, Gozo Centre for Tourism Studies, Association of Gozo Agriculture Co-operatives, Gozo Centre for Art and Crafts, MCAST Gozo Centre and ETC Gozo Branch). It aims to benefit the unemployed, semi skilled and unskilled workers and people who wish to return to the labour market. The proposal involves two components: a study that will evaluate the feasibility of the Gozo Educational and Training (GET) Foundation set-up, the actual setting-up of the GET Foundation and the administrative work generated. This project will amount to a cost of €17,410.
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Section C. Governance and Partnership
The National Action Plan (NAP) will henceforth be a key instrument in the development, monitoring and evaluation of employment policy, and a broad range of stakeholders will be involved in these tasks. The capacity of the Employment and Training Corporation will be strengthened, particularly as regards its tasks to co-ordinate the drafting of the NAP, in liaison with a consultative committee, and to co- ordinate the monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes. ETC will co-ordinate its work closely with the entities responsible for developing and monitoring action plans in the areas of social inclusion and pensions.
The capacity of key delivery services – including the public employment service, education and training providers, and other entities with responsibilities concerning labour market service provision and/or regulation – will be strengthened and evaluated for effectiveness and efficiency on a regular basis. The financial resources allocated to measures indicated in the NAPs will be adequate for their successful and timely implementation. NAPs will be reviewed by a Parliamentary body in the autumn of every year.
The following sections account for the development of the NAP 2004.
C.1 NAP 2004 - Key Contributions from the Main Actors
Preparation of the NAP
The NAP 2004 was developed in three key phases. Phase One involved research, preliminary consultation and drafting. This phase commenced in February 2004, after Cabinet endorsement of the proposed process. In the first instance, a Core Committee was set up, under the chairmanship of the Minister for Education, Youth and Employment, to discuss the NAP as it evolved and to make suggestions and recommendations according to committee members’ field of responsibility. The Core Committee included high-level representatives from the Ministries of Education, of Social Policy, and Finance and Economic Services, as well as from the National Statistics Office, from Malta Enterprise and from the Malta Tourism Authority, and an independent expert from the private sector. Also in attendance as observers were representatives of the Education Division and of the Malta Environment Planning Authority. The Employment and Training Corporation was responsible for consultation and drafting.
In this first phase, the major social partners and civil society groups were consulted as to their opinions on the most pressing issues; the measures they have taken or have planned with regard to the guidelines; and measures they believe necessary from other entities. The NAP was then drafted.
Cabinet accepted the first draft NAP for purposes of consultation in July 2004. In early August, the NAP was launched for consultation among a wide range of stakeholders. These were asked to provide their comments and suggestions by no later than 24th September 2004. After receiving feedback, feasible amendments were made, and the others are appended to this document and will be closely studied in the course of preparing NAP 2005. The document was submitted to the European Commission by the Minister responsible for employment on the 1st October 2004. The document was submitted with a parliamentary reservation, as the document remained subject to Parliamentary scrutiny after it reconvenes in October 2004.
Implementation of the NAP – Social Partners and Employment Service
The social partners’ involvement in the NAP process to date has been outlined above, that is, in the first phase, hosting the drafting team and making verbal suggestions and representations as to the priorities to be addressed in the NAP and any measures they have taken or planned in support of the European Employment Strategy. In the second phase, a meeting was held with the social partners within the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, to present the draft NAP and solicit feedback. While the NAP was generally well received by the social partners, no written feedback was submitted.
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With regard to the issue of partnership between the public authorities and the social partners on the implementation of the Guidelines and Priorities, this partnership occurs at a number of levels. The social partners are key actors in the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD), and are represented on a number of committees within it, for instance, the Welfare Reform Commission and the Competitiveness Committee. They are represented in the Board of Governors of the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology, as well as the Board of Directors of the Employment and Training Corporation (though not ex ufficio in the latter case). Civil society is also represented by way of a Committee within MCESD. At a more operational level, the social partners are frequent contributors to the development, and evaluation, of schemes and services offered by the ETC. They are also themselves providers of training; both the major trades unions offer training to members and non-members alike on a wide variety of subjects, and the employers’ associations also provide training to their members, mostly on business-related and regulatory issues.
The public employment service’s involvement in the NAP has been referred to throughout this document. This year it has been responsible to draft the NAP and consult in this regard. It has conducted a major re-engineering of its employment and training services to meet the targets in Guideline One. It has strengthened its IT capacity to support the implementation of client processes, and to facilitate the submission and acquisition of information by employers and jobseekers alike. New preventive services have been introduced, such as a Vocational Guidance Unit and improved Jobsearch Skills Training, and activation schemes have been extended and improved. Its recently established Research and Development Unit has been refocused to meet the need for monitoring and evaluation of services and schemes, and an EU Affairs Unit has been set up to support the operational divisions in their implementation of ESF and other EU projects, and to screen and respond to employment and training documentation.
C.2 Use of Structural Funds especially ESF
As noted above, thirty project proposals from various entities have been approved for funding under the ESF. These projects fall under five broad measures:
Measure 2.1 Employability and Adaptability €6,150,862 Measure 2.2 Gender Equality €1,594,495 Measure 2.3 Lifelong learning and social inclusion €3,459,447 Measure 4.2 Regional Distinctiveness (Gozo) € 508,209 Measure 5.2 ESF Technical Assistance € 450,000
The projects under measures 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 4.2 have been referred to under the appropriate guideline. With respect to Measure 5.2, funds will be made available under the ESF for Training and Technical Assistance in connection with the utilisation of the ESF. This assistance will be implemented by the ESF Unit and the EU Affairs Directorate and is intended to benefit the Managing Authority and ESF- related bodies. The funds for this project will be used for various actions related to monitoring, management, evaluation, control, information and publicity of the Single Programming Complement 2004-2006. The project will include also activities such as studies, exchange of information and expertise, installation, operation and interconnection of computer system. Funds allocated will also be used to strengthen the ESF Final Beneficiaries in providing labour market related assistance to the ESF target groups. This assistance will amount to a cost of €450,000.
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Appendix A. Core Committee and Consultees
NAP Core Committee:
Chairperson: Minister for Education, Youth & Employment Members: Director General, National Statistics Office Director General, Economic Planning Division Director, Ministry of Finance Personal Assistant to Minister for Social Policy Policy Co-ordinator, Ministry of Education Senior Manager (Strategic Planning & Research) Malta Tourism Authority General Manager (Strategy), Employment & Training Corporation Private sector representative Observers: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education Policy Consultant, Ministry of Education Director General, Education Division Economic Consultant, Ministry of Education Manager (Strategic Planning) Malta Environment & Planning Authority Policy Co-ordinator, Ministry for Social Policy
Drafting Team: Employment and Training Corporation
Consultation Phase:
In August 2004, draft copies of the NAP were sent to 500 stakeholders, which included members of the following categories. Their written feedback was requested by 24th September 2004: the feedback received has been summarised thematically and annexed to this report.
• Members of Parliament • Maltese Members of the European Parliament • Malta Council for Economic and Social Development • Constituted Bodies • Government Ministries • Commissions, Committees and Authorities • Wide range of Civil Society organisations • Local Councils • Media • General Public, through website
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Appendix B: Acronyms
BEPGs Broad Economic Policy Guidelines BPA Business Promotion Act EES European Employment Strategy ETC Employment and Training Corporation LFS Labour Force Survey MCAST Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology MCESD Malta Council for Economic and Social Development MCST Malta Council for Science and Technology MEPA Malta Environment Planning Authority MEYE Ministry for Education, Youth and Employment MPVQAC Malta Professional and Vocational Qualifications Awards Council NAPemp National Action Plan on Employment
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Appendix C: Feedback received post-consultation
Acronyms of entities submitting feedback/proposals
Feedback was submitted to NAP team in written format except for those taken from the media as indicated below:
CB Cooperatives Board CEER Centre for Environmental Education and Research FC Frans Camilleri (The Times, 07.09.04) FITA Foundation for Information Technology Accessibility GBC Gozo Business Chamber GIC Gender Issues Committee, University of Malta GM George Mangion (Malta Business Weekly 26.08.04) GWU General Workers’ Union (The Times, 17.08.04) IM Il-Mument editorial, 22.08.04 JAFA J. Abela Fitzpatrick and Associates JG John Gauci, ETC KNPD National Commission, Persons with Disability KNZ National Youth Council KSU Council of University Students LPKC Labour Party MP & spokesperson for employment Karl Chircop (Business Weekly 19.08; Times, 07.09; Independent 07.09.04) LPMC Labour Party MP & spokesperson for social affairs Marielouise Coleiro (Orizzont, 24.09.04) MBB Malta Business Bureau MEA Malta Employers’ Association (The Times, 17.08.04) MITI Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology MJHA Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs MNPN Women’s Movement, Nationalist Party NCPE National Commission for the Promotion of Equality NCW National Council of Women NCSD National Council for Sustainable Development POU Physical Oceanography Unit, University of Malta RF Richmond Foundation TMI The Malta Independent, Editorial 22.08.04 UHM Unjoni Haddiema Maghqudin (Times 17.08.04) WPDC Workers’ Participation Development Centre
General Comments
The draft NAP was generally well received, by the media, in seminars held with the social partners and the public, and in the written comments received from various individuals and entities. It was particularly welcomed in terms of the opportunity that the NAP process offers for the consensual development of coherent labour market policies and targets. However, a number of critical points were also made; this Appendix is dedicated to presenting a summary of these critical points with a view to their closer consideration in this year’s NAP (where feasible) and in next year’s NAP.
The perspective of the NAP is short-term and not comprehensive enough on its own to ensure effective, national long-term planning (FITA, MBB).
“The document has a structural defect that runs throughout. It repeatedly fails to analyse problems and quantify either the targets being set, the resources to be allocated or the results to be achieved. This will have ongoing repercussions that will affect the credibility of this and subsequent plans.” (MBB)
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“Solutions will not be found solely by addressing employment issues but by addressing social and cultural issues which have been ingrained in the Maltese way of life for centuries and which form part of the Maltese identity” (MNPN).
The NAP should address the issue of sustainable development, exploring the possibilities for environmentally friendly job creation and green jobs (NCSD).
“While it is important to place emphasis on gender and those aged between 55 and 64, we are concerned about the fact that other categories are not being given importance. Persons who are suffering from mental illness are one such category” (RF)
“The National Commission, Persons with Disability firmly believes that, for the right of disabled persons to employment to be fully realised, disability issues have to be mainstreamed in the way, for example, that gender issues are. This means that, for any measures taken or projects planned, the principle of reasonable accommodation for disabled persons is an integral part of the planning process. It also means that overviews about the general employment situation makes reference to disabled persons, as well as other population sectors who are at particular risk of exclusion from the labour market.” (KNPD)
Overview and Objectives 1 to 3:
Targets are too low (MBB; FC), and they should include targets for disabled persons (KNPD).
Job creation efforts are necessary for Plan to succeed (UHM).
Need to coordinate NAP with Social Pact currently being developed (MEA, GRTU) and with Convergence Plan (GRTU).
There is duplication between NAPs employment and inclusion (MBB)
Should include reference to the employment situation of disabled persons, especially compared to the general population (KNPD, FITA)
Should address the poverty and unemployment traps better, for instance, as faced by persons with disability (KNPD) and persons with mental health problems (RF).
The notion of health and safety should be expanded to incorporate stress, which is increasing and should be addressed (RF).
University of Malta should feature as a key measure under Strategy 1 (KSU).
The National Youth Council (KNZ) reacts positively to the general vision and direction of the National Action Plan for Employment and is generally in line with the National Youth Policy. Measures which support entrepreneurship are welcome and ought to be fully supported as means of increasing young people’s employability by offering them hands-on experience. NAP on employment does not target specifically the problem of graduate unemployment.
Guideline 1:
To consider whether employers may be subsidised or compensated when they employ ex-prison inmates; youths on probation; people with physical or mental disabilities; single parents (MITI).
Graduate unemployment needs focusing upon. A tracer study of university graduates conferred with degrees in November 2002 showed that 6% of them were unemployed in March 2003. Unemployment was above this average among graduates of the arts, communications, commerce, law and psychology. More recently unemployment has risen amongst graduates in education and in medical-related fields. Deleted: ¶ It is important for University to render students more employable and to focus more on helping them ¶
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apply theory to practice. ETC should help find jobs for graduates, especially during the summer or on a part-time, year-round basis. ETC should enhance its capture, and promotion, of jobs for graduates (KSU)
Need to evaluate employment schemes and make findings visible (MBB)
Need to include reference to disabled persons (KNPD).
Should develop a scheme promoting access to employment through technology, for persons with disability (FITA)
Should pay more attention to those made redundant, or at risk of redundancy, in the manufacturing sector (WPDC)
Need to address better the needs of the long-term unemployed with mental health problems (RF).
Employers should be encouraged to train unexperienced youth to break the no experience-no job cycle (MNPN)
Need to ensure that ETC has the funds to reach the targets specified in the plan (LPKC)
To improve awareness raising of job vacancies and opportunities, for instance, on community television channels (MITI).
Guideline 2:
The flourishing of the private sector, and job creation therein, requires greater public sector retrenchment from the economy. This is happening too slowly. Privatisation should be accelerated (MBB).
Needs greater focus on how jobs will be created (LPKC). Document should be more clear about the sectors which should be strengthened and how this is to happen (NCSD). More emphasis should be placed on the tourism sector (MITI, MBB) and the potential of the marine sector for job creation should also be explored (POU).
No pragmatic entrepreneurship measures in plan; more initiatives are needed to stimulate female entrepreneurship; consideration should be given to introducing entrepreneurship as an academic subject (MBB) possibly on a compulsory basis throughout secondary and post-secondary education (FC). The document needs to address making it easier for unemployed persons to start their own business MNPN).
Cooperatives offer an excellent solution to some of the problems of a free market, and can help integrate women and disadvantaged groups because they offer ‘space’ and flexibility. More cooperation is needed between ETC, NCW, educational institutions and entities dealing with cooperatives to make them flourish and become more feasible for disadvantaged groups and also for graduates (CB).
Should extend the possibility for a 15% flat tax rate to self-employed women aged over forty, to be levied on their net profits after depreciation, as an incentive for female entrepreneurship (JG).
Needs greater focus on access to credit; micro-financing opportunities should be introduced (NCW, MNPN).
Need to train Government employees to simplify their bureaucratic procedures (MNPN).
Need more educational outreach re provisions of Business Promotion Act (NCW), and need to set more definitive timeframes for BPA revision (MBB). The BPA should offer more fiscal incentives to the private sector to train and employ women, and for entrepreneurship among young adults and women over forty (NCW). Deleted: ¶ ¶
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Need to introduce real regulatory impact assessments (MBB)
The document does not give enough importance to research, technological development and science and technology in general (POU); more investment is needed in R&D in both the public and private sectors (NCW). The education system should encourage R&D as a career and as a basis for job creation (NCW).
Need to upgrade the infrastructure in industrial areas, and ensure that transport is adequate (NCW).
Should address persons with disabilities. Might consider, for instance, attaching financial assistance to companies to the extent to which they involve disabled persons (FITA).
Government should assist NGO’s to set up ‘social firms’ (RF).
Guideline 3:
Document fails to show sufficiently, or to tackle, the fact that the public sector is overmanned; public sector employment should stop except for specialist positions, and civil service productivity should be more closely studied (MEA, TMI)
Need to work harder on restructuring; to study the reasons for low competitiveness, lack of foreign investment and job loss in manufacturing (LPKC).
Need to accelerate privatisation (MBB); work should be stepped up to redeploy excess workers (GM) and legal amendments are necessary to facilitate such redeployment (MNPN); Plan should encourage more private-public partnerships (NCW).
Need to accelerate capacity building in the Public Sector as well as training for new work organisation (NCW).
Need to establish how White Paper on Public Service Reform will be taken forward (MBB)
Need to develop the infrastructure for temping agencies (NCW), and to enable new forms of work organisation like flexible hours, jobsharing and teleworking (MITI, NCW). Working from home may be encouraged, not only for factory piece-work but also for clerical and other such tasks (MITI).
Need for improved transport for employees, for instance, round-route buses in peripheral areas (MITI).
Needs to address the promotion of higher-level jobs to make best use of the rise in post-compulsory education; should also explore Call Centre possibilities (WPDC).
Should better explain the situation (FITA), and address the needs, of disabled persons; for instance, the manual being prepared for employers to create gender-friendly organisations may be paralleled by a similar one addressing the requirements of Council Directive 2000/78/EC (KNPD).
Reference to the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development should also include the MCESD Civil Society Committee. NAP should show intention for stronger civil dialogue, and to create the infrastructure to regulate NGOs (NCW).
Should encourage widespread use of suggestion boxes at workplaces (MITI).
To encourage work experiences abroad for human resources personnel in the public and private sectors (MITI).
Guideline 4:
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Need to accelerate MPVQAC work (MBB; LPMC)
Document should refer to EUROPASS and should provide for a suitable national agency to implement the related functions (KSU).
Need to assure entry of all students wishing to pursue vocational training at Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (LPMC)
Document should refer to the university’s obligations as per the Bologna Process to begin offering a diploma supplement (based on the UNESCO model) free of charge to all students as of 2005 (KSU).
Need to be more clear about how skills mismatches will be addressed (MBB)
Need to render education and training more attractive in order to motivate low skilled employees (MNPN, NCW)
Need to ensure that individuals are given training opportunities on sustainable development, in a small island state where size and density magnify the impact of decisions. The Centre for Environmental Education and Research is able to provide expertise and training (CEER)
Further education must be made more accessible to people with disabilities. It must be ensured that the new education and training initiatives are accessible by all (KNPD). For instance, web and multimedia authoring courses for teachers should incorporate basics of ICT accessibility (FITA).
Need to foster better education-industry links (MNPN), possibly to include temporary work placements and on-the-job training especially in the case of science and engineering courses at tertiary level (MBB). Need to revamp summer workphase system for university students (KSU). Need to study the possibility of apprenticeships for university students (KSU).
Need to strengthen Guidance and Counselling services within the Education Division (MNPN) and also for tertiary level students; need an ETC office on University campus (KSU)
Should encourage study leave for persons studying in an area related to their job, with however the possibility of terminating employment if ‘desired results’ are not achieved (MITI).
University regulations to be amended to allow students (subject to eligibility) to migrate freely between courses during the first month of their studies to make sure that they choose the best course for them (KSU).
Need to put quality assurance mechanisms into place for university courses (KSU).
Need to urgently address the funding situation at the University (KSU).
Guideline 5:
FOI states that retirement age is 52.7 not 57.7 (MBB)
Guideline 5 is underdeveloped (MBB)
Need to state clearly whether early retirement will be eliminated once and for all (MBB)
Need for an educational campaign on active ageing, among both employers and employees. Employees to be encouraged to adopt new work practices instead of early retirement, and employers to invest in training of older workers (MNPN).
Need for further research into aspects of demographic change, especially as regards the impact of economic and financial policy; work and employment; elderly people’s everyday lives; the social and Deleted: ¶ ¶
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spatial environment; lifelong learning; maintaining a healthy life and care requirements; and new technologies (NCW).
Reference to the Immigration Act is incorrect. What was published on 30th April 2004 are the Immigration Regulations (issued in terms of the Immigration Act Cap 217) by means of Legal Notice No. 205 of 2004. Also, only EU Nationals have the right to work in Malta. Third country nationals, unless spouses of Maltese citizens, need a work permit (MJHA).
Guideline 6:
Need to ensure that a gender equality policy and sexual harassment policy are implemented and monitored in all work-places through the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality for Men and Women (NCW). All recruitment processes are to be gender-neutral (MITI).
Compulsory overtime for women with children of primary school age should be prohibited (MITI).
Need to introduce pre- and after-school childcare in harmony with working hours (NCW). Men are to be encouraged to make use of parental leave (NCW). Childcare is necessary, but childcare regulations will make it expensive for such facilities to operate (MBB). It is important that the proposed regulations allow for affordable childcare, encouraging current providers to upgrade their services while not acting as a disincentive (NCW). Should explore possible public-private partnerships in childcare provision, possibly by renting government buildings such as school premises (NCW). Should study possibility of subsidising/compensating employers who provide on-site creches (MITI).
To consider broadening apprenticeship options to allow for disadvantaged women to train while receiving an income (MITI).
Need to study and improve career paths of female graduates (MBB)
Need to reduce five-year absence threshold for women’s tax holiday (MBB)
Need to work early on – during secondary education – to help young men and women understand how they may both eventually contribute to, and achieve, work-life balance and to teach them the necessary skills (MNPN)
Need to continue the Women’s Empowerment Course in collaboration with National Council of Women which was temporarily stopped (NCW).
Women are under-represented on University Committees. University should improve its mainstreaming efforts, through amending regulations and removing disincentives for competent women to take up senior positions (GIC)
Gender discrimination should be addressed in education at all levels; work to reduce gender segregation should also be carried out with parents of young people (MNPN)
There should be greater control over employers who employ part-timers at 19 hours per week to avoid giving them pro-rated benefits which start at 20 hours per week (MNPN)
Information campaigns needed (a) to educate women about their rights with regard to social benefits and pensions (MNPN); (b) about the gains to both women and men of gender equality policies (NCW); (c) about the drawbacks of a man holding many jobs while the woman raises the family on her own (MNPN); (d) about the gains to employers of tapping women’s potential, and of using systems like teleworking, temping and flexible hours (MNPN).
Guideline 7:
Not enough on integrating older workers (MBB) Deleted: ¶ ¶
68.
More needed to address illiteracy (MBB; NCW); such assistance should start as early as possible with children from illiterate households and should assist the whole family (MNPN)
Need more measures to reduce school absenteeism (MBB) particularly motivating children from lower educational backgrounds to stay in school (MNPN)
Not enough about situation of immigrants in the Maltese labour market (MBB)
Should provide ICT tools and assistive technology which becomes the property of disabled employees (FITA).
The document should clarify which groups are defined as disadvantaged in the Business Promotion Act (RF).
Recognised refugees, and persons with temporary humanitarian protection, have already been granted employment licences to work in Malta (MJHA).
Measure to make compulsory a 13-session evening course for early school leavers is unlikely to work unless incentives are introduced (MITI).
Guideline 8:
Tax burden on labour not addressed (MBB)
Need to address tax-benefit impact on work incentives (IM)
The proposed consideration of non-financial work incentives are a good idea but must not be detrimental to workplace productivity (MBB).
Need more action to get single parents into work (MBB); should consider their possible retention of benefits if and when they do enter the labour market (JAFA).
Need support structures such as childcare and training to encourage single parents to seek and take up work (MNPN).
Need to study more closely the conditions of work of those working on contracts of less than twenty hours per week; also, whether contract workers in the public sector are receiving their entitlements to benefits and pensions (NCW).
To consider whether persons on pension may train others on a part-time basis without any decrease in their pension (MITI).
Guideline 9:
Not enough about how undeclared work will be reduced (MBB; GM); need to work hard in this regard (IM).
Not enough focus on undeclared work by professionals, eg. teachers, accountants, doctors (NCW).
More tax incentives needed to bring women out of the undeclared economy and register their part-time employment (MNPN).
Need to follow up more closely those registering for work for a number of years and repeatedly refusing job offers (MNPN)
Need to strengthen enforcement re invalidity benefits (MBB), introducing penalties for those caught Deleted: ¶ abusing (MNPN). ¶
69.
A co-ordinated exercise is necessary to follow up cases of long unexplained sick leave (MNPN).
Should address the relatively high national insurance contribution payable by part-timers (RF).
International full-time students should have the right to work in Malta for up to 20 hours a week, for the duration of their studies, which will help them to meet the fees, to avoid dropping out of University and to work in the formal economy rather than in the undeclared one as is allegedly the case for many at present (KSU).
Guideline 10:
Initiatives for Gozo remain weak (MBB)
Need to set up the committee to study additional incentives for Gozo under the Business Promotion Act as soon as possible (GBC).
Need for work on the branding and promotion of Gozitan products to start as soon as possible (GBC).
European Social Fund
University stands out as not having tapped ESF funds (MBB).
Need for NGO legislation to make NGOs legal entities that are able to tap ESF funds (RF).
Gozo Business Chamber intends to fully support the implementation of ESF projects in Gozo (GBC).
Improved Governance
Need to strengthen commitment to better governance especially greater accountability in the public sector. (MBB)
Need to ensure greater cohesion between all entities involved in NAP implementation (GWU)
Need for greater collaboration on matters of gender equality (NCPE)
Should have consulted the Malta Labour Party in the early drafting stages (LPMC).
Need to have more women on the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MNPN). Need to strengthen the consultation and decision-making process between the MCESD and the MCESD Civil Society Committee, ensuring that the latter is made up of NGOs rather than government bodies, and including a wider range of NGOs (NCW).
Should have included researcher and/or scientist in NAP Core Committee (NCSD)
Should have involved Gozo Business Chamber more closely in NAP preparation (GBC).
Deleted: ¶ ¶
70.