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11.04.19 16 EU FUNDS PAUL COCKS BY the end of last year, over 2,500 persons were supported through the EU-funded Investing in Skills (IIS) scheme, BUSINESS TODAY has learnt. IIS is intended to promote access to training of persons actively participat- ing in the Maltese Labour market, with a view to increasing productivity and enhancing adaptability. EU funds parliamentary secretary Aaron Farrugia said that investment in businesses needs to be balanced out by heavily investing in the workforce, al- lowing it to properly adjust to market needs and tackle any issues of labour shortages. As local enterprises -- which are also being supported through EU funds -- are becoming more competitive, in- novative, and more resilient to mar- ket changes, so should our workforce, Farrugia explained. is is being done through training schemes such as the IIS. is scheme seeks to increase and im- prove the knowledge and skills of em- ployed persons through funds granted by this scheme. Eligible applicants cover all employers having an economic activity irrespec- tive of their legal form -- these include partnerships, companies, family busi- nesses, associations, individual self-em- ployed or other body of persons, NGOs and Social Partners. NGOs and Social Partners not having an economic activ- ity are also eligible to benefit from the scheme. With a budget of €5 million, this scheme falls under Malta's Operational Programme II of the European Social Fund - 'Investing in human capital to create more opportunities and promote the well-being of society' for the 2014- 2020 programming period. 660 grant agreements are signed with a total value of over €1 million. Government is acting as a platform to support a future entrepreneurial Mal- ta, ready to drive the country's digital transformation in a world of hyper-in- novation. is brings challenges with it, as workers need to quick to adapt and well-equipped for the demands of new and evolving markets. "Malta has worked hard to make good use of EU funds for job creation and economic growth. It has successfully capitalised on funding opportunities to equip our workforce for an ever-chang- ing arena, and this scheme is an exam- ple of that," Farrugia said. Last year, Farrugia announced a €11 million EU investment in projects relat- ed to vocational education and training, with the aim of preparing the workforce with the necessary skills and guarantee that young people in particular are in- volved in employment, training or ap- prenticeship – thereby also decreasing the number of early school leavers. ere is no doubt about Malta's ex- cellent use of EU funds: last month, the European Commission praised our country's management of such funds on a number of occasions. It therefore comes as no surprised that EU funds and EU-funded projects have contrib- uted significantly to the economic and financial sustainability of Malta's grow- ing economy. "Whether it is through the €30 mil- lion we are investing in SMEs, the €20 million we are investing in research and development, the Kappara and Marsa Junction, financial instruments in loans and guarantees or the ESF funds for the reskilling and upskilling of our work- force, they all contribute to Malta's eco- nomic growth," Farrugia said. "For the next EU budget post-2020, we are planning for these programmes to be more simplified and more flexible." Moreover, businesses will be prioitised in the next EU budget. Last week, Far- rugia told this newspaper that the next funding framework will offer less tape and make it simpler to claim payments using simplified cost options. He also said that apart from the busi- ness-related infrastructural projects, current funding and absorption rates indicate that Malta has already bene- fited strongly from EU funding directly targeting business and SME develop- ment. ese include grants administered by the local managing authorities and en- tities such as Malta Enterprise, covering areas such as setting-up expenses for start-ups, research and development, innovation and digitalisation support such as e-commerce, and expansion. Taking further pointers from current funding, there are a number of local success stories which indicate that the local entrepreneurial spirit is very resil- ient and eager to innovate – as a result, local businesses look up to EU funds as a way of investing further in their com- petitiveness. Innovation for local SMES ranges from new knowledge to new marketing practices, as well as management ap- proaches. e EU impact on Malta's jobs and growth needs to be taken into context, Farrugia explained. "Between 2008 and 2012, we were los- ing 1,500 jobs annually in the manufac- turing sector. is would have eroded our manufacturing industry within 15 years. Since 2013, not only has the in- dustry stabilised, but there has been an increase of 7,000 persons working in manufacturing, reaching almost 13% of the gainfully employed and almost 20% of our GDP," "EU funds aside, the country has made massive leaps in industries: the 15 largest ones have expanded – ST, De La Rue, Baxter, Playmobil, Trelleborg, Lufthansa and SR Technics, among oth- ers. We also attracted new ones – Crane Currency, the Indian pharmaceutical company Aurobindo, Alvogen from Iceland, Shanghai Electric, the Queen Mary Bart medical school, CHEMI Pharma and Sterling Chemicals from It- aly, Pharos from Greece... I could go on." Farrugia said that new sectors, innova- tion, and hi-tech enablement were giv- en priority by this government. In fact, Malta is well on its way to becoming a leader in blockchain, fintech, and other digital sectors. It is now looking at ex- panding on AI by studying ways of how we can have a bespoke set of regulations and legislation for this sector as well. "Sectors such as logistics and val- ue-added logistics, Life Sciences, medi- cal cannabis have also continued to con- tribute to growth. Our industry today is technology-driven and finds it compet- itive advantage in quality, speed of de- livery through Malta's well-established connectivity, excellent English-speak- ing workforce and above all stability; political, economic and industrial… in- dustrial litigation has been next to nil," Farrugia said. "Speak to any foreign investor in Mal- ta and they would immediately tell you that their success is underpinned by the excellent workforce... further proving that we need to continue investing in this valuable resource,." EU funds for employment training and beyond EU funds parliamentary secretary Aaron Farrugia (first left) said that investment in businesses needs to be balanced out by investing heavily in the workforce

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