Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/260953
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 16 FEBRUARY 2014 Opinion 22 M eaningful employment can only be obtained by applying the skills relative to the particular job. We can only achieve these skills through the right education and this is why employment, adopting the necessary skills and learning to use these skills to generate wealth are all different links in the same chain. Over the years in a growing area of this planet there have been blanket calls for an increase in those furthering their tertiary education. But unfortunately this has not been a guarantee for a f lourishing economy as there was a painful gap between the world of education and the world of employment. The number of graduates grew, but so did the number of vacancies and the number of unemployed. EU states realise that this situation could lead to long term damage to business development. Companies in Europe are finding it hard to employ staff simply because they find it difficult to identif y people with the required skills in the current labour market. Apart from the fact that this could encourage companies to seek to do business in areas where labour supply meets their respective demands, it also has a 'chilling' effect on the hiring of young people. A recent survey across a number of European countries, shows that more than a quarter of employers have left a vacancy open for over a year, simply because they could not find the right people with the right skills for the post. In the UK alone, over 60,000 vacancies in engineering will go unfilled this year. Here in Malta, statistical data for 2011 shows a staggering 10,395 job vacancies that remained unfilled, with around a quarter of these vacancies for occupations in senior posts including Senior Managers, Professionals, Assistant professionals and Technicians. A substantial change in the last years has been international labour mobility. Out of the jobs created, around half of the vacancies have been filled by foreigners, but this is also necessary because it keeps companies in business. However, we must train our youngsters to achieve the necessary skills for these jobs and the government has and will continue to invest heavily in training. In a recent survey carried out by McKinsey in the EU, most schools and colleges as well as Institutes offering Higher Education believe that students are adequately prepared for work. Nearly seventy five percent (75%) believe that their graduates have the required qualifications for entering the job market but this figure contrasts sharply with the perception of employers, of which only about a third (33%) agree that the students have the necessary skills that their jobs entail. This shows that it is most important that an ongoing and interactive dialogue between employers and education providers is introduced. The best way to achieve this rapport is through the re-introduction of more apprenticeships and traineeships. Some larger companies can and do invest in training prospective employees. In Malta, apart from size limitations, we also seem to have a reliance on small business for job creation. With smaller companies, training budgets are normally very restricted and in most cases the cost of training prospective employees in the relevant skills cannot be met. The McKinsey report recommends a number of solutions. Sarah Gordon, the F.T.'s European Business editor suggests that " employers should work more closely with the education providers to design curricula that fit their particular business needs." Creating jobs, and we have created over 5,300 new jobs in the last ten months, is only half the task in hand. More importantly is filling these vacancies with our youngsters. We have launched a number of initiatives and we will continue to work hard to provide the necessary training and skill building necessary that will enable our youths to have the required qualifications for filling these vacancies. Education is the key and we shall introduce the necessary changes to help prepare our youngsters for the world of tomorrow. Evarist Bartolo is Minister for Education A s opposition continues to intensify against the permanent berthing inside the Marsaxlokk Harbour of a 140,000 cubic metre tanker vessel carrying Liquified Natural Gas, the Energy Minister's attempt to reassure the population was to simply state that storing gas on a ship in Marsaxlokk is safe. Are we expected to take his word for it and simply move on? As a member with a voting right on the MEPA Board, it is my responsibility, to ensure that this development has been thoroughly risk-assessed against all possible options available. The issue is whether an enormous amount of gas should be stored inside Marsaxlokk Harbour. This can only be answered after having undertaken an in-depth assessment of the risks associated with such a configuration. What is the likeli- hood that something goes wrong? In the event that something does go wrong, what are the expected consequences? During the public consultation meeting organised by MEPA to discuss the findings of the Envi- ronment Impact Assessment in relation to the project, it emerged that in the event of a gas leak, a gas cloud may result, which is likely to travel on the surface of the sea within the Marsaxlokk harbour. All that is required for this gas cloud to become a flame of fire, is an igni- tion point. I was surprised to learn how easy it may be to encounter an igni- tion point within a harbour like Marsaxlokk. A local fisherman returning back to port with a lit cigarette can serve as an ignition point. What happens from then on is anyone's imagination. This country has only two power stations, Marsa and Delimara. In a few months' time, it will only have one. Is it sensible to place a monster gas storage vessel adjacent to our only energy production facility? With so much depend- ent on Delimara, an accident can have catastrophic consequences coupled with a long-term impact on our competitiveness. It will not be another Cyprus, it will be worse. Then again, is placing the gas storage vessel outside Marsaxlokk harbour a mission impossible? We will certainly not be the first to do so. Our neighbours in the city of Livorno, in northern Italy, seem to have a more realistic appreciation of the associated risks. The Italians have placed their storage vessel at a safe distance away from shore. FSRU Toscana has been anchored some 13 nautical miles offshore. This is equivalent to 23km, almost the length of Malta from North to South. At this distance, impacts on the population and services onshore resulting from a malfunc- tion, whether by error or intention- ally (such as in an act of terrorism), would be greatly diminished. In comparison, FSRU Toscana will be eighty times further away from populated zones, in relation to the gas storage unit in Marsaxlokk. Instead, this government has deliberately opted to place the gas storage vessel at the hearth of a secondary harbour, and adjacent to a prime national asset – our only power station. All this begs the question why the Government is highly reluctant to shift the gas storage unit outside the harbour. The writing is on the wall. The Labour Party had placed on itself a two-year deadline within which it would build a new power station. It's a commitment made out of its own volition in an attempt to win an election. But whilst elec- tions come and go, decisions made by today's politicians will impinge on our future for years to come. Despite the unsubstantiated statement made by the Energy Minister, I remain yet to be con- vinced that placing a gas storage unit of 140,000 metres cubed a few hundred metres away from a power station is a sensible thing. It is il- logical, unprecedented, dangerous and irresponsible. Ryan Callus is a Nationalist MP Ryan Callus Illogical and irresponsible The importance of being employable Is it sensible to place a monster gas storage vessel adjacent to our only energy production facility? Evarist Bartolo CHECK OUT EVARIST BARTOLO'S LATEST COLUMNS ON http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/blogs Download the MaltaToday App now We must train our youngsters to achieve the necessary skills for these jobs, and the government will continue to invest in training