Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/294639
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 13 APRIL 2014 9 DANIEL MIZZI WITH youth unemployment af- fecting approximately 5.6 million youths across Europe, joblessness in Malta is now a foremost bone of contention between government and the Opposition. But education and employment minister Evarist Bartolo yester- day insisted that this was not the problem, but conversely, it was the country's "skills gap." Bartolo yesterday said that in its first year, the Labour government "had created more than 5,000 jobs" while the rate of activity increased by 5%. "Unemployment is not Malta's main issue, but conversely, match- ing the skills to jobs is proving to be a major task and the biggest stum- bling block to economic growth in Malta," Bartolo said. Addressing a youth unemploy- ment seminar this morning, Bartolo argued that Maltese youths were not being equipped with the neces- sary skills to meet job standards. "Unfortunately previous edu- cation systems have given more prominence to gaining qualifica- tions rather than fostering skills," the minister said, currently in the middle of a row over the introduc- tion of 'banding' for primary school children (pages 10-11) and new powers granting him the right to create personal data profiles of all Maltese students. "Malta is facing a skills crisis whereby jobs are being created but then there are not enough skills to match this demand, while in certain cases, jobseekers do not have the necessary work ethic to meet stand- ards," the minister said. Trading blows with the educa- tion minister, Stephen Spiteri, the shadow minister for employment, argued that it was the supply of jobs that was not meeting the demand, and insisted that unemployment should serve as a "stimulus" to job creation. While acknowledging that Malta's unemployment rates were better when compared with European neighbours, Spiteri insisted that unemployment rates are increasing each month, and urged the minister to immediately tackle the problem. "Notwithstanding the unemploy- ment rate in Malta and Europe, youth unemployment is still a major issue. Upon finishing their studies, new graduates are not finding the right jobs," Spiteri said. He also acknowledged that many non-Maltese nationals are taking up jobs, most notably in the gaming in- dustry where 66% of jobs are taken by foreigners. Bartolo on his part countered that youth unemployment in Malta – which currently stands at 13% - was lower than the EU average, while explained that many non-Maltese nationals, particularly in the gaming industry are taking up jobs. Nevertheless, he insisted that there is "no room for complacency." "Although things seem to be get- ting better across Europe, it seems that growth is being foreseen as being characterised by widespread unemployment – a worrying per- ception that must be tackled imme- diately," Minister Bartolo said. Bartolo said that there must be greater synergy between education and employment; a stand echoed by Spiteri who underlined the need of a "bridge" between Malta's education sector and employment. Skills mismatch On his part, Evarist Bartolo even claimed that it was shortcomings in the education sector as being the major cause behind Malta's skills- gap. "It is alarming that upon finish- ing 12 years of compulsory educa- tion, youths are leaving without the necessary skills that are required to meet job standards. In addition, many youths are not continuing post-secondary or tertiary educa- tion," he said. "However, simply creating train- ing programmes and setting targets is not enough, as firstly the govern- ment must ensure that the skills be- ing created match the jobs. "There must be a change in career guidance. People who are supposed to give career guidance are mis- informed of what is needed in the economy, and consequently, they are going out on a limb and giving advice based on their own opinion," he said. Bartolo even claimed that educa- tors were prejudiced against voca- tional education. "Vocational edu- cation is still being seen as inferior to university education. Doing your job well requires skills, immaterial of where one acquires these skills. Unfortunately, vocational educa- tion tends to be perceived as being inferior," Bartolo argued. "There is no one solution to al- leviate unemployment. We need to create the necessary conditions for economic growth, and make sure that the necessary education insti- tutions provide the necessary skills for young people to meet the job standards," he said. News 'Malta facing skills gap, not youth unemployment problem' 'Jobs are being created but then there are not enough skills to match this demand' Evarist Bartolo 'Youth unemployment is still a major issue. Upon finishing their studies, new graduates are not finding the right jobs' Stephen Spiteri Government says it has 'created 5,000 jobs' in its first year but the Opposition complains that university graduates are not taking them up - the education minister is blaming a 'skills mismatch' Evarist Bartolo and PN spokesperson for employment Stephen Spiteri battled it out over claims of rising youth unemployment in Malta Two motorcyclists hospitalised, one in danger of dying TWO motorcyclists were hospi- talised on Saturday afternoon after being involved in separate acci- dents that occurred in the space of few minutes. The injured victims are a 33-year- old man from San Gwann and a 24-year-old man from Fgura. Both suffered grievous injuries while the latter is in danger of dying. The first incident occurred at around 3:45pm in Civil Aviation Road, Luqa. The 24-year-old man was riding his motor of make Su- zuki GSX-R600 when he lost con- trol of his bike, skidded and hit a traffic island. A magisterial inquiry has been launched and a police investigation is ongoing. The second traffic accident oc- curred five minutes later in St An- drew's Road, St Andrew's. The 33- year-old was driving a Kawasaki Z 1000 when he collided with a VW Golf. The car was being driven by a 19-year-old man residing in Mosta and is suffering from grievous in- juries.