Corporate DispatchPro LAWRENCE ZAMMIT
Reskilling a Nation The link between education and the economy is a challenge that any country faces. In a small country like Malta, where the quality of our human resources drives growth of our economy, the issue becomes more challenging. There are a number of considerations to be made to put the issue into perspective. We need to accept the fact that education always works with a time lag. Let us take a practical example. If today there is a shortage of persons in a particular area, the education providers will need at least ten years to start closing the gap. Why ten years, one might ask. The process starts with the choice of subjects in secondary education at the age of thirteen. Then another two years of postsecondary education and possibly five years of university education. That makes a total of ten years. While this is taking place, businesses are taking decisions that will eventually lead to the creation of jobs or the elimination of jobs in the country. These decisions cannot wait for ten years before they are implemented. So we could end up with a situation where by the time the first graduates start to appear on the scene, the opportunity would have been lost. On the other hand, it is also pertinent to ask about the outcome of education. What should be the outcome of education provision in a country. I do not believe that education is there to prepare students for employment. That makes education utilitarian. Education is there to prepare young persons to become responsible citizens. Admittedly a by-product of that is employment; however it is not just employment that makes a person a responsible citizen. Given the change that our country goes through in various sectors, such as the economy, technology, socially, we cannot keep on
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