VOICE OF THE
WORKERS ISSUE 10 MARCH 2014
EDITOR’S NOTE JOSEF VELLA
Contents Does it have to come to this?
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From the fish to the fishing rod 03 Jobs+ for youths
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Jobs for young people 06 An EU Priority 07
Growing their own Plants Welcome to Issue number 10 of the Voice of the Workers’ e-magazine. There are some who assert that young people are the foundations for the future. That is true. But what is also true is that young people also form the foundations of the present. As the writing on the wall shows us, young people who are not in employment, education or training, need attention now. John W. Gardner once said: “Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we VOICE OF THE
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should be teaching them to grow their own plants.” The Jobs+ initiative aims to encourage young people to get the skills they need to be able to find work that pays; the flexibility needed to respond to changing work and market conditions; and most of all, to be able to give them the opportunity to be successful and happy persons. Together with the social partners, we believe that Jobs+ provides the right impetus for all young people to have a fair shot at the opportunities that come their way. This is the way for the present, as well as for the future. Enjoy!
The alarming reality in Europe is that a significant number of young people who cannot find work are educated and qualified. READ MORE ON PAGE 3 1
Does it have to come to this? Adam Pacitti desperately tried to climb out of the unemployment trap by devising this billboard and online campaign with the last 500 pounds he had left in his pocket. The 24-year old media production graduate sent out his crv for at least 250 different positions in the hope of finding work, to no avail. More than half of Spain’s young people are unemployed, whilst Greece’s figure is 62.5%. Malta is investing in Jobs+, aimed at giving young people the necessary tools and skills to be successful.
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JOSEF VELLA INTERVIEWED BY JOHN MALLIA
From the fish to the fishing rod AT THE APPOINTED TIME, I WALK INTO JOSEF VELLA’S OFFICE JUST AS ONE OF THE UNION’S SECRETARIES LEAVES HIS OFFICE AFTER A ROUTINE SESSION. UPON ENTERING HIS OFFICE, YOU CANNOT MISS A PHOTO FRAME HANGING ON THE WALL. IT’S JOSEF SIGNING THE JOBS+ DECLARATION EARLY LAST YEAR. THE HISTORIC OCCASION IS ENCAPSULATED DECLARATION OF JOBS+, SIGNED BY ALL THE SOCIAL PARTNERS Josef Vella, together with his team at UĦM, have every reason to feel proud. Their initiative and hard work at persuading the social partners on the need for an Active Labour Market Policy, is now becoming a reality. Settling comfortably around the Secretary General’s desk, we start discussing Jobs+, and how this will effect Malta’s young generation. We start with the situation on an international level. The picture is far from rosy. Young people are bearing the brunt of the recession. In Europe, youth unemployment is climbing to levels which are considered staggering and unprecedented. In September 2013, 56% of Spanish youth were unemployed; the figure is 62.5% in Greece. It goes on. 40% in Italy, 37% in Portugal, and 28% of young people in Ireland. And for people between the ages of 25 to 30, the rates of unemployment are 50% to 66% more than the 15-25 age group, and rising. This is taking its toll, not just on people’s pockets, but also on the social fabric itself. Josef refers me to a document issued by the The World Economic Forum this year which warned that ‘crime rates will soar, economies will stagnate, VOICE OF THE
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and Europe’s social fabric will deteriorate if policymakers do not act to address youth unemployment”.
young people, the prospects are even more daunting. ‘Europe is on the verge of having a lost generation” Josef sternly warns.
The alarming reality in Europe is that a significant number of young people who cannot find work are educated and qualified. It is very common to come across a Masters-level young person working a supermarket cash till. For uneducated and unskilled
Thankfully, Malta is not as hardhit. But this does not mean that we can become complacent. The warning signs are there. A total of 468 16-year-olds failed to register for this year’s SEC exams while over 200 of registered 16-yearold students did not show up
Young people should be a force for good in every society. They are the fresh energy that give much needed impetus into any economy 3
“Jobs+ has been a breakthrough. UĦM has been on the forefront of ground-breaking proposals and action, benefitting thousands of Maltese people
for their exams. Most of these young people will be attempting to seek employment without any qualifications and with very limited skills. Jobs+ is seeking to increase the employment ratio, and bring more young people into the work stream. This will be done to increase the skills of workers, so that they could be more flexible in the face of ever-changing labour market scenarios. Vella states that to do this, Jobs+ needs to channel more funds to affectively manage labour market programmes. This, in turn, will decrease the number of persons who depend on social benefits. These strategies are designed to help young people enter employment and obtain the necessary skills, as well as continue to train so that they would be in a position to keep on working in the future. Young people should be a force for good in every society. They are the fresh energy that give much needed impetus into any economy. We need to make sure that Malta generates enough economic activity and fair distribution of wealth to allow space for young people to flourish. A country that manages to motivate young people to VOICE OF THE
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use their creativity and increase their flexibility through acquiring skills and training, is making the wisest investment of all. Whether workers or entrepreneurs, young people represent a springboard based on the present, and into the future. Jobs+ specifically targets young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET). If more of these young people are encouraged and helped to get into productive employment, the employment ratio would increase. This can be done by increasing these persons’ level of skills, which is quite low, to increase their employability. “We are moving from a situation of providing the fish through social benefits, to providing the fishing rod. These young people are at a disadvantage, and the only way to help them achieve employment and a better standard of living is by giving them the necessary skills for them to thrive.” Coffee arrives. It’s a godsend, as I was still without one that morning. Josef ‘s coffee is his third. We take a minute to savour it and crack a joke in the meantime, and then it’s back to Jobs+. He goes on to tell me that 35% of unemployed
young persons who are not in education or training, rely on social benefits. This is not only a problem for the future of these young people, but it becomes a problem for us all, socially as well as economically. Through Jobs+, the UĦM proposed that young people who are dependent on social benefits will be encouraged to take up a job without losing on social benefits immediately. Josef explains that these social benefits will be tapered off over three years, in a way that for the person, seeking employment will be much more beneficial that just staying at home and get social benefits. This proposal was taken up by government during the last budget and we are looking forward to see the government implementing it. At this point, Josef’s eyes are twinkling, and his body language talks of one who has hit the ground running, and has more energy to spend. “Jobs+ has been a breakthrough. UĦM has been on the forefront of ground-breaking proposals and action, benefitting thousands of Maltese people. Through effective dialogue with the social partners, we can make this country a greater place than it already is. We need to make a real and effective difference in people’s lives. That’s what we’re here for”. 4
Jobs+ for youths THE JOBS+ INITIATIVE AIMS TO CREATE A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO LABOUR POLICY AND SEEKS TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF THE LABOUR MARKET The initiative was endorsed by all Social Partners and Political Parties over a year ago. The UĦM also held meetings on the Active Labour Market Policy (ALMP) and the Jobs + initiative with MCESD sub committees namely the Gozo Regional Committee and the Civil Society Committee. The Youth unemployment rate across the European Union is currently at 23.5%. Malta’s youth unemployment rate is not as high as the EU average. With this in mind, Malta needs to be proactive and implement initiatives, such as Jobs +, to ensure that youth unemployment is kept at a low. Active labour market polices in
relation to youth are a positive contribution to reducing the percentage of inactive youth. Such policies need to be implemented in conjunction with Youth initiatives such as the Youth Guarantee scheme which aims to provide training, education or employment to unemployed youths. It is pertinent to point out that the rate of students who continue to study following secondary school is still extremely poor in Malta. Activity rates show that generally they are higher for higher educated people and this results in them being more economically active. Youths need to make the
most of their professional working lives and find employment as soon as they are out of the education system and they need to stay in employment. MCESD welcomes UĦM’s Jobs+ initiative which serves as a foundation stone for our country not only in creating new jobs for everyone but mainly in enhancing the quality. There is certainly more need for job creation and while focusing on the absorption of new graduates, there is a more urgent need to involve the private sector in the re-training of workers and to encourage students to continue studying after finishing secondary school.
MCESD 280/3, Republic Street, Valletta, VLT1112 Tel: (+356) 2200 3300 www.mcesd.org.mt
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Jobs for
young people INFORMATION PUBLISHED BY EUROSTAT AS AT DECEMBER 2013 CONFIRMS THAT YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT RATES ARE GENERALLY HIGHER THAN UNEMPLOYMENT RATES REGISTERED FOR OTHER AGE SEGMENTS. mechanism which helps young people enhance their employability.
Youth unemployment ratios, which take into consideration young full-time students who are not looking for a job, are also highlighting the growing conerns on the rising number of young people without a job. Some of the main causes of this trend, such as the lack of work experience and seasonal employment, are common in different Member States. The global financial crisis and the subsequent debt problems faced by a considerable number of euro area members also led to a surge in youth unemployment. Eurostat claims that Europeans aged between 15-24 years were impacted the most. As a matter
of fact, by the end of 2012 the youth unemployment rate was 2.6 times the global EU rate of unemployment. There are also domestic causes of youth unemployment. For example, mismatches in the labour market and the language barrier are two of the main reasons why a significant portion of vacancies created in the Maltese labour market are filled up by non-Maltese EU nationals. As part of its plan to help the European economy recovery, the European Commission is encouraging measures to reduce youth unemployment. It is promoting the European Social Fund (ESF) as a financial
In 2013, Malta has utilised €3.5 million from the ESF 2007-2013 programme to finance Master It! This scheme helped 430 students to further their studies to post-graduate level. It was also applicable to students without an undergraduate degree in order to be more inclusive. The European Commission is also supporting the European Youth Guarantee and calls on Member States to make it one of their priorities when presenting their national budgets. Member States have endorsed this initiative in April 2013 and are currently running vocational education initiatives and other training programmes under the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI). The YEI represents a budget of €6 billion for 2014-2020, aimed at helping Member States which registered a youth unemployment rate above 25% in 2012.
MEUSAC 280 Republic Street, Valletta VLT 1112 Tel: +356 2200 3315 • Fax: +356 2200 3329 • Email: info.meusac@gov.mt www.meusac.gov.mt VOICE OF THE
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An EU priority
EaSI - New EU umbrella programme for employment and social policy that brings together three EU programmes managed separately between 2007 and 2013: PROGRESS (Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity), which supported the development and coordination of EU policy for employment, social inclusion, social protection, working conditions, antidiscrimination and gender equality; EURES (European Employment Services), a cooperation network between the European Commission and the Public Employment Services of the Member States that encourages mobility amongst workers; PROGRESS Microfinance, which aims to increase the availability of microcredit to individuals for setting up or developing a small business. The informative publication is downloadable from this page: tinyurl.com/np9lu8w
PRESS RELEASE
Social Agenda – Youth employment The latest issue of Social Agenda highlights the need for a new approach to employment, social and inclusion policy to promote youth employment: a combination of urgent, highly targeted measures supporting young people directly and of longer term structural reforms. More information available here: tinyurl.com/oa3t77c Education and employment fair, 24-26/04/2014 Lleida, Spain
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ETUC Publication: Towards a European quality framework for apprenticeships and workbased learning. Best practices and trade union contributions. The document is available here: tinyurl.com/nb2rnhl
European Youth Portal: Information and opportunities for young people across Europe: http://europa.eu/youth/en
INFORMATIVE SOURCES
PUBLICATIONS
The issue of young people and employment is a priority aspect of European Union action and discussion. The Brussels desk of the Confederazione Italiana Agricoltori has prepared a sample of the publications, events and training organized by the European Union.
EURES The European Job Mobility Portal https://ec.europa.eu/eures/home.jsp?lang=en. In the EURES website you can also have direct advise, check here: tinyurl.com/p4k2xqf
UNION ÓADDIEMA MAGÓQUDIN (Malta Workers’ Union) Dar Reggie Miller, St Thomas Street, Floriana, FRN 1123 - Malta Tel +356 21220847 - +356 21234801 - +356 21236484 • Email info@uhm.org.mt www.uhm.org.mt Operational Programme II - Cohesion Policy 2007-2013 Empowering People for More Jobs and a Better Quality of Life Project part-financed by the European Union European Social Fund (ESF) Co-financing rate: 72.25% EU, 12.75 MT, 15% Private Funds Investing in your future