Government to offer subsidies for ICT training

New regulations offering fiscal incentives to people taking specialised information and communications technology training are to be announced in the coming weeks, Technology Minister Austin Gatt said yesterday.

Speaking during the launch of the Association for Private Training Providers, the minister said the government had no intention of taking over the private sector's market. On the contrary, it wanted to increase the number of people training in ICT so that the industry could grow.

Training in ICT was one of the sectors which still had room for growth, he said. The government had a duty to help those who were at an economic disadvantage and encourage, through concrete fiscal incentives, those who wanted to advance by training in more specialised areas.

Those providing training should see the government's commitment as an opportunity and not a threat, he said.

He said that although this innovative industry was relatively new, because of Malta's strategic position in Europe, among other reasons, it could enjoy competitive advantages over others attracting foreign investment.

The world's ICT market was expected to grow by 4.8 per cent next year and in Malta it could continue to develop in a sustainable manner as long as the people were trained and had the necessary qualifications required by the industry.

Academic and vocational institutions, particularly the university and MCAST, had an important role to play in the provision of qualifications in ICT and more than 1,000 students were studying in one of these two institutions to obtain a qualification in the sector, Dr Gatt said.

But the private sector had an equally important role to offer certification in ICT to those who wanted to train at higher levels.

The minister explained that the government was determined to help in the creation of a solid training basis in ICT so that there would be more people qualified to sustain the sector's continuous development.

To reach the declared political objective of 500 persons acquiring training and qualifications in ICT each year, private entities had to also offer training in ICT.

To this end, the ICT Training Providers Forum, of which the association was a member, had been set up.

The government, Dr Gatt said, had developed a model which was to be formulated into a consultative document on the government's and private sector's role in the provision of ICT training and the type of certification the country needed most.

The aim of the ministry was that while it increased the number of people certified in ICT, accessibility to this type of certification would increase through subsidies.

The government would also continue giving generic training from a number of established centres to full-time students and the unemployed.

Dr Gatt said that a Maltese company recently won a substantial contract of around Lm500,000 to create software in Malta for a British company.

Another company, in which Maltese investors had a shareholding, had invested Lm2 million in the development of satellite telephony and a company with US and New Zealand interests recently relocated in Malta creating added value jobs on a number of software platforms.

Association president Rosanne Galea said the association aimed to serve as a forum to discuss issues, ideas and joint initiatives. Up to now different bodies worked individually and the association wanted to create greater networking.

Another aim was to improve the already good standards and train trainers in communication skills.

The association would discuss as necessary with the government and work hand in hand with other entities to provide quality training.

It wanted to work, rather than compete, with the Employment and Training Corporation and Malta Enterprise.

She pointed out that members of the association also trained foreign students in Malta since the country offered great potential. This was a sector which could be further developed but problems were being faced with visas.

In a recent incident, visas were given to six students from Uzbekistan but one was not issued to another for no reason whatsoever, she claimed.