Workplace training

You can't teach an old dog new tricks. Lifelong learning throws this axiom out the door straightaway. It is all about providing learning opportunities at all ages and in numerous contexts whether at work, at home or during leisure activities. One of the reasons why lifelong education has become so important is the rapid changes experienced through the acceleration of scientific and technological progress. Another motive is that the knowledge and skills acquired in primary, secondary and tertiary education are usually not sufficient for a professional career spanning three or four decades.

Unfortunately, until a few years ago this concept of lifelong learning was not given due consideration in our national educational strategy. This is so evident now that we are encountering great difficulties in employment mobility, job-skills matching and insufficient supply of workers to meet the new investment demands. The idea that education is just the end product of our schools and higher educational institutions has not yet vanished from our minds. The emphasis on academic achievements through formal education is leaving no space for alternative methods of learning. To some extent this is understood because there is a measure of uncertainty concerning the best means of achieving the goals of lifelong education. Having said this, it is quite encouraging to note that since we joined the European Union, the whole concept is becoming even more significant in our national strategy to conform with the Lisbon Agenda.

Former EU Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou had stated that skill and competence enhancement in the new economy in Europe requires that the policy emphasis is shifted towards increasing investment in human capital and in raising participation in education and training throughout working life. To keep pace with developments in technology, globalisation, population aging and new business practices, particular attention should be given to workplace training - an important dimension of our strategy for lifelong learning. In my view, it is here where we are missing the train.

Training at the workplace is not seen as another opportunity of long-term investment but it is considered as an unnecessary cost. Most large firms do have their training set-up and provide specialised and professional training to their employees but the majority of our SMEs are not yet geared to invest in training facilities, perhaps due to limited resources. It is not only a question of introducing incentives and schemes to address this issue but it is also a question of inducing our employers to change their mentality and adapt to a culture that promotes lifelong learning.

Unfortunately, I could not trace any official figures in respect of the provision of training within the public and private sector but if I were to assume that the trends are similar to those of the UK, though on a smaller scale, then, to put it mildly, there is ample room for improvement.

In a survey conducted recently in the UK it was established that half of the smallest establishments with fewer than five employees and just over a fifth of those with five to 24 employees had not provided any training over the previous 12 months. Well over nine tenths of establishments with 25 or more staff had trained some of their employees over the previous 12 months.

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) had also released its own report which highlighted the fact that despite government incentives many employers are refusing to train their workers. Overall the TUC claims that over two thirds of employers provide no training at all to their staff and that just under two fifths of employees did not receive any training over the past year. I do not believe the situation is any different over here.

With all the sweet talking about the invasion of foreign direct investment the likes of SmartCity, international call centres and IT software companies and notwithstanding our commitment as an EU member state to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy, capable of sustained economic growth and able to provide more and better jobs and greater social cohesion, we have not yet reached the stage of professing lifelong learning as a core element of this strategy.

The initiatives taken so far such as the training, experience and exposure scheme, aimed at partially subsidising employers who recruit unemployed persons over the age of 40, the University of Third Age, offering degree courses for retired citizens, and the private learning programmes organised by both employers and the trade unions are a good start in the right direction. On the other hand, we need to address certain issues that are hindering our long-term targets. The high level of drop-outs from the educational system, the numerous students who are illiterate and the unskilled and semi-skilled unemployed are tangible proof as to why we need to promote an effective culture of lifelong learning.

Like their counterparts in the UK, our trade unions are not expected to remain passive or to take up a peripheral role. For those still struggling to come to terms with the concept, the TUC proposes five areas that would bring about viable lifelong learning framework.

It called for a stronger stick in the form of a statutory right for adult employees to request paid time off to train. The report calls for stronger, social partnership on skills at national level. The current focus is employer-led and it is about time that both employers and employees feel ownership. The TUC concern is that too much of the training is "informal workplace training that does not lead to the acquisition of recognised qualifications by the majority of employees". The report also urges positive action on the discrimination faced by many groups in the labour market trying to access training and development and for an equal voice in workplace skills bargaining.

British unions have practically replaced the traditional shop steward with the union learning rep. It was a success story: some 14,000 of these trained reps had helped over 100,000 employees into learning over the past year.

Why shouldn't our trade unions follow suit? It is simply reading the signs of the time.

matyas@maltanet.net