Four key principles

Whenever education and economic growth crop up in a debate, the first image that comes to my mind is the Careers' Convention organised by the University Students' Council (KSU) and a leading student leadership and exchange organisation - AIESEC. I remember myself sitting in the campus quadrangle two years ago, soaking in the atmosphere of an event that intends to bring students one step closer to their future workplace through a mixture of stands manned by different companies and informative discussions held by the companies themselves.

Putting aside the actual logistics of the week-long campaign, I find that the Careers' Convention brings together four of the key principles the Lisbon Agenda seeks to promote.

Firstly, education is directly correlated to economic growth, competitiveness and innovation. The Lisbon Agenda is built on this fundamental tenet, aiming at establishing Europe as a knowledge-based economy. This is particularly important in light of the wage differences that exist between European countries and several emerging economies in the East, such as China and India. If Europe is to succeed in providing employment opportunities for all sectors of society, it must build up its strongest asset, which is undoubtedly its human resource pool. And this is one of the main reasons why our government has placed education as a central pillar in its Vision 2015 plan.

By increasing the percentage of students who choose to continue their studies at higher educational levels to 85 per cent by 2015, Malta will be effectively placing itself in a position to attract high-end jobs and services to its shores. Many say that job opportunities are required to make higher education attractive for prospective students; I believe that qualified individuals attract investment on their own merits.

Ask anyone in the financial services sector about this premise and the answer will most definitely be that the more students graduate, the more Malta's economy will grow in this sector. During Careers' Convention, accountancy students find themselves being gobbled up by major firms as early as their second University year. The same can be said for ICT.

This brings me to the next element which strikes me in the KSU and AIESEC's week-long campaign: that it is organised by students for students. Aside from the fact that a good chunk of students give their time to participate in voluntary organisations to help their peers, student associations and any other participative civic and community groups provide individuals with crucial skills that will allow them a better understanding of the workplace. They push students to hone essential skills such as time management, working within a team, managing deadlines and dealing with the pressure of all these elements, among others.

In the educational sphere, these skills all fall within the category of informal and non-formal learning. They are abilities which cannot be taught within the four walls of the lecture theatre and must be garnered with time and practice. Furthermore, they are indispensable items within a prospective employee's inventory. The Malta Qualifications Council is doing a faultless job in placing this aspect of education on the debating table. The University's rector is also giving this facet of education prime importance through his Degree Plus initiative on campus.

By coupling formal education with informal and non-formal learning, the government is effectively going one step beyond simply preparing students for employment; it is building an environment conducive to churning out native entrepreneurs that do not expect foreign investment to show up out of thin air but who roll up their sleeves and drive the economic wheel themselves.

The third aspect that strikes me in the Careers' Convention is the importance given to spending a period of time abroad, either working or studying (as in the case of the Erasmus programme and continuing a post-graduate degree abroad). Education and personal development are greatly enhanced through the development of a global worldview, that offers a wealth of experience in different cultures and ideas.

These three factors are essential in understanding the true spirit of education, that brings me to my last point. Education is not simply the period of time spent by students behind a bench in lecture rooms.

On the contrary, it is a personal experience which must be nurtured throughout one's entire life, whether it is aimed at improving one's employment opportunities or at attaining knowledge for its own sake. To this end, I agree fully with Kenneth Wain's pertinent comment during the PN's business breakfast last week: We need to give much more importance to the concept of life-long learning, which not only requires policy development but mentality changes!

For the time being, I'm just grateful I chose to sit for a few minutes on the University quadrangle bench during Careers' Convention.

Mr Casa is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.