New trials in a changing world

The European Parliament is heading towards a summer break. Yet, sure enough, its 736 members, from the 27 member states of the European Union, will keep on working on behalf of the EU's 492 million citizens. Although the workload within the walls of the actual building of the EP will be minimal, during this period of time all MEPs will have a unique chance to meet constituents and prepare for committee meetings in Brussels from September 1.

In these coming weeks, as a new member for the Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) Committee within the EP, I shall do my utmost to get feedback and communicate with people as well as NGOs connected to this working group. My intention is to guarantee that Malta is strongly represented in this vital committee, being one of the most significant within the EP.

Looking at the main duties and responsibilities within this committee, one may note the level of commitment involved in upholding and protecting a conscious employment strategy, integrated with all aspects of social policy such as work conditions, social security and social protection. Along with other tasks, the EMPL Committee is liable for the European Social Fund (ESF), the EU's most important financial instrument for supporting employment in member states to endorse economic and social unity. ESF expenditure amounts to about 10 per cent of the EU's entire budget.

This fund was set up in 1957 with the main objective of investing in people as it assists European citizens to improve their education and skills and, hence, to enhance their occupation prospects. Through this social support structure, member states and regions can formulate their own ESF operational programmes in order to counter to the real requirements, according to the country's priorities.

In Malta's case, the ESF programme is hinged primarily on employment, education and training. Action channelled through these pillars assists the state by formulating the necessary adjustments brought about by the global economy by enhancing its human resources skills. Since joining the EU, the Nationalist government has always encouraged and promoted the labour market by leading the workers to empower themselves through the continuous support of life-long learning. Actually, there is unusual awareness about opportunities for women and training in ICT.

Thanks to these priorities set by the government through the ESF programme, many foreign companies are now looking at Malta as one of their first choices. In recent years, our country managed to attract a great deal of overseas investment, resulting in an impressive number of worldwide companies functioning from Malta in the ICT and call centre sectors.

We are now living in an international financial scenario referred to as turmoil. The ESF may prove to be a major driving force in the battle against unemployment. The EU has the correct tools to support its citizens, to expand and garner the right skills to get jobs and for companies to develop the right know-how to create augmentation and jobs, particularly in new and innovative sectors.

In the past, the Training and Employment Exposure Scheme assisted out of work people over 40 to increase contact with the labour market and boost their employability. Of 460 participants, the majority got employed thanks to this project, others found alternative employment and a few of them are now self-employed.

Another project focused on transport and tourist service providers and provided customised training for owners, managers and small and medium enterprises in the tourism sector aiming to modernise the service provided by the present labour force. More than 40 training programmes were carried out, serving a total of about 800 people.

The current programming cycle of the ESF runs from 2007 to 2013 under the banner Investing In People. Over this period, it is investing about €75 billion and Malta is entitled to a total amount of €131,764,705. From this sum, the government is prioritising the enhancement of human capital, allocating 35 per cent of the total amount.

The first meeting for the new EMPL Committee is scheduled for September 2. From that day onwards I shall do my utmost to make sure our message for more and better jobs is brought forward.

Mr Casa is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.

david.casa@europarl.europa.eu, www.davidcasa.eu