Sharp increase in ETC vacancies, placements

The Employment and Training Corporation has received a total of 4,498 vacancies in the first six months of this year, an increase of 843 vacancies (23 per cent) over the same period last year.

A total of 1,874 were placed in employment during the first half of this year, an increase of 300 people (19 per cent) over the same period last year.

During the same period, there were 1,004 redundancies, which signified a drop of 397 (28 per cent) from the same period last year.

The ETC attributes this increase to the changing economic climate as well as to its increased efforts in capturing more vacancies from the private sector and in placing more people in employment.

A particular initiative which contributed to placing more people in employment was the Employment Aid Programme which subsidised the wages of jobseekers who were in disadvantaged situations.

Another initiative was the Work Trial Scheme which gave jobseekers an opportunity to gain work experience from a real place of work.

Through this scheme, employers had the chance to try their prospective employees on this scheme and the participants would receive a 50 per cent subsidy of the minimum wage. Through the Community Work Scheme, the ETC was addressing the specific needs of jobseekers who had been registering for employment uninterruptedly for five years or more.

ETC also invested in the training of the local workforce and of jobseekers.

It offered a vast range of training programmes, free of charge, to both jobseekers and workers who wanted to upgrade their skills or learn new ones.

Through the Training Aid Framework, ETC was giving subsidies to local companies which sponsored the training of their employees, up to a PhD level.

Other initiatives were targeted at young jobseekers.

Recently, the ETC launched the Youth Employment Programme to provide various services and activities aimed at youth.

Some include the availability of a professional occupational therapist, career guidance practitioners and a psychologist.

The ETC has job centres in Valletta, Vittoriosa, Mosta, Qawra, Birkirkara and Victoria. It has also opened a new training complex, built by European Union funds.