Editorial

Keeping in mind the kind of risks young people may face if they are unable to integrate themselves properly in society, it is indeed good to learn that 170 young persons experiencing diverse difficulties are benefiting from the European Social Fund project Embark for Life – Labour Market Integration of Socially Excluded Youth. This programme addresses the needs of youths who, for various reasons, find it difficult to find and maintain a job.

Aġenzija Appoġġ and Aġenzija Sedqa, both within the Foundation for Social Welfare Services, which are coordinating the project in collaboration with the Employment and Training Corporation and the Housing Authority, offer support in the implementation of care plans for the project participants. The role of the ETC is to provide guidance on issues such as matching market needs with the abilities of the participants and providing the training design and delivery. The Housing Authority, on the other hand, is responsible for the coordination of the rent subsidiary scheme and assists participants who may benefit from its mainstream schemes.

Bringing the different entities together will hopefully ensure the best possible service is provided, thus increasing the chances of success for the 16- to 24-year-olds participating in the programme. They come from various backgrounds including children’s homes, mental health institutions, correctional facilities and residential rehabilitation programmes.

The main aim of the project is to empower youths at risk to get into mainstream education and/or employment, live independently and have a better quality life in the community. It also provides a variety of training, support and work opportunities, tailored to needs.

Work is a condition of the self-development that is the right of every individual. It is also an important condition of family life because the family needs the means of subsistence.

Moreover, the creative energy of the young, not channelled towards productive goals, is dispersed and wasted while the risk is unfortunately real that lack of employability prospects or opportunities may push the young into harmful experiences.

The project’s participants benefit from individual sessions with a professional youth support worker who helps them identify their strengths and weaknesses and outlines areas they need to work on in order to improve their employability prospects. Moreover, they recently also had the opportunity to take part in a mid-term conference aimed at providing them with a chance to discuss various issues with the local stakeholders. A number of youths were able to share their experiences and explain the challenges they went through.

The Embark-for-Life endeavour is a commendable exercise not only because it strives to guide participants towards being better equipped to find work but also because it aims to help them be in a better position to ensure structure and stability in their lives and to plan ahead for their future.

The support the project provides to young people at risk of social exclusion is therefore a wise and forward-looking investment also because, while offering support to the young participants concerned, the project additionally serves to promote a more inclusive society that looks more positively at young people experiencing certain difficulties.

The project rightfully looks at the participants as citizens with full rights who should be helped to have a real share in the life of society. It reflects a commitment towards empowering all people to undertake their own development.