Entry into the University should be made easier in line with an obligation on EU member states to guarantee all school leavers a job, education or training, according to a leading economist.

Economist Lino BriguglioEconomist Lino Briguglio

Lino Briguglio, an economist and University lecturer, believes the Matriculation exam scheme is “effectively acting as a form of numerus clausus” that limits the number of University students.

“Naturally, this would mean more money is needed for tertiary education,” he acknowledges but insists this is important from an economic perspective.

The school-leaving guarantee was agreed by EU leaders last month as part of a commitment to stimulate employment among young people across the EU.

The guarantee has to be fulfilled within four months of leaving school and member states have until mid-April to present a road map on how they plan to achieve this.

Although Malta has been spared the blight of youth unemployment affecting most of the EU, Prof. Briguglio believes the agreement is “a very good” idea, especially for Malta where the rate of early school leavers is high.

European statistics put Malta on one of the lowest rungs for early school leavers, which increases the risk of unemployment among young people. There are 5.5 million young Europeans without work and statistics show that, last year, Malta had the fourth lowest unemployment rate for youths in the 27-member bloc.

Official figures for January show that 1,282 people under 25 were listed as being unemployed by the government’s employment agency and, last year, the average of unemployed young people dropped by about 200 as compared to the previous year.

Prof. Briguglio insists under-utilisation or inefficient use of labour – Malta’s only resource – is not desirable.

But questions have been raised as to whether the EU-agreed job and educational guarantee is simply another target that will get lost by the wayside like other employment and educational goals set in the past.

Prof. Briguglio acknowledges some quarters described this target as empty rhetoric but he believes it is doable.

This requires improved training opportunities and apprenticeship schemes for young people, he says, possibly funded cooperatively by the private and public sectors.

“The Employment and Training Corporation is doing a good job in this regard but I think training and apprenticeship schemes should be stepped up drastically,” he insists.

Active labour market policies, supported by an aggressive publicity campaign, he adds, should also be put in place to attract young people to undergo training and improve their educational qualifications.

The Youth On The Move Pact was agreed by EU leaders at a summit in January and details have to be refined during the next EU summit in March.

The member state job plans will form part of their individual national reform programmes.

Under the pact, governments have to come to an agreement with social partners on increasing the number of apprenticeships and traineeships available and to use existing EU support schemes to facilitate youth mobility.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com

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