A new Labour government could provide all young people with a guarantee they would be studying, training or in employment after they turned 16, Labour leader Joseph Muscat said this morning.

Addressing a seminar on education, Dr Muscat said Labour would follow a strategy to provide the best education at Higher Secondary, the Institute of Tourism Studies, the Junior College, MCAST, the university and at all post-secondary, higher and tertiary educational institutions.

The Labour government's aim would be to increase as much as possible the number of young people who continued studying without compromising on quality.

But those who opted not to continue with their education had to be provided with better employment in which they could advance.

Those unable to find a job within six months of ending obligatory education would be provided with training based on employment and abilities, Dr Muscat said.

This idea, Dr Muscat said, was already being implemented successfully in Austria and Finland, where it was introduced by progressive governments. It was also the basis of a European campaign being led by the European Socialist Party and could be implemented successfully if adapted to the reality of Malta and Gozo.

Dr Muscat said that Malta had to increase pluralism in tertiary education to improve choice and the quality of services for young people and others while retaining and strengthening the stipends system.

Services would also be provided for those who would have stopped attending school before they reached the age of 16.