Skills training to improve employability

Ensuring that young people’s educational achievements are sufficient for them to enter the labour market should be the holy grail of the country’s educational leaders. The times when youngsters with no formal qualifications or skills could find a decent job are well behind us. Unless we ensure that young people have an acceptable portfolio of skills or qualifications after their years of compulsory schooling we could face serious economic and social problems.

The underachievement of a certain section of the student population was once again highlighted when it was announced that “455 Form V students in government schools decided against taking their O levels this year”. This may not seem a high number but it is still worrying because this is just one indication of failure in our quest for high educational achievement as a means to promote social and economic well-being.

As pointed out by the Education Minister, Dolores Cristina, there are different reasons behind this worrying trend: “These include learning difficulties, low self-esteem and lack of motivation, not only on the part of the student but also emanating from their family background”.

There is no doubt that this is a valid assessment. In some cases families do not appreciate the importance of putting the education of their children as a top priority in their daily lives. This could be the result of cultural or economic weaknesses that afflict such families.

But to get to the root of this problem a deeper analysis of our educational system may be needed.

The Education Minister may have hinted at another possible cause that explains why so many young people are leaving the educational system with nothing to show for the years they would have spent in the classroom. Up to some years ago, we had a few technical schools that gave students a good training in industrial skills that often opened up practical job opportunities. There is no doubt that some students have an aptitude for learning practical skills but find it difficult to master basic academic learning. So the minister’s appeal for students to get job skills if they decide that taking O levels is not their preferred option has to be seen in the light of this reality.

The reintroduction of trade schools is worth exploring if only to ensure that students like those that have given up on taking their O levels are given a viable option to prepare themselves for the labour market. Although institutions like the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology are providing vocational education courses as an alternative to the more academic University instruction, there may still be a need for more practical courses where the learning of skills is given far more importance than academic subjects.

The Education Minister also raised another thorny issue when she said that “one of the reasons that led to demotivation (of students) was the selective system where students were set apart according to their level of abilities from an early age”.

While hardly anyone could disagree with the importance of giving equal opportunities to all students, it is just as important to recognise that the academic or practical aptitudes of students need to be identified at an early stage to ensure that they are channelled to the most appropriate educational stream. Only thus can students and their parents be guaranteed the optimum outcome after years of schooling.

If trade schools can help more students to become employable, then we should actively consider this option.