Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this morning launched the Jobs+ initiative, which is an active labour market policy endorsed by the social partners.

Speaking at Lufthansa Technik in the presence of the social partners who sit on the MCESD, the Prime Minister said the scheme was based on a Union Haddiema Maghqudin proposal and its aim was to expand the workforce and ensure that workers were highly skilled and employable.

The setting up of the initiative was an unprecedented move since all social partners had subscribed to it. The first step towards its implementation, he said, was made in the previous legislature when the pact was signed in the MCESD.

Its launch today, Dr Muscat said, would ensure that the policy was implemented. This would be done through a committee under the MCESD, headed by Clyde Caruana, who was the UHM's economic consultant.

The government’s focal point would be Education Ministry and a focus would also be placed within the Employment and Training Corporation.

The committee would ensure that the initiative, the focus of which was that it paid to work, would be fully implemented.

The initiative would focus on increasing the number of highly skilled jobs while providing the workforce with the necessary skills.

One very crucial proposal, he said, was the provision of free childcare across the board, which was one of the PL’s electoral pledges.

Dr Muscat said that the government was preparing the work programme for the next seven-year EU budget. The government aimed to apply EU funds to support the Jobs+ initiatve, through, for example improving job quality and increasing female participation.

Once the programme was drawn up specific schemes would start to be identified. The scheme would  start to be implemented next year, Dr Muscat said.