Proud smiles spread over the faces of Warren Cordina and Maverick Pace as they hold up one of the handmade hampers they have been working on together with other students at the Wardija Resource Centre.

Inside the painted baskets are small jars containing samples of traditional Maltese products made by the students after attending a series of specialised courses.

As they sit on a wooden picnic bench in the gardens of their school, Mr Cordina, 19, and Mr Pace, 17, point to the handcrafted labels that spell out the jars’ contents: olive leaf extract used to make tea, fresh carob syrup, handpicked sea salt, olive oil and honey.

The hampers will be launched just before Christmas, explains Nicholas Agius, the head of the resource centre.

They are just an example of the type of training offered at the centre that caters for about 80 people with disabilities – mostly intellectual – between the ages of 16 and 22, he says.

As well as teaching students academic skills, the centre offers vocational training including sheltered workshops and work placements, in order to prepare students for prospective jobs.

Students are taught how to catch a bus so that, if they find a job, they can travel independently.

Students make wedding souvenirs.

As part of an ongoing sheltered workshop scheme they are currently learning how to make wedding invitations, confetti and souvenirs that include small clay pots which they decorate.

They also make seed bombs that consist of blending plant seeds into recycled paper that is then planted as a whole.

Mr Agius adds that the centre also offers a range of therapy services including dance and drama therapy and is exploring the introduction of animal therapy.

Work is not all about money ­– it gives our children dignity and satisfaction

Lucienne Cauchi’s 21-year-old daughter has been attending the resource centre since she was 16 but this is her last year there.

“What happens next is a big question mark. Here she is productive, happy and safe.

“What happens if sheltered employment does not work? She’d have to go to a day centre where she will be with elderly people,” she says.

Ms Cauchi voices concerns often raised by parents of children with intellectual disabilities.

Existing employment schemes are often short-lived and, once they are over, the student ends up “back at square one”.

Ms Cauchi adds that parents also have a role to play to make their children more employable.

Some had to trust their children to be alone and let go to allow them to gain life experiences.

“Some parents also expect a certain amount of payment. But they have to keep in mind that work is not all about money – it gives our children dignity and satisfaction,” she says.

The Education Ministry will soon be launching a media campaign called Inspire People aimed at raising awareness about the priceless work of people in the educational field.

Part of the campaign was filmed at the Wardija centre.