The Malta Employers’ Association has praised the launch of the Employability Index as “a very positive step in guiding students to make informed choices about the employability aspects of the different courses available at tertiary level in Malta”.

The report, which was issued for the first time by the Ministry for Education and Employment, reveals that in general the employment levels of Maltese students who have completed tertiary level education are higher than those prevailing in the European Union.

It also demonstrates, however, that the percentage of students who are not in jobs related to their studies varies considerably between different disciplines, and it is evident that some areas offer better chances of jobs which are related to the field of study than others.

The MEA added that the idea of setting up an Employability Index was one of its proposals, which was included in the memorandum to political parties before the last general election.

The idea stemmed from the fact that although the average percentage of those who followed tertiary education in the EU is – at 37 per cent – higher than the corresponding figure for Malta, which stands at 27 per cent, the unemployment rate of such persons in the EU is 10.7 per cent against only three per cent in Malta.

It said the target to have more people following tertiary education, although desirable in itself, needs to be accompanied by a clear strategy to channel human resources into areas that are most in demand by employers, to avoid a situation of high graduate unemployment which unfortunately prevails in many EU countries.

“It is an accomplishment of our educational system over the past decade that whereas the employment rate of those with tertiary qualifications in the EU is 75.5 per cent, in Malta this is 93 per cent,” the MEA said.

The MEA added that the Employability Index should be an ongoing exercise to enable the social partners to design constructive educational, career oriented policies which will contribute to a higher return on the investment in education and the efficient utilisation of the country’s human resources.