Vulnerable youths feature prominently in the National Youth Employment Strategy 2015, which includes a number of specialised measures designed to give them the best chance of actively finding suitable employment.
They should be equipped with confidence and assertiveness
Commissioned by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Employment and Training Corporation, the new strategy aims to define the most effective entry path towards young people’s successful integration into the labour market.
Youth unemployment in Europe is reaching staggering highs, with an overall increase of 5.6 per cent from the 2008 rate. Malta’s youth unemployment rate stands at 13.7 per cent, as compared to 12.2 per cent in 2008.
Speaking during the strategy’s launch yesterday, Education Minister Dolores Cristina said that young people on the threshold of the employment market were potentially vulnerable and could be victims of abuse.
They should therefore be equipped with confidence and assertiveness, while youths from vulnerable backgrounds should be given extra support and assistance.
According to the strategy, young people from difficult backgrounds will be assisted by professionals representing different sectors.
Parents and families of such youths are to be given specialised support services.
Among a number of measures, the strategy recommends a new project for looked-after young people which will provide them with support to progress to higher education.
They are to be offered life skills for independent living, while being supported through training and job coaching. For the duration of the training programme, participants are to benefit from grants equivalent to the minimum wage.
A special programme will be designed for youths who are victims of domestic violence, or who have experienced family breakdown, trauma or mental health problems.
The programme will focus on therapeutic services, mentoring, second-chance education and work-exposure.
The strategy also states that young people in correctional facilities will also be provided with the necessary education, training and job exposure to give them the opportunity to reintegrate into society.
While the strategy was still being drafted, a number of youths were consulted for their own insights into the employability issue. Many underscored the fact that they felt they had to struggle repeatedly with “employers’ perceptions” and that employers were not giving them enough time and opportunity for them to settle down.
The youths surveyed also indicated a “skills mismatch” between what they were learning at school and the qualities needed when they came to the employment market. Therefore, more effort needed to be invested in emphasising the importance of work placements with potential employers.
The surveyed youths identified four elements which they believed should factor into the strategy: new products and services, improved access to information, more tailor-made support packages and administrative responsiveness.