Charló Bonnici (PN) said the government was giving priority to safeguarding and creating employment because it believed in people as the best resource of the country.

Keeping the current international situation in mind, the Maltese should be proud of the local situation.

Eurostat had declared that Malta was at the forefront of EU member states that had curbed unemployment.

He said that the ETC was working hard to help increase the employment rate. It was creating apprenticeship schemes, work trial schemes and was helping persons with disabilities. These schemes were offering training to more than 10,000 workers and 1,440 companies were involved. He noted however that these companies had still not been paid and augured this would be taken care of.

The Budget introduced a new scheme whereby €25 were offered to workers earning a minimum wage who decided to start training in order to improve their position. He believed that this was indeed a very good scheme.

Mr Bonnici emphasised that there was the need to create further schemes which encouraged more women to start working and Malta had to analyse the debate going on in the EU regarding maternity leave. The family had to be given absolute priority and tangible measures had to be introduced.

The government acknowledged the link between education and employment and was showing this by investing €330 million in this sector and providing a holistic and focused approach. There currently were almost 24,000 students in post-secondary and tertiary institutions. The University of Malta was offering 28 courses from 31 different faculties. A number of scholarships were being awarded and due importance was being given to science. The government always believed that student stipends were an investment.