The Employment and Training Corporation has received 4,498 vacancies in the first six months of this year. This means a sharp increase of 843 vacancies (23 per cent) over the same period last year.
The number of people placed in employment also increased sharply by 300 people (19 per cent) over last year. There were 1,874 work placements during the first half of this year.
During the same period last year, there were 1,004 redundancies, a sharp drop of 397 (28 per cent).
The corporation attributes this sharp increase to the changing economic climate and to its increased efforts in capturing more vacancies from the private sector and in placing more people in employment.
An initiative which contributed to this is the Employment Aid Programme, which subsidises the wages of jobseekers in disadvantaged situations. Another initiative is the Work Trial Scheme, which offers jobseekers the opportunity to gain real work experience.
Through this scheme, employers also have the chance to try out prospective employees, and participants receive a 50 per cent subsidy of the minimum wage. Through the Community Work Scheme, the ETC addresses specific needs of jobseekers who have been registering for work uninterruptedly for five years or longer.
The corporation also invests in the training of the local workforce and of jobseekers through a range of training programmes. It also recently launched a publicity campaign to promote training and the importance of investing in training. Through the Training Aid Framework, ETC also gives generous subsidies to local companies which sponsor the training of their employees, up to Ph.D level.
Other initiatives for young jobseekers include the Youth Employment Programme, which will provide various services and activities aimed specifically at youth. Some of these services include the availability of a professional occupational therapist, career guidance practitioners and psychologists.
The corporation has job centres in Valletta, Vittoriosa, Mosta, Qawra, Birkirkara and Victoria.
It recently opened a new training complex, built with the help of the European Regional Development Fund.