Reluctant at first to take up an Erasmus placement as she had never been abroad on her own before, Mikela Abela soon settled down in her internship and has since been to several conferences abroad.

Then 21, Ms Abela spent some weeks working with a mental well-being organisation where she was able to apply in practice what she had been taught in theory at Mcast.

Health and social care degree student Mikela Abela.Health and social care degree student Mikela Abela.

The organisation she worked with dealt mainly with people migrating to London, who faced mental health issues because of the ordeal.

The health and social care degree student helped out with policy drafting and risk assessment presentations for schoolchildren.

“During those weeks I learned a lot, and not just academically – I had no choice but to learn how to live independently, budget my finances and manage my time better. It was challenging but I would do it all over again.”

With Erasmus having “opened up several windows” for her, especially through networking with like-minded students, she is now looking forward to a longer placement as she finalises her studies, currently focused on poverty and domestic violence.

Ms Abela was one of the 80 participants discussing the benefits of apprenticeships during a recent networking meeting hosted by the EU Programmes Agency (EUPA) in Malta.

I had no choice but to learn how to live independently, budget my finances and manage my time better

There, Parliamentary Secretary for EU Funds Aaron Farrugia said most countries have realised that vocational subjects were indispensable for Europe.

“Vocational and Education Training (VET) is the key to respond to current skills mismatches and shortages, as well as to future skills needs. 

“The latter is increasingly demanding as it is estimated that 65 per cent of children now studying at primary school will work in jobs which do not exist yet,” he said.

As a result, various initiatives were taken to address this reality, Dr Farrugia said, adding that at a European level, around 1.3 million apprenticeships and other youth opportunities were created in the context of the recent EU youth initiatives. 

Furthermore, various networks – such as the Euro Apprentices Network – were established in order to advocate the importance of VET and to contribute to its future development. 

It is estimated that around 77 per cent of VET graduates find a stable job within a month of their graduation, the parliamentary secretary added.  

However, there were still some who did not take up the opportunity because of the fear of moving to another country and living away from family and friends, he said.

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