Ten million euros have been allocated in financial aid to all local enterprises that want to invest in training their employees. The renewal of the “Investing in Skills” scheme, operated by Jobsplus and co-financed by European funds, aims to develop the skills of those who are already in the world of work in order to acquire new skills that are more suitable for labor market requirements.
Details about the renewal of the scheme were given during a news conference by the Minister for the Interior, Security and Work Byron Camilleri and the CEO of Jobsplus Leonid Mckay.
In the previous scheme more than €7.6 million had been invested in training from which 1,200 enterprises of all sizes benefited. In total over 22,000 workers have been trained in over 45,000 training experiences.
Minister Byron Camilleri said that the scheme, which benefits both workers and employers, was initiated by the government’s policy that incentivizes employers to invest and create a better quality of work because no one but the employer m ‘he has the best knowledge about the skills that his employees need.
“In recent years the economic growth rate of Malta and of those in the world of work have been among the highest in the European Union and the scheme helps address the challenge of a lack of workers with ‘specialised skills because he is convinced that the employer prefers to train the people he has than to bring in a worker from abroad. The investment in skills leads to the workers being innovative and armed so that the various challenges that our country faces turn into opportunities,” concluded the minister.
CEO Leonid McKay said that this largest Jobsplus training scheme serves the request of local enterprises that see external help to train their workers as the most effective measure . This is by training employees while they are working, investing in their skills and even improving the quality of employment and productivity.
The renewed “Investing in Skills” scheme covers the costs linked to the trainee’s salary while working, the training fee and even the indirect administrative costs. It also envisages a higher subsidy on the hourly rate of the salary of a worker who is being trained which will be linked to the average rate of salaries and not to the national minimum wage. The assistance will be given according to the size of the enterprise, with large companies being given 50% of the rate, medium ones 60% and small ones 70%.
