Transition from education to employment in Malta easier than other EU states - study

Transition from education to the labour market is easier in Malta than it is in most other EU countries, according to the education and training monitor 2015 report.

The report, also reveals that Malta has surpassed the EU target of the rate of attendance of 4-year-olds at early childhood settings prior to the onset of compulsory education, with kindergarten attendance of children aged between 4 and 5 years reaching 100%.

The annual report, in its fourth edition, captures the evolution of Europe's education and training systems by bringing together a wide array of evidence in a concise package, and puts the spotlight on education priorities most in need of public and private investment.

It further identifies tangible policy levers that could help improve the inclusiveness, quality and relevance of Europe's education and training systems. While focused on empirical evidence, each section in the Monitor has clear policy messages for the member states. 

According to the report, the rate of early school leavers is constantly decreasing thanks to the different initiatives being put in place by the Maltese government.

“These initiatives include substantive investment in MCAST, the renewal of curricular programmes as well as programmes aimed at youths at risk of social exclusion, including the Alternative Learning Programme (ALP), that offers a different learning programme from that given in the last year of secondary school and aims to assist enrolled youths not to leave school early, and point them towards institutions offering vocational education programmes,” a ministry statement reads.

It adds that other initiatives include this year’s launch of Ġużé Ellul Mercer School in Gzira for those who have not achieved more than one pass in the SEC examinations, as well as Youth.Inc, a programme that offers an inclusive education programme based on applied learning for young people between the ages of 16 and 21.

According to the report, the rate of adults between the ages of 30 and 34 who obtain a qualification at tertiary level or equivalent is also showing improvement, and the rate of adults older than 24 following lifelong learning courses is also constantly increasing.

Furthermore, the report has drawn the attention of Maltese education authorities to a number of bottlenecks of the education and training system, including the fact that, despite recent progress, the early school-leaving rate remains high, and that basic skills proficiency is poor compared to other countries.