24 - 30 August 2000

ETC launches draft business plan

The Employment and Training Corporation is embarking on a three-year plan aimed at consolidating its services vis-a-vis its clients and its own corporate structure. David Kelleher takes an indepth look at the ETC's plans for the coming three years

The Employment and Training Corporation yesterday launched its three-year business plan for the financial period October 2000 to September 2003. The board of directors of ETC approved this draft plan in a meeting on 31 July .

The final plan will be based on a number of inputs, particularly the Operations Review of ETC by FAS consultants from Ireland, and on consultation with staff, decision-makers and stakeholders. The plan aims to convey the ETC's strategic direction to interested parties and is a means for us to hold ourselves accountable for the relevance of our objectives and for our effectiveness in meeting them.

The plan has been developed following a close examination of trends prevailing in the Maltese economy and labour market. The forces bearing upon employment are numerous and complex.

However, one can perhaps speak of four prominent factors that we believe will be shaping ETC's environment over the coming years.

Foremost among these is the evolution of Maltese society into one firmly based on social inclusiveness. Discrimination in employment and training is not acceptable, and ETC will tread a careful balance between mainstream and targeted services to maximise labour market access for disadvantaged groups.

The centrality of social dialogue and the contribution of the social partners to social and economic progress are also of critical importance.

Another key trend is the industrial sector's search for efficiency gains and the restructuring to which this gives rise.

Closely linked is the rapid pace of development in the technical and technological fields, which render lifelong learning and reskilling more important than ever. A review of Maltese policy and practice for adherence to the EU acquis communautaire has been very much a learning process, and no less so in the fields of employment and training.

Labour market developments in other European countries have located Maltese trends firmly within a more global context.

Reflecting upon our conformity to the European Employment Pillars of Employability, Entrepreneurship, Adaptability and Equal Opportunities continues to help greatly with our analysis of employment policy in Malta.

ETC welcomes the international trend towards provision of quality public services that focus upon meeting client needs.

This trend has also gathered momentum in Malta and the ETC will be setting itself clear goals towards improving its client experience.

These factors provide ETC with both context and challenge. The business plan sets out key objectives for meeting these challenges, together with respective target dates. The objectives are based on six business areas.