SBC2 - EDUCATION IN SMALL STATES
The panel of Discussion leaders from left to right: Mr Ashwani Aggarwal, Hon. Marie-Antoinette Rose, MP, Deputy Susie Pinel, Ms Rebecca White, MP, and Moderator Hon. Carmelo Abela, MP.
Department is looking to job training, motivation, support, placement and mentoring. In addition there is an employment grant and an unemployment programme under development. Similar programmes are also operating in Gibraltar. Education in the future will focus on vocational qualifications, and apprenticeships rather than academic qualifications.
Mr Ashwani Aggarwal from the International Labour Organization (ILO) put forward his recommendations in five policy areas:
• Employment and economic poli- cies to increase aggregate demand and improve access to finance; • Education and training to ease
the school-to-work transition and to prevent labour market mismatches; • Labour market policies to target employment of disadvantaged youth; • Entrepreneurship and self- employment to assist potential young entrepreneurs; and • Labour rights that are based on international labour standards to ensure that young people receive equal treatment.
The cornerstones of education are availability, the development of core skills, communication, problem-solving, teamwork, the awareness of workers’ rights and an understanding of entrepreneurship. Coupled with this is the development of higher level professional skills;
portability, experience, continuous and seamless pathways for lifelong learning. Others include the ability to adjust a close matching of skills supply to the demands of labour markets, anticipation of future skills demands, harmonization of education and training policy, and access and equality for people with disabilities, women, and disadvantaged groups.
The discussion
Hon. Glenn Blakeney, JP, MP, Bermuda, recommended that in Small States, education should expand the development of appropriate skills to supply local businesses and create meaningful pathways to employment. Education is regarded as one of the best interventions for development
of Commonwealth countries’ economies.
In Australia, education has been aligned with agricultural programmes given the gap noted in the sector according to Hon. Timothy Mulherin, MP, Queensland. Agriculture has the opportunity to create countless job opportunities for people who are currently unemployed.
Ms White highlighted that small businesses in regional areas of Australia are struggling to offer permanent skills which allow employed people to secure a permanent job. In the same light, Hon. Michael Sutherland, MLA, Western Australia, noted that small economies find it difficult to provide relevant skills that might be used on a continuous
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