“The benefits of human capital experienced by the economy as a whole, as well as on a personal level, are undeniable. Malta remains committed to continue to invest in education and training thereby continuing to improve the quality of our labour force. Government will further its work in this area and will build on the results achieved in the last years”, stated Minister for Finance Edward Scicluna while addressing the Eurogroup Finance Ministers meeting on 6th November in Brussels.

PRESS RELEASE BY THE MINISTRY FOR FINANCE

During a presentation on Investment in Human Capital, Minister Scicluna made a comparative analysis of the main labour market indicators in the European Union, the Eurozone area and Malta. The presentation focused on the shift from direct to indirect taxation as part of Making Work Pay; the introduction of free childcare centres, the setting up of a Maternity Leave Fund, in-work benefits and tapering benefits schemes, tax and grants incentives, resulting in Malta registering the lowest tax wedge in 2015 amongst EU Member States, the increase in the female labour market participation rate and the reduction of the unemployment rate.

Our year-on-year-in increases in education spending are improving our investment in human capital, improving our education performance while indicating major reductions in the rate of early school-leavers. Minister Scicluna also noted that Malta ranked third amongst EU member states in the Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) rate for 25 to 29-year age group.

Minister Scicluna concluded his intervention by stating that, “through the Comprehensive Spending Review and related recommendations and measures, we are targeting the individual needs while improving our public finances on education, thereby reaping undeniable economy-wide benefits.”

Tuesday 7th November 2017