eSkills Alliance Malta combining education, industry, and Government launched today

The alliance would aim to address skills shortages within the ICT industry which is hindering the sector from reaching its full potential.

Alliance Malta, a project that came to fruition after Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA) took the initiative as part of its Human Capital programme, is to set up the local branch of this specialised alliance.

During the launch of the eSkills, Information, Transport and Communications Minister (MITC) Austin Gatt showed his “full support” for the nurturing of eskills and the setting- up a Maltese eSkills Alliance between Government, the private ICT sector and the education entities “This initiative is key to Malta’s future economic success and key to Vision 2015,” Gatt added.

The Alliance would play “an essential role in the consultation process for the development of Malta’s future ICT workforce and for providing businesses within the industry the skills they require, and at the right time,” MITA insisted.

Two senior officials from e-skills UK were also present for the launch – Martin Harvey and Nigel Payne.

Harvey was a member of the senior team and leads strategy development in the UK, while Payne was the lead contact for the European Commission, the UK Government and the UK Trades Unions.

They both “shared experiences and best practices that e-skills UK has garnered over several years working with the industry in preparing the ICT workforce for the UK,” MITA explained.

MITA Chairman Claudio Grech described the alliance as “the collective voice and authoritative entity” in ensuring that Malta offered the best possible supply of ICT professionals that was required by the international and national ICT industry.

“The targets for the Alliance for its first year of operation are focused on those fundamentals that are critical for eSkills to flourish in Malta, namely drafting an eSkills Competence Framework, kicking off an eSkills Demand and Supply Monitor, setting up an ICT Profession Body and putting Malta on the worldwide educational map as an ICT Campus Destination,” Grech concluded.

The eSkills Alliance will seek to act as a link between local ICT industry, academia and Government, who have a direct influence on the development of the ICT sectors Human Resource requirements.

The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and the Malta Employers’ Association were also part of the Alliance and represented other ICT employers who were also influencing the demand for ICT skills.

The Alliance included the University of Malta, MCAST and the Ministry for Education, Employment and the Family as the main decision-makers in ICT education and skills supply.

The Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) and MITA were also part of this body in their quest to address the current gap that exists between the resources and skills needed by the ICT industry and the resources and skills available in the labour market.