MEP highlights MCAST students' difficulty in accessing mobility programmes

MEP Therese Comodini Cachia raised the issue of mobility for vocational MCAST students, who encounter difficulty in accessing mobility programmes due to a lack of opportunities. 

"The main challenge our vocational education and training (VET) students currently face with respect to mobility is how their college can find and entice foreign companies to take on our students. In Malta we cannot speak of regional mobility, we can only speak of country to country mobility and there are several students in VET who want to participate in mobility programmes but the opportunities are lacking," she said. 

"Students at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) are still finding it very difficult to access mobility programmes even if the college can seek opportunities under the Erasmus+ programme”.

Comodini Cachia made these remarks during a joint meeting of the Culture and Education (CULT) Committee of which Comodini Cachia is a member and the Employment (EMPL) Committee with the participation of European Commission officials Detlef Eckert (Director for Europe 2020 & Employment Policies, DG for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion) and Chiara Gariazzo (Director for Erasmus+, Youth and Sport, DG Education and Culture).

Learning mobility and training mobility have proven their potential to contribute to high quality education and employability. However, many challenges remain for the full realisation of its potential.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss such obstacles with the European Commission with a view to facilitate mobility options for young people in VET and to discuss the creation of a joint CULT-EMPL working group on mobility in vocational education and training (VET) with the main actors in Europe's regions, business and SMEs representatives, job agencies, trade-unions and chambers of commerce, to bridge the gap between education and the job market. 

Comodini Cachia emphasised that mobility in VET provides transferable skills, promotes language skills, and encourages cross border innovation and job mobility. In this regard she expressed disappointment at the language often used vis-a-vis VET which gives people the idea that VET is for those who fail academic education or the obligatory education system.

The participating MEPs and stakeholders discussed how the implementation of Erasmus+ programme could be improved with regards to VET since it is being felt that the full extent of its potential is not being reached.

Comodini Cachia pointed out that mobility is too important in the formation of one's education and training to rely on limited resources available under Erasmus+. "Malta must consider enhancing mobility opportunities through its own national policy and resources."