[WATCH] ICT training courses to be given at Marsa Open Centre

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The Malta Communications Authority (MCA), in collaboration with the Foundation for Shelter and Support to Migrants (FSM) is providing training in ICT for the staff and residents of the Marsa open centre. The training is aimed at facilitating social inclusion and employability and it will focus on teaching residents how to use the internet, prepare a CV and look for jobs.

 “Our desire is to see you succeed and become independent, so as to pursue with your families and loved ones, your dreams and aspirations,’’ said Alexander Tortell, Head of the Agency for Welfare and Asylum Seekers, addressing some of the residents present at the launch of the programme.

Education projects within the Open Centre had started over four years ago, and they included courses in Cultural Orientation, English Language, First Aid and Food Handling and Hygiene, which aimed to provide migrants with the necessary skills to enter the workforce.

Dr Ahmed Bugri, Managing Director of FSM said: “The Marsa Open Centre is a transitory place for asylum seekers and refugees needing temporary assistance until they are able to move in the community and access mainstream services.”

Bugri said that the centre, which has a bed capacity of 450 residents, is focusing on offering residents with the necessary support, including educational courses and health and psychological support to be able to integrate with society.

“The FSM believes that education is an important tool for the personal development, empowerment and social inclusion of migrants into Maltese society and in Europe at large,” he added.

Parliamentary Secretary for Competitiveness and Economic Growth Jose Herrera said that integration for good quality of life is "essential". He added that it is a two way struggle, with society and the government being obliged to do their best to integrate migrants into society, and migrants needing to try their best to follow courses to enter society.

The ICT training course at Marsa Open Centre is part of project ENTER, a wider government initiative that targets ICT in all of Malta. In his speech, Herrera said that the MCA had been working on reducing the digital divide and increasing social inclusion through ICT.  

“Project ENTER, which is co-financed by the EU, is an important step in the fight against the digital divide. We need to look into the respective niches of our society and address these on a case by case basis in order to address their individual requirements. Our immigrants are but one niche which we are targeting.”

Herrera said that the percentage of people in Malta who have never used the Internet fell from 28% in 2013 to 25% in 2014, and although this was encouraging, Malta was still lagging behind the EU average of 15%, which means that government must continue to fight the digital divide.