More investment in education for the creation of better jobs - PM

A new Nationalist government will continue to invest in education to create more and better jobs for the people, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this morning. Speaking during a political activity at Villa Arrigo this morning, Dr Gonzi referred to Eurostat figures on the female participation rate in the labour market, which were confirmed by figures by the National Statistics Office. He said that while the EU average for women aged 20 to 24 was 46 per cent, Malta’s was 64 per cent. For women aged 25 to 29 it was 66 per cent for the EU and 75 per cent for Malta and for women aged 30 to 35 per cent it was 66 per cent both for Malta and the EU. Malta started to fall behind when it came to women who were 40 and older. This was because the country’s educational system 30 years ago did not give women the required skills to find a job. The modern system offered women these skills and the government had invested millions to allow everyone to catch up and upgrade their skills through government schemes, such as evening courses. He noted that 58 per cent of graduates were women and said the number would increase over the next five years. Women in employment meant structures such as child...