MEUSAC awarded over €134,000 in European Social Funds to strengthen social dialogue in Malta
MEUSAC has been awarded over €134,000 in EU funds to implement a project to strengthen social dialogue in Malta. The project, ‘Engage: Enhancing Stakeholder Participation in Social Dialogue’, is part-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF).
The funds MEUSAC has been awarded are aimed at: • identifying the most effective engagement methodologies in order to provide a service which meets the needs of stakeholders; • investing in Government’s services by providing the necessary skills to the MEUSAC team on how stakeholder capacity may be enhanced; • enhancing the capacity of stakeholders through training and increased awareness on the processes, tools and opportunities for increased stakeholder participation. The project was launched at a MEUSAC Core Group, held on May 25, 2018. The project is expected to result in a number of qualitative and quantitative results which shall ultimately lead towards the increase in the level of social dialogue in Malta and in the improvement of the services which Government provides to stakeholders both currently and in the future.
The ESF is the EU’s main instrument for supporting new and better jobs, and ensuring fairer job opportunities for all EU citizens. The ESF is about investing in Europe’s human capital – its workers, its young people and all those seeking a job, social inclusion, capacity of public administration, among other objectives.
The ESF finances Malta’s Operational Programme II ‘Investing in human capital to create more opportunities and promote the well-being of society’ for the period 2014-2020. The primary objective of the ESF Operational Programme in Malta is that of achieving inclusive growth by fostering an economy which is conductive to economic, social and territorial cohesion in line with Malta’s targets under the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, particularly in terms of employment, social inclusion, education and capacity building. The total budget for Malta is €132,366,810.
The author is a media and information officer at MEUSAC