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Once Malta joins the European Union in just five months' time, Maltese workers can seek employment in other European Union Member States. This facility is not reciprocal since European workers cannot do the same and start working in Malta for the first seven years after membership. During negotiations with the European Union, the Maltese government negotiated and was granted a safeguard clause. This gives the country's leaders the facility to impose certain restrictions if the country undergoes serious problems to its labour market or if there is a threat that this might take place. For the first two years following the accession of the new Member States, access to the labour markets of present member states would depend on the national law and policies of those states, as well as bilateral agreements they may have with the new EU countries. Some member states have already indicated that they intend to fully open their labour markets to workers from all the new member states. Other present member states intend to allow more restrictive access that will differ according to the new member state in question. In practical terms, this means that workers intending to move to an EU country to work after May 2003, may need a work permit during the period for which the present 15 member states apply national measures. Some people have expressed their worries that they would have studied and achieved their qualifications for nothing. But this is not true because the EU has a general system for recognition of qualifications in the EU Member States. This system stipulates the rules for recognition. Will my qualifications be recognised abroad? Undoubtedly, yes. Last year, the Maltese parliament discussed and enacted a law called the Mutual Recognition of Qualifications Act 2002. Through this act, the government designated a person, who will be known as the Mutual Recognition Coordinator and his job will be that of coordinating the activities of the designated authorities in Malta and to promote uniform application of this Act. Also by way of this act, the minister responsible set up a centre called the Malta Qualifications Recognition Information Centre. The function of this centre will be that of evaluating diplomas, providing assistance to the authorities, learning institutions and individuals on the comparative analysis and evaluation of qualifications. Other functions will include the collection and dissemination of information related to professional and vocational qualifications and the promotion of recognition of Maltese qualifications abroad. The centre will also ensure facilitation of academic mobility and the promotion of transparency of qualifications. What is the NARIC Network? Malta is now a member of the EU's NARIC Network. NARIC stands for: National Academic Recognition Information Centre. The NARIC is a network of National Centres to help in regulating title recognition and facilitating the integration of national educational systems. It aims at improving academic recognition of diplomas and periods of study in EU Member States of the EEA countries and the associated countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Cyprus and Malta. All of them have designated national centres, which provide authoritative advice and information concerning the academic recognition of diplomas and periods of study undertaken in other Member States. The main users of this service are higher education institutions, students and their advisers, parents, teachers and prospective employers. In most cases, these centres are also responsible for work related to the implementation of the joint Council of Europe and UNESCO Convention on the recognition of qualifications concerning higher education in the European region. They are then integrated with the ENIC network of the Council of Europe and UNESCO whose mission and objectives are quite similar. The two networks are running a common website with links to the 30 national websites: www.enic-naric.net. The European Commission also provides support for the activities of the NARIC Network within the framework of the SOCRATES programme. It aims to improve the quality and transparency of education systems and furthering the process of educational innovation in Europe through the exchange of information and experience, the identification of good practice, the comparative analysis of systems and policies in this field, and the discussion and analysis of matters of common educational policy interest. What are the aims of Malta NARIC? - to ensure and facilitate appropriate application of the EU Directives regarding comparability of higher education professional and vocational qualifications;
- to collect and disseminate information related to professional and vocational qualifications in the European Union;
- to provide information and advice in consultation with the Malta Equivalence Information Centre, the University of Malta and the Malta Professional and Vocational Qualifications Awards Council on the comparability of international and Maltese qualifications;
- to act as an information and consultation centre to the Commission on related matters;
- to submit to the Commission a report on the application of the system every two years;
- to promote recognition of Maltese professional qualifications abroad
Recognition of Professional Qualifications Professional recognition applies to the qualifications that entitle a person to work in a profession or job whenever some kind of license, warrant or other similar qualification is required. The EU regulates this kind of recognition because without it, the free movement of workers would be meaningless. The principle is that a person who is qualified to practice a profession in his or her country, is also qualified to practice this profession in other Member States and therefore, the qualification must be recognised. In order to ensure recognition, there are two main types of EU laws that apply: one set of laws apply to a limited list of professions (sectoral directives), whereas another set applies to all others (general system). However, both guarantee recognition under given conditions. Recognition of certain professional qualifications The "sectoral directives" apply to architects, lawyers, midwives, pharmacists, doctors, nurses, dentists and veterinary surgeons. In these cases there is mutual recognition among the countries concerned provided that certain criteria (including coordinated training) are met. In Malta, regulatory bodies within the Ministry of Health will continue to regulate the medical, pharmacy, nursing, midwifery and professions supplementary to medicine. They will also assess equivalence of professional qualifications and register professions. Moreover, structures will be set up to accredit specialist training needs for doctors, the registration of specialists in the medical field and structured post-graduate training. A new regulatory body for veterinary surgeons will also be set up under the Veterinary Services Act. Recognition of professions All professions (with few exceptions) fall under a general system of recognition of professions, where a difference is made between regulated and non-regulated professions. It is up to each individual country to decide whether a particular job or profession should be regulated. If a profession is regulated, then specific EU rules on recognition apply and these distinguish between qualifications that require three or more years of study or training and those that require less. On the other hand, if a particular job is not regulated in any given country, then the need for recognition in that country does not arise and the person concerned may start work immediately. Sources: Ministry of Education, The University of Malta
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