Here’s An Idea: Link Stipends To Part-Time Work
Maltese students lead pretty comfortable lives. Most of us live with our parents and get paid to study. But imagine what it would do to our human resources if students also had an incentive to hold down a part time job in an industry that’s unrelated to their course.
That’s what restaurateur Tommy Diacono proposed during a business talk hosted by TedXUniversityofMalta and Lovin Malta entitled When Money’s Not The Point.
Diacono said stipends should be doubled but financed through a public-private partnership that encourages part-time work for students.
“Imagine, if you’re studying law you have to work in a pizzeria for the first year.”
“I had an experience in one of my outlets where an Irish friend of mine who was a trained lawyer asked me for a part time job while he was here for a gap year to play rugby, and he elevated the whole team to a whole new level,” Diacono said, adding that the number of students in part-time employment was very low in Malta compared to other European countries.
“Imagine… If you’re studying law you have to work in a pizzeria for the first year, part time, 16 hours per week. What difference would it make? You’ll learn how to deal with people, how to deal with money, how to go to places at times you don’t want to… and then you earn your stipend, and it’s double, paid half public, half private,” he said.
Diacono was one of three panelists, including eCabs founder Matthew Bezzina and architect Sandro Valentino. The three spoke about the challenges and opportunities about doing business in Malta. The full video of the event will be uploaded later.
The discussion, held at Fat Louie’s, was part of A Series Of Inquisitive Events, being organised in the run up to April’s big TedXUniversityofMalta conference.
Stay tuned for more details about the next discussion to be held on March 8th.
