The Information Economy: new work, new workers, new organisations

MITTS recently held its bi-annual conference to present how Maltese industry and Govern-ment are changing to adopt to the ICT age. The structure of the conference was based around three tracks namely trade, business and employment. Government, education and training featured as a support infrastructure to these themes.

MITTS chairman Joseph R. Grima, who is also head of the Public Service, opened the conference saying that following the first MITTS conference in November 2000, the company and the Kunsill Nazzjonali Persuni b'Dizabilità set up the Foundation for IT Accessibi-lity (FITA) to play an active and focused role in improving the quality of life of the disabled.

Mr Grima explained that the three most important areas of the information economy are the new way business is conducted (new work), the way work is organised (new organisations) and the new skills that are required (new workers).

He said that the information economy will provide Malta with opportunities to shift high value added services, to embark into intellectual property and knowledge as well as be a player in the global sphere. He said Government has taken very bold steps to apply Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in its internal operations as well as encourage the use of ICT within society.

Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami said the conference and the theme had "come at a very opportune moment" as ICT had transformed the way people communicate. ICT has also stimulated creativity, increased productivity and enhanced collaboration in the workplace. There are more than 650 million computers throughout the world; not to mention the new intelligent devices such as mobile phones, interactive televisions, handheld devices and household appliances. Malta must move with agility to harness this momentum and effectively turn this change to its advantage.

The Prime Minister mentioned some of the initiatives at hand, such as the ICT-related legal framework to facilitate e-commerce, e-education and e-government. He stated that Government was committed to put on line as many services as possible. The fact that 64 per cent of the population owns a mobile phone was viewed as an encouraging step at reaching the EU average of 72.4 per cent.

Internet access from homes has increased to 25.4 per cent which puts Malta third compared to other EU accession countries. Such numbers project a healthy position in the ICT environment.

Empowering traders through ICTs

Mr V. Mathivanan, chief executive officer, CrimsonLogic Singapore, delivered a detailed presentation on how Singapore has improved trade with the introduction of TradeNet - an electronic system to process import/export trade clearance of merchandise. TradeNet was mentioned favourably in various prominent journals such as the Harvard Business Review and McKinsey Quarterly.

Federation of Industry president Joe Zammit Tabona highlighted the implications of transforming the economy into an e-Economy or an information economy. He said the information economy is, in essence, a matter of changes in the business organisation, market structures, government regulations and human experience.

Mr Zammit Tabona also questioned how Malta is exploiting ICT to project itself in the tourism sector, for example. He suggested that the education systems should improve by encouraging partnerships between industry and academia; encouraging University and MCAST to integrate the various facets of ICT; and providing the opportunity to teach the teachers.

IPSE chief executive officer Joe Vella Bonnici explained the opportunities and challenges for local SMEs in the information economy. Mr Vella Bonnici said: "the new economy is heavily dependent on education working hand-in-hand with the industry".

As this requires investment, Mr Vella Bonnici said that in Malta, foreign direct investment (FDI) is the main driver of economic growth, hence the move into the information economy. ICT also offers SMEs the opportunity to network and cluster with others in the same or related fields of expertise. IPSE was working closely with Government to simplify the administrative processes required in the proliferation of e-commerce, he said.

Reshaping business through ICTs

Marek Tiits, permanent secretary of the Research and Development Council of Estonia, presented Estonia's initiatives for the promotion of ICTs in business. Estonia has a national IT Development Plan on how to tackle the problem of the digital divide. The government is providing extensive assistance in research and development to promote the proliferation of ICT in Estonia.

Malta Tourism Authority chief executive officer Leslie Vella explained how MTA is "Leveraging Tourism through IT". Mr Vella gave a detailed overview of how MTA utilises ICT both within the organisation and externally to reach its clients worldwide. With the launch of the tourism portal for Malta in November 2001, MTA put Malta on the global market. There is a great potential of using ICT at creating synergies between the major elements of tourism - flights, accommodation, leisure - to provide a one-stop-shop concept for Malta.

Vincent Farrugia, director-general of the General Retailer and Traders Union (GRTU), covered a local perspective of whether the reshaping of the distribution chain with the use of ICT is actually a threat or an opportunity. As Mr Farrugia was away, his speech was presented as a pre-recorded video message.

Mr Farrugia said that ICT is an opportunity for SMEs in Malta to promote and sell their products worldwide. Training is of paramount importance and Government must make sure that the educational institutions provide up-to-date courses in latest ICT-related areas. The advent of the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) is a relatively late newcomer at tapping the training needs in tourism.

Government's emerging role

The first speaker for this session was Giangaleazzo Cairoli, head of unit, Regional and Societal Aspects of the Information Society, European Commission.

Mr Cairoli explained the EU's view on citizens and governance in an information-based society. The Directorate General of Information Society within the European Commission is focusing all its efforts on the promotion and co-ordination of ICT, and the development of an ICT regulatory framework

The e-Europe initiative is a plan that guides the member states to meet ICT objectives in unison with each other. A similar plan, e-Europe+, exists for the accession countries. Malta's setting up of the e-Malta Commission is a step in the direction of achieving the e-Europe+ plan.

E-Malta Commission chairman John Portelli presented the government's role in nurturing the information economy. He explained that "the term Information Economy refers to a new global economic structure". The government's role delved into the areas of research and development, venture capital, legal framework, foreign direct investment (FDI), broadband policies, and the software sector.

The e-Malta Commission's role in achieving these goals is by putting in place the basic building blocks for an information society, extending ICT usage and affordability, facilitating the exploitation of e-commerce, sustaining the proliferation of e-government, eradicating the digital divide, and establishing Malta as a regional centre of excellence for ICT-labour supply.

Implications for Malta's workforce

ETC chairman Robert Tufigno gave an overview of the ICT-related training availability within the current institutions and all the possible sources of training in Malta. He made it very clear that in every aspect of ICT-related training there is a big disparity between men and women (80 per cent of men and 20 per cent of women). This matter needs further examination, especially as ICT-related jobs are more accommodating where flexible hours and teleworking are concerned.

Gejtu Vella, secretary-general of the Union Haddiema Maghqudin (UHM), said his union had recognised that job security no longer meant a job for life. Rather, job security had to be guaranteed through meaningful training processes. He stressed the importance of education and training to empower employees' grasp of ICT. A very topical aspect of ICT is the digital divide. Malta cannot afford to discriminate any minority that is not ICT-literate. Workers must be fluent in the languages of the information economy.

Emmanuel Micallef, deputy secretary general (Sections and Administration) of the General Workers Union (GWU) said that on the national level, ICT was having a drastic effect on the pensioners and elderly. At the industry level, Mr Micallef recognised that the future lay in ICT but this required heavy investment in education and training. ICT had its health and safety implications that were not so evident yet.

At the individual level, the GWU was interested in promoting lifelong learning in ICT. The need for ICT-related education and training is a must that cannot be delayed any further. The GWU was providing training in the European Computer Driving License (ECDL).

Justice and Local Government Minister Austin Gatt shared his "dream of transforming Malta into an information and communications jewel in the Euromed region and of enabling each and every household in Malta to draw on the benefits of an information society".

Government has set the goal "to attain a first class information society by the end of 2003". Dr Gatt explained that Government was pursuing to accomplish an information society by setting seven objectives:

¤ Use ICT to offer public services to all citizens;

¤ Make extensive use of ICT in government;

¤ Extend citizen participation in decision-making by applying ICT;

¤ Provide accessibility to all forms of ICT to all citizens;

¤ Engender ICT literacy in all sectors of society;

¤ Harness and exploit the opportunities ICT brings;

¤ Apply ICT to identify new avenues.

Copies of all speeches and slide presentations are available at www.mitts.gov.mt.