Ġemma : the all round perspective

Ġ E M M A T e a m

ĠEMMA Know Plan Act is the independent and credible financial capability portal falling under the office of the Permanent Secretary within the Ministry for Social Policy and Children’s Rights. ĠEMMA’s aim is to educate and equip the Maltese with financial capability skills.

One of the cornerstones of ĠEMMA’s work, fundamental to its ethos and role is that of training. ĠEMMA has sought to provide bespoke training in the area of financial capability to different cohorts and plans to continue to do so in the future. This so as to continue to equip persons, service providers and businesses with the particular knowledge and skills they need in financial capability according to their needs.

The trainers engaged to do this are experienced and knowledgeable team members, staff from our strategic partners who are also committed to disseminating knowledge in financial capability and external trained service providers.

To date ĠEMMA has already carried out bespoke training on financial literacy to service users of the Paulo Freire Institute in partnership with HSBC Foundation Malta. with ĠEMMA EY and Inland Revenue Department to provide training to Small and Medium Enterprises last November. Another session aimed at SMEs in collaboration HSBC Foundation with the Chamber was also carried out this February.

The Mental Health Department together with HSBC Foundation have also collaborated with ĠEMMA on train-the-trainer sessions for their staff who can then pass on knowledge and skills in financial capability to their clients. ĠEMMA has also provided specially created training packs to the Mental Health Department for use during their client training sessions.

Once again together with HSBC Foundation Malta, ĠEMMA embarked on financial capability drive this February where over 52 CARITAS volunteers who work within the community were given train-the-trainer training. These volunteers aim to deliver educational sessions on various financial topics through sessions in parish churches to students from schools across the Maltese islands.

HSBC Foundation Malta who are supporting JAYE Malta’s ‘Building a Financially Capable Generation’ course have facilitated the collaboration of ĠEMMA and JAYE whereby a team member and trainer has also provided a train-the-trainer session to the administrators of St Augustine College. This same team member has also worked on an info/training session for teachers during Money Week 2022.

This is an annual global awareness-raising campaign on the importance of ensuring that young people, from an early age, are

P h o t o : M i k h a i l N i l o v

financially aware, and are gradually acquiring the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours necessary to make sound financial decisions and ultimately achieve financial well-being and financial resilience. In this way and through other training, competitions and events, ĠEMMA specifically aims to target students.

Currently as part of its campaign, ĠEMMA is in the process of holding training sessions, in collaboration with EMCS, on the importance of the Vocational, Occupational, Retirement and Pension Scheme (VORPS). These sessions will be delivered by professionals to head of companies and are intended to focus on the financial benefits (tax and incentives) to both the employer and employee through employee’s enrolment. As part of its VORPS programme, ĠEMMA would also be organising webinars with renowned speakers as part of the panel to discuss further the importance of VORPS whereby participants would be given the opportunity to put forward any questions that they might have. ĠEMMA plans to continue to collaborate with its strategic partners to continue to offer training to existing partners and to create and adapt its material to provide training to other organisations and cohorts so as to continue its journey towards its goal of a financially capable society.

Visit gemma.gov.mt for more information