The study will highlight Maltese companies that most often require skill cards.

The National Skills Council is carrying out a feasibility study that will assess the benefits and challenges of introducing skills cards for workers in various industries and business sectors in Malta.

In the face of a tight labour market and growing demand for skilled workers and good communication, Malta will introduce skills cards that will contain concise information on individual skills, qualifications and competencies of employees.

Skills cards can also include information on employees’ technical knowledge, as well as transversal skills – typically considered to be not directly related to a specific job position or academic discipline – and other relevant qualifications.

The study is expected to assess and prioritise the Maltese business sectors that will most need Skills Cards, as well as assess the effectiveness of the introduction of the Skills Card Framework, providing policy makers with data on which businesses will benefit the most from the scheme.

The study will not cover the construction and hotel industries.

The Construction Authority agreed to introduce skills cards in 2016, but until now implementation had focused on a health and safety skills card for construction workers, which was to be rolled out in stages.

The hospitality industry, where 48% of the workforce is non-Maltese, has announced the introduction of a skills “pass” in 2023. The Malta Tourism Authority is set to begin rolling out skills cards in 2024, initially targeting non-EU nationals. The skills card requirement will then be expanded to include local workers and other EU nationals by 2025.

In recent years, Malta has experienced rapid economic growth and a growing demand for labour. As unemployment has fallen to historic levels, gaps in the skills required for various jobs have begun to emerge in the workforce.

The COVID pandemic has upended Malta’s labour market: as the economy rebounded in 2021, industries were suddenly faced with a skills shortage, with non-EU workers filling the gap. In 2022, Malta employed 97,000 foreigners, two thirds (63%) of whom were non-EU nationals. In total, one third of Malta’s workforce (36%) is made up of EU and non-EU workers.

However, businesses said today that Malta’s new workforce is suffering from a skills shortage, which has affected the quality of services offered to consumers.

“Despite the large number of migrant workers coming to Malta, the most serious challenge remains the skills shortage, which fails to meet the labour standards required in a highly diversified business environment,” the National Skills Council said.

Malta’s economic diversity – a wide range of business sectors from fishing to tourism – requires a very wide range of skills, but the labour market still struggles to meet this demand, according to the National Security Council.

The recent HR Pulse 2022 survey found that 75% of employers confirmed that acquiring the right skills was their top concern. A study conducted by the Office for National Statistics found that a vertical skills mismatch occurred in 54.3% of the working population.

“In the face of growing challenges related to skills shortages, the strategy for importing skills from the EU and third countries and the possibility of upskilling existing human resources must be more demanding and uncompromising in matching candidates’ skills to job requirements.

“This includes the indigenous workforce,” the National Security Council said.