Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1507984
NEWS 9 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 20 SEPTEMBER 2023 JAMES DEBONO A quarter of Maltese businesses employ workers from outside the EU, a recent Eurobarometer survey on skills shortages and recruitment in small and medium-sized enter- prises shows. The findings place Maltese com- panies as the third most likely in the EU to hire non-EU workers. The survey among 252 Maltese SMEs highlighted various employ- ment patterns among these busi- nesses. Specifically, 16% of Maltese companies exclusively employ non- EU workers in person, while 3% rely solely on remote workers from out- side the EU. Additionally, 6% of Maltese SMEs hire both in-person and online non- EU workers. The survey which encompassed 12,909 SMEs across all EU member states found that 14% of EU-based SMEs employ foreign workers from outside the EU. The proportion of companies engaging non-EU work- ers varies significantly, from 30% in Portugal and 28% in Ireland to as low as 3% in Bulgaria and 2% in Hungary. A striking 87% of Maltese com- panies reported experiencing skills shortages, where applicants either lacked the required skills or there were too few/no applicants for spe- cific job roles, including managers, administrators, skilled workers, and manual laborers. Notably, 50% of Maltese companies struggled to re- cruit professionals and technicians, while 41% faced challenges in hiring manual laborers and administrators. The difficulty in recruiting skilled workers was not unique to Malta, as the survey indicated that it ranged from 54% in Cyprus and 56% in Sweden and Denmark, to 88% in Austria. When confronted with skills shortages, 47% of Maltese respond- ents expressed their willingness to invest more in training. This ap- proach was also favoured by over 40% of respondents in the Nether- lands (44%), Italy (47%), and Ireland (49%). Conversely, only 22% of respond- ents in Denmark leaned toward in- vesting more in training. Interestingly, 21% of Maltese com- panies, in contrast to 32% of com- panies based in other EU countries, considered increasing financial benefits to attract more workers. Furthermore, 26% of Maltese busi- nesses would explore automation, while 14% would consider lowering their hiring standards to address re- cruitment challenges. 44% of Maltese businesses be- lieved that simplifying procedures for hiring non-EU workers could aid in recruiting staff with the nec- essary skills. This sentiment was echoed by 38% of SMEs across all EU member states. A majority of respondents, 59%, believed that im- proved collaboration with public employment services represented the most effective measure to tackle skill shortages. Quarter of Maltese companies employ non-EU workers In person remotely both Portugal 25 5 0 Ireland 25 1 2 Netherlands 19 3 2 Malta 16 3 6 France 14 1 1 Poland 13 3 4 Austria 13 2 5 Germany 13 1 4 Cyprus 11 2 2 EU 27 10 2 2 Belguim 9 1 1 Slovenia 8 0 5 Sweden 7 1 0 Lithuania 7 2 1 Luxembourg 7 0 1 Greece 7 1 0 Latvia 6 0 2 Czech Rep 6 0 1 Denmark 6 1 1 Spain 4 0 1 Croatia 4 0 1 Estonia 4 1 1 Finland 3 1 2 Bulgaria 3 0 0 Italy 2 2 2 Romania 2 1 1 Hungary 1 1 0 Has your company recently recruited anyone from outside the European Union (i.e. not a national nor a resident in any of the EU Member States)? (% by country) A 35-year-old woman was hospitalised on Monday afternoon after she was involved in a traffic accident in Birżebbuġa. The police said the accident happened at around 4:15pm in Triq Birżebbuġa. Preliminary investigations show the victim was riding passenger on a Yamaha motorcycle driven by a 42-year-old man, which was involved in a col- lision with a Toyota Yaris driven by a 42-year-old woman. All those involved live in Birżebbuġa. The 35-year-old was administered first-aid before being rushed to Mater Dei Hospital, where she was certified as suffering from grievous injuries. Police investigations are ongoing. Woman hospitalised in Birzebbuga traffic accident