Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1524591
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 JULY 2024 NEWS Study will rank Maltese businesses requiring skills cards the most THE National Skills Council is undertaking a feasibility study that will assess the benefits and challenges to introduce skills cards for workers in each of Malta's different industries and business sectors. Against the backdrop of a tight labour market and grow- ing demands for skilled work- ers and good communication, Malta will be introducing skills cards that will carry concise information on workers' in- dividual skills, qualifications, and competencies. Skill cards can also include information on workers' tech- nical expertise as well as trans- versal skills – typically consid- ered as not specifically related to a particular job or academic discipline – and other relevant qualifications. The study is expected to as- sess and rank which Maltese business sectors will require skill cards the most, as well as the effectiveness of intro- ducing a skill card framework, providing decision-makers with data on which business will derive the greatest bene- fits from the system. The study will exclude the construction and hospitality industries. The Building and Construc- tion Authority had agreed on the introduction of skill cards in 2016, but to date the imple- mentation focused on a health and safety skill card for con- struction workers, intended to be extended in a phased ap- proach. The hospitality industry, where 48% of its workforce is not Maltese, announced the introduction of a skill 'pass' in 2023. The Malta Tourism Authority is set to initiate the rollout of skill cards in 2024, initially targeting non-EU na- tionals. Subsequently, by 2025, the skill card requirement will be expanded to encompass lo- cal workers and other EU na- tionals. In recent years, Malta experi- enced rapid economic growth and a growing demand for jobs. As unemployment fell to historic levels, gaps in the skills required for various jobs started appearing in the work- force. The COVID pandemic up- ended Malta's labour market: when the economy rebounded in 2021, industries were sud- denly faced with a shortage of skilled labour, and workers from outside the EU plugged the resultant shortfall. In 2022, Malta employed 97,000 foreign nationals, two-thirds of which (63%) were non-EU nationals. In total, one-third of Malta's workforce (36%) is made up of EU and non-EU workers. But businesses today said that Malta's new workforce suffers from a lack of skills that has affected the quality of service they offer to consumers. "Despite the large number of migrant workers coming to Malta, the most critical chal- lenge remains a deficiency in skills, which falls short of the labour force benchmarks re- quired for a highly diversified business environment," the National Skills Council has said. Malta's economic diversity – a large portfolio of business sectors that range from fish- eries to tourism – demands a very wide range of skills, but its labour market is still strug- gling to meet this demand, the NSC said. A recent HR Pulse Survey in 2022 indicated that 75% of employers confirmed that attracting the right skills is their major concern. A study by the National Statistics Of- fice found that vertical skills mismatch was experienced by 54.3% of the working popula- tion. "Against a backdrop of mounting skill challenges, the strategy of importing skills from EU and third countries and the possibility of upskill- ing existing human resourc- es, need to be more discern- ing and uncompromising in matching candidate skills with job requirements. This also applies to the in- digenous workforce," the NSC said. MATTHEW VELLA mvella@mediatoday.com.mt The study will exclude the construction and hospitality industries. The Building and Construction Authority is implementing a health and safety skill card for construction workers