Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/797847
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 MARCH 2017 16 News MATTHEW VELLA MALTESE businesses are increas- ingly finding it hard to compete with the salaries being offered by the island's remote gaming indus- try, as this high-performance sec- tor keeps offering higher salaries to retain the best talent possible. Generating over €55 million in tax revenue in 2015 alone, the gam- ing sector is now attracting top- tier executives on salaries averag- ing €120,000 and going as high as €200,000, and lower-end operator staff on average salaries of €30,000. It's a situation that leaves tradi- tional Maltese businesses unable to compete on salaries when trying to retain talent that is skilled enough to join the gaming industry. "There is an element of wage in- flation because this is an industry that has high value-added," says Joe Farrugia, director-general of the Malta Employers Association, who acknowledged the reality of home-grown employers unable to compete with gaming's salaries. "It's an employees' market right now, and employers are competing with each other in this factor mar- ket. The gaming sector has the ad- vantage to offer better salaries than other businesses which have lower value-added." Much of gaming's higher salaries are derived from the industry's willingness to pay above the go- ing rates to retain quality talent and fill up vacancies quickly, says Julian Perigo, managing director of Bostonlink Recruitment, which mapped up the Maltese gaming salaries in a recent survey. "Given that the higher salaries aren't tied to just some skills (al- though tech and language skills do demand a premium), I believe what we are seeing is a time-lag: the im- pact of supply and demand in de- termining price isn't immediate and even across the economy, but it does level out over time," Perigo said, which means other sectors will catch up over the longer term as the demand for skilled staff in Malta increases overall. "The gaming companies are sim- ply the ones at the crest of the wave as they have the most pressing de- mand for new skills." Perigo acknowledges that what the Maltese are witnessing is the speed at which this is happening. "The impact of this only seems un- even because of the speed at which it is happening, but ultimately the upwards pressure on wages – and therefore disposable incomes – will impact on the whole economy in the medium to long term," he says of the industry that is contrib- uting 12% of Malta's gross domes- tic product. One of the attractions of gaming, Perigo points out, is that lucra- tive careers are being created for people who may have not reached graduate and post-graduate levels – perhaps at the core of employers' gripes, who will not pay top dollar for non-graduates. As Maltese skills catch up with the foreign influx, a perception of income inequality may have set in. Not just between high and low- skilled workers, but also within a middle class of service workers who are in jobs that will never pay as high a salary as gaming. "Gaming is a very volatile sector," Joe Farrugia says of the incentives that the industry enjoys to retain its Maltese foothold, suggesting that companies must be kept happy to keep their bases here. "It must be protected, but the government's fiscal policies must also protect those who are not part of this sec- tor. Tax incentives are certainly creating an uneven playing field. We also have members from the gaming industry, and we can see why traditional employers feel they cannot always compete for the re- tention of highly skilled workers." Perigo does point out that it is preferable to see gaming bringing in new jobs – pushing wages up – rather than seeing the Maltese talent take up the same jobs else- where. Today the sector employs one Maltese for every two foreign, mainly EU, worker. But Perigo says that it is not only salaries that traditional businesses must compete on, pointing out that they must change their ap- proach to talent acquisition. "We need to recognise that sala- ries alone do not determine a per- son's job choices – we see this all the time in recruitment. In fact, traditional industries need to learn to compete on a broader playing field than just salary: they need to adapt to offer more flexible and remote working, more childcare support, better inclusivity and ac- cessibility practices, better pen- sions packages, more personalised benefits and rewards, and better working environments. "Not all of these changes require higher cost – many of them are based on the culture and the flex- ibility of the employer. To give the gaming industry its credit, it is pushing boundaries in all of these ways and more, to the great benefit of the Maltese workforce." Salaries and attracting talent The BostonLink survey found that while executive pay in Malta continues to be competitive and high performers can demand im- pressive salaries, average base sala- ries range between €90,000 and €140,000 a year. For top executive salaries, the up- per limit of the salary range – for example a CEO could be earning up to €200,000 – is less absolute than for other salaries. While high outliers were eliminated for the survey, the most well remuner- ated executives are already earning Executive pay at over €100,000 and non-graduates who can aspire to salaries of over €35,000: traditional businesses must find new ways to retain workers if they cannot compete with the gaming industry's salaries Gaming runs the job VA C A N C Y JOB DESCRIPTION GPAY CO. LTD. – MALTA Position: Marketing Manager GPAY Co. Ltd. (the "Company"), is currently in the process of being licensed by the Malta Financial Services Authority as an Electronic Money Institution. The Company is currently looking for an individual to be employed as a Marketing Manager, on a full time basis. The Marketing Manager shall be responsible for carrying out the marketing and branding function of the Company and will form part of the team in Malta. The ideal candidate shall have: • a minimum of five (5) years' experience in marketing and branding for payment industry; • at least two (2) years' experience with any online and mobile payment company; and • a Degree in Economics, Banking and Finance (or the equivalent). The Company is looking for an individual who is ecient, dynamic, proactive, consistent and meticulous in his / her work. The ideal candidate must be able to lead the marketing team with good communication and motivation skills. Candidates must have good command of English and Chinese languages in both speaking and written form so as to market for target customers in EU and China. Candidates who are already approved as t and proper persons by the MFSA, who have experience in the banking and electronic money sector and who have a working knowledge of Chinese payment industry, will be highly considered. The Marketing Manager shall be responsible for marketing and branding objectives and strategies. Furthermore, the Marketing Manager shall be tasked with market trends analysis, marketing budget preparation, and creation and delivery of marketing materials, press releases, advertisements and other materials. An attractive remuneration package will be oered. Interested candidates are to send their CV together with a covering letter to: resume@ungpay.com