Increasing employability skills to combat unemployment

There is no doubt that structural unemployment has hit the European Union. The recent EU analysis confirms this. However, remedial action taken by Malta has been widely acclaimed and international agencies confirm that Malta has been one of the better performing economies of the eurozone.

Although a majority of EU states have faced an increase in unemployment, surveys also show a clear shortage of employability skills, especially in sciences, technology, engineering, mathematics and business skills. A shortage of 'skilled' people leads to a crisis in employability. Building specific 'skills' programmes is essential both for the unemployed as well as those in employment, especially in those industries which are under threat. This 'skill' building exercise should also be extended to attract women to the workplace as well as to keep older people in a meaningful labour market. This applies to all sectors of employment.

Attracting private investment is crucial to Malta. The 'Malta Attractiveness survey', conducted recently among executives of non-Maltese owned businesses operating in Malta gives encouraging results. A vast majority of respondents have expressed confidence that Malta has the ability to overcome the ongoing economic crisis, with 93% of respondents feeling positive about the way the country has handled this problem.

However, the same respondents have expressed negative views about the required specialised skills in the current labour market. In fact, whereas in 2012, 43% were able to find people with the right specialised skills, the 2013 survey shows that only 36% managed to find the required skills in the local labour market.

In manufacturing, 53% of respondents encountered problems when searching for the specialised skills from the local pool of human resources, although a clear majority believe that Malta has the right legislative framework for key players in this set sector, to set up in Malta.

The Financial Services sector is a specialised and important sector for Malta's economy. Their response that Malta has a limited supply of human resources in this field is worrying and needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

Shortage of skills in the ICT, telecommunications and iGaming industries is even more worrying. Only 23% of executives in this sector state that they did not encounter any problems in the engagement of employees with the required skills in this sector.

Malta has to work hard in increasing our attractiveness. It is important that employability 'skills' are addressed and that higher and specialised educational opportunities are available locally.

Confidence in Malta should be matched with efforts to successfully overcome the crisis. Malta has to look forward to increase the number of specialised individuals to meet the demand. There has to be a significant increase in educational and vocational training. Our labour force should have the opportunities for placement and work opportunities, both locally and abroad.

Malta has to address this skills shortage through increased availability of these skill sets. This will result in additional employment in Malta and give our work force added advantage in seeking employment both locally and abroad. In this increasingly sophisticated economic climate, Malta has to create the supply that will meet the demand.

Evarist Bartolo is Minister for Education