Future is gloomy for early school-leavers, even as Malta halves rate

Malta’s rate of early school-leavers (ESLs) has halved compared to its 2005 levels, standing at 16.7% in 2020.

Yet despite the improvement, Malta’s ESL rate remains the highest in the EU, an analysis by the Central Bank of Malta (CBM) shows.

The share of the population with a tertiary level of education almost trebled during the same period, rising from 10.3% to 28%.

By last year, 40.3% had at best a basic level of education equivalent to lower secondary education, while 31.7% had an upper secondary or post-secondary, non-tertiary level.

But while early school leavers may still find a job, lacking basic qualifications compromises employability later in life due to lacking skills, and this has economic and social costs, the Central Bank said.

Data from 2018 reveals that median gross hourly earnings for those with a tertiary level of education were 40% higher than those with an intermediate level. For those possessing a basic level of education, this discrepancy shoots up to 65%.

Employment rates have consistently been higher among those with a tertiary level of education, while for low and medium levels of education the opposite holds true. In fact, the employment rate for persons aged 15-64 with a higher education qualification was 89.4% in 2020.

This is 14.2 percentage points higher than that of people with a medium level of education, and 27.6 points higher than that of people with a basic level of education.

Those with a basic level of education are still often able to find employment once they’ve left school. In fact, the study reports that almost seven out of ten ESLs in Malta were employed in 2020 – the highest employment rate for ESLs across the EU.

“This suggests that the despite the lack of official qualifications, early school leavers in Malta may still possess skills that are relevant for the labour market,” the CBM study said.

But the study’s author predicts a gloomy future for Maltese ESLs, with only one in ten jobs within reach for those with a basic level of education, as demand for those with low qualifications is projected to fall.

This trend is evident even now, where the employment rate for those with a low level of education declined in 2020. And this indeed suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic hit the less-educated workers the hardest.

“Upskilling and on-the-job training as part of lifelong-learning schemes could prove to be an alternative to formal education, while helping individuals to progress up the career ladder or find alternative employment when they are unlikely to return to formal education,” the report recommends.