Study to reveal wealth of human resources in Gozo

The strategy is being compiled at a time when Gozo is preparing to accommodate a firm from New Zealand, which will shortly start producing energy-saving bulbs and other electrical fittings in Xewkija.

Manuel Tabone, who has recently been appointed as Director of the newly set-up Directorate for Tourism and Economic Development in Gozo, is coordinating the drafting of the human resources strategy which will take stock of the inherent socio-economic realities in Gozo.  This strategy is intended to address three measures of the Eco-Gozo action plan.

Speaking to GozoToday, Tabone remarked that with an average of 850 Gozitan students attending university every year, is indicative of a changing reality.

Agriculture, manual labour or manufacturing are not the only realities today when it comes to employment opportunities which can potentially be generated in Gozo. 

Over the past years, Gozo has produced a wide range of professionals. “Due to the increased labour-market mismatch, the vast majority of these persons have left Gozo to work in Malta, or overseas causing not only a brain-drain for the ‘sister-island’ but most especially affecting consumption patterns for the Gozitan economy as a whole,” he said.

The idea behind the compilation of a human resources strategy for Gozo, is to have an updated database of the available and potential human capital in Gozo, which in turn would serve agencies such as Malta Enterprise to link the availability of resources to the requirements of prospective investors.

“Through my directorate, I am striving to promote Gozo’s regional socio-economic interests and treating the current setbacks as challenges to be overcome,” he says.

Tabone – an economist by profession – is assisted by a policy analyst at the Directorate for Tourism and Economic Development, which operates with the setup of the Ministry for Gozo.

“Unfortunately, some still interpret the geographical position of Gozo as a  weakness and continue visualising tomorrow’s opportunities strictly on the basis of its past performance,” he says, adding that for an island like Gozo, insularity or double-insularity does constitute a physical impediment but shouldn’t always be considered as a barrier prohibiting access to the international market. Gozo does in fact offer rewarding prospects to that investor who is able to reach out for them.

Working under a remit of a three-year plan, Tabone is focused on creating value-added in Gozo in collaboration with other national entities such as the Malta Enterprise, the Malta Tourism Authority and the Employment and Training Corporation together with other local stakeholders representing employers on the island.

In a recently published pre-Budget document, the Finance Ministry reiterated its commitment towards the generation of sustainable employment.

“While recognising that the socio-economic development of the island can be sustained by supporting relevant sectors, it is just as important to recognise the challenges faced by Gozo and thus to ensure that policies for Gozo are not just a replication of a ‘one size fits all’ approach, but take into account the specific needs of the island and its current level of development as a starting point,” the ministry said.

This article appeared in GozoToday