"Do you know of any good software developers? We can't find any!" This was the unexpected request received in I-Tech's mailbox a few days ago.
The sender is a top executive at an established foreign-owned software developing company based in Malta and which employs an ever-expanding complement of mostly-Maltese technical staff.
The company was not at fault: I-Tech can confirm there aren't enough software developers to meet the demands of the local market.
"From our recent activities, we appear to have been experiencing a steady demand for IT positions, particularly software developers," confirmed Jonathan M. Dalli, business development executive at recruitment services company Commercial Services Bureau (CSB) Ltd.
This is not a unique experience and is echoed by other companies in the field.
"I think the reports you are receiving are well founded," Anton Buttigieg, head of the business consultancy unit at Misco, said. "The situation, however, is not new to the IT market. I would say that this shortage has been around for almost two years."
"Many Maltese companies have managed to lock in more contracts, both locally and abroad and, therefore, they have been recruiting more IT staff. A number of IT foreign companies have also established in Malta and have expanded in the process. This has created further pressure on the local IT labour market.
"The i-gaming industry requires an IT setup. Each company might not require a large IT staff complement but when you consider that there are more than 150 registered companies the numbers start building up. Other companies, like banks, and insurance companies, have become reliant on IT and they now have their dedicated IT departments.
"In the process, salaries of IT professionals have been going up at an extremely fast pace," commented Mr Buttigieg.
At the time of writing this article the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) website was listing two vacancies for computer programmers, one vacancy for a web designer and five opportunities for various types of IT-related jobs such as computer assistants and support officers. In comparison, there were five vacancies for barmen, 13 for waiters/waitresses, five for clerks and five for salesmen.
"This demand is definitely larger than the supply of IT graduates and professionals," insisted Mr Buttigieg. "If you browse through the classified section of the The Sunday Times you'll see that many of the vacancies are related to IT."
A study on the demand and supply of ICT skills in Malta, compiled by consulting firm KPMG in cooperation with the Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology (MIIIT) and published earlier this year revealed that the vendor-specific courses offered by the local training providers, by and large, satisfies the demand for ICT skills posed by service providers. However, there is still a shortage of high-quality ICT resources. Service providers also want a mix of knowledge and practical skills whereas training providers focus more on the former. One of the hallmarks of the government's ICT strategy is to boost the opportunities for ICT training in both the public and the private sector. One of the key players in this strategy is the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology (Mcast).
"Students who graduate from our programmes are finding good meaningful jobs in industry," explained Juan Borg Manduca, the director of the ICT Institute at Mcast. "This is due to the expansion in the IT sector, with a large number of local and foreign companies setting up in Malta. Students specialising in software development are especially in great demand."
The ICT Institute received over 700 applications to join the institute this academic year. The government entered into a private public partnership with the private sector and four private training providers (PTP's) are today running the institute's programmes under its control. In this way, all students who applied to join the institute have been registered as Mcast students. "The total student population at the ICT Institute now stands at over 1,100 full-time students, which is quite a feat," added Mr Borg Manduca.
This year the institute started an apprenticeship scheme with the networking students, and 15 students having already started an apprenticeship scheme in partnership with the ETC and employers.
Where the private sector is concerned, it seems to be ready for the challenge.
"The local training industry is coping very well with the training demand," reassured Rosanne Galea, president of the Malta Association of Private Training Providers. "As a matter of fact, the training industry is not saturated with students. There is excess capacity and this is why the industry turns to the government and asks for more public private partnerships in this respect."
She confirmed there is an increased demand for training in the field of software development but students are still not clear about what they really want to become.
"It seems that prospective students do not know exactly which areas are in great demand by the industry. Some people still are not aware of the difference and importance between academic and industry-related certifications, in industry. Students are still unsure about the benefits of such careers. Parents too, because of their lack of knowledge, do not help much either. They push their students towards traditional careers."
The president of the Malta Association of Private Training Providers has reservations whether Malta will ever match the demand with an adequate supply of ICT skills, especially for specialisation areas where even countries much bigger than Malta encounter the same problems.
"I believe that we will need to have some specialists brought to Malta from abroad to satisfy the demand and it is in the interest of this country to do so. Only then can we keep and improve on our country's competitiveness."
On a more positive note, she thinks SmartCity@Malta will not make the situation worse.
"SmartCity is a great opportunity. It will make this emerging industry more dynamic, more interesting, and more challenging. Malta must be prepared. We need more planning. We will only have a crisis if we are not prepared and therefore we need to study in depth the true needs of the industry now and in the future."
The sender is a top executive at an established foreign-owned software developing company based in Malta and which employs an ever-expanding complement of mostly-Maltese technical staff.
The company was not at fault: I-Tech can confirm there aren't enough software developers to meet the demands of the local market.
"From our recent activities, we appear to have been experiencing a steady demand for IT positions, particularly software developers," confirmed Jonathan M. Dalli, business development executive at recruitment services company Commercial Services Bureau (CSB) Ltd.
This is not a unique experience and is echoed by other companies in the field.
"I think the reports you are receiving are well founded," Anton Buttigieg, head of the business consultancy unit at Misco, said. "The situation, however, is not new to the IT market. I would say that this shortage has been around for almost two years."
"Many Maltese companies have managed to lock in more contracts, both locally and abroad and, therefore, they have been recruiting more IT staff. A number of IT foreign companies have also established in Malta and have expanded in the process. This has created further pressure on the local IT labour market.
"The i-gaming industry requires an IT setup. Each company might not require a large IT staff complement but when you consider that there are more than 150 registered companies the numbers start building up. Other companies, like banks, and insurance companies, have become reliant on IT and they now have their dedicated IT departments.
"In the process, salaries of IT professionals have been going up at an extremely fast pace," commented Mr Buttigieg.
At the time of writing this article the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) website was listing two vacancies for computer programmers, one vacancy for a web designer and five opportunities for various types of IT-related jobs such as computer assistants and support officers. In comparison, there were five vacancies for barmen, 13 for waiters/waitresses, five for clerks and five for salesmen.
"This demand is definitely larger than the supply of IT graduates and professionals," insisted Mr Buttigieg. "If you browse through the classified section of the The Sunday Times you'll see that many of the vacancies are related to IT."
A study on the demand and supply of ICT skills in Malta, compiled by consulting firm KPMG in cooperation with the Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology (MIIIT) and published earlier this year revealed that the vendor-specific courses offered by the local training providers, by and large, satisfies the demand for ICT skills posed by service providers. However, there is still a shortage of high-quality ICT resources. Service providers also want a mix of knowledge and practical skills whereas training providers focus more on the former. One of the hallmarks of the government's ICT strategy is to boost the opportunities for ICT training in both the public and the private sector. One of the key players in this strategy is the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology (Mcast).
"Students who graduate from our programmes are finding good meaningful jobs in industry," explained Juan Borg Manduca, the director of the ICT Institute at Mcast. "This is due to the expansion in the IT sector, with a large number of local and foreign companies setting up in Malta. Students specialising in software development are especially in great demand."
The ICT Institute received over 700 applications to join the institute this academic year. The government entered into a private public partnership with the private sector and four private training providers (PTP's) are today running the institute's programmes under its control. In this way, all students who applied to join the institute have been registered as Mcast students. "The total student population at the ICT Institute now stands at over 1,100 full-time students, which is quite a feat," added Mr Borg Manduca.
This year the institute started an apprenticeship scheme with the networking students, and 15 students having already started an apprenticeship scheme in partnership with the ETC and employers.
Where the private sector is concerned, it seems to be ready for the challenge.
"The local training industry is coping very well with the training demand," reassured Rosanne Galea, president of the Malta Association of Private Training Providers. "As a matter of fact, the training industry is not saturated with students. There is excess capacity and this is why the industry turns to the government and asks for more public private partnerships in this respect."
She confirmed there is an increased demand for training in the field of software development but students are still not clear about what they really want to become.
"It seems that prospective students do not know exactly which areas are in great demand by the industry. Some people still are not aware of the difference and importance between academic and industry-related certifications, in industry. Students are still unsure about the benefits of such careers. Parents too, because of their lack of knowledge, do not help much either. They push their students towards traditional careers."
The president of the Malta Association of Private Training Providers has reservations whether Malta will ever match the demand with an adequate supply of ICT skills, especially for specialisation areas where even countries much bigger than Malta encounter the same problems.
"I believe that we will need to have some specialists brought to Malta from abroad to satisfy the demand and it is in the interest of this country to do so. Only then can we keep and improve on our country's competitiveness."
On a more positive note, she thinks SmartCity@Malta will not make the situation worse.
"SmartCity is a great opportunity. It will make this emerging industry more dynamic, more interesting, and more challenging. Malta must be prepared. We need more planning. We will only have a crisis if we are not prepared and therefore we need to study in depth the true needs of the industry now and in the future."