Half of all new jobs are being taken up by foreign workers, Education and Employment Minister Evarist Bartolo said yesterday.

Speaking at a public consultation entitled Meet the Cabinet, Mr Bartolo said Maltese workers were not being equipped with the necessary skills for new jobs.

We have children that leave school without the necessary skills

He said that some 18,000 foreigners were currently working in Malta, 40 per cent of whom were hired because Maltese could not fill the roles.

The minister said that just three out of every 10 jobs in the i-gaming industry were being taken up by Maltese.

This, he said, could be tackled by focusing on the needs of the job market by tweaking training courses.

“We have children that leave school without the necessary skills, attendance alone is not enough. Education needs to fit the realities of the job market,” he said, adding that 30 per cent of children have problems spelling in English.

Mr Bartolo also said that fewer than half of fifth formers passed five SEC exams.

Worse still, he pointed out that nearly 6,000 15-year-olds were currently not studying and not employed.

He said that since the closing of a number of trade schools, no other institutions had been opened to substitute the services these had offered. “We realise that there are ways to improve this situation and we will be working with stakeholders to tackle this sooner rather than later,” he said.

Schools are plagued by truancy and lice, says head teacher

Maltese schools are plagued by truancy, lice and unfit parents who do not prioritise education, according to Cospicua primary school head Marion Falzon Ghio.

Speaking at the public consultation session with the Education Minister, Ms Falzon Ghio said schools faced a constant problem of pupil absenteeism.

She said she had dealt with a number of parents who abused social benefits but did not provide their children with basic necessities, such as hygiene.

“We have pupils who have not had a uniform for several months. Their parents are on benefits but still have money for tattoos, cigarettes and hair and nail extensions. Many pupils have also had recurring head lice infestations for more than three months,” she said, adding that enforcement against abusive parents was not effective.

Ms Falzon Ghio said she knew of a number of cases where parents failed to provide for their children but were not fined by the authorities as they could not afford to pay up.

This, she said, was made worse when it later transpired that a number of these parents were not really eligible for the benefits.

“There are parents who are living with their partner but still receive single parent benefits. This type of abuse is not being regulated,” she said.

The minister, Evarist Bartolo, acknowledged the problem of benefit abuse and truancy and assured the gathering that the government would be tackling the issues.

A 2010 study had found that 14 per cent of Cospicua residents were concerned about students who were neglected by their parents.