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

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

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.

Mr Bartolo said that just three out of every 10 jobs in the Igaming industry were taken by Maltese.

This he said could be tackled by focusing on the needs of the jobs market and transposing this into courses that fit.

"We have children that leave school without the necessary skills, attendance alone is not enough," 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.

Asked how the government planned to tackle truancy, Mr Bartolo pointed out that many courses were not relevant to students. He said that Malta would be working with EU agencies to pinpoint problems with courses being offered to improve the education system.

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.