More than 700 foreign nationals were caught working illegally during surprise inspections last year – a fivefold increase over 2013, according to the Employment and Training Corporation’s annual report.
In 2014 ETC officers found 734 foreigners working illegally in 2,488 inspections.
This registered a 465 per cent increase over the 130 in 2013, when there were 2,422 inspections, which seemed to indicate a downward trend since 192 foreigners were caught working illegally in 2012, along with 261 in 2011 and 373 in 2010.
The figures, however, showed positive results when it came to the illegal employment of minors with only one case registered last year compared with 12 cases in 2013 and 20 in 2010.
There was also a drop in employment not reported to the corporation – from 2,238 in 2013 to 1,719 last year.
734
- the number of foreigners found working illegally in 2,488 inspections
The report also reveals that 1,705 people were removed from Part 1 of the unemployment register because they failed to abide by their legal obligation to make themselves available for employment and training opportunities.
People listed on Part 1 of the register may be eligible for unemployment benefit and include those who never worked or who have been made redundant.
In total, 18,399 jobseekers used the ETC’s job registration services. Over 5,600 of these were new service users.
The service has three parts. Part 1 and 2 applicants are unemployed while Part 3 applicants have a job but want to be notified of other opportunities.
At the end of December 2014, there were a total of 6,287 people on Parts 1 and 2 of the register when compared with 7,401 at the end of December 2013 marking a drop of 1,114 job-seeking registrants, the report noted.
During 2014, 96 people with disabilities were placed into jobs in Malta and two in Gozo. An additional 10 job placements were made by NGOs bringing the total to 108. The corporation received only 26 applications under the Mature Workers’ Rules Scheme launched last year – which provides tax incentive to companies who took on jobseekers between the ages of 45 and 65 – of which only nine were eligible.
Over 1,400 people took part in the Community Work Scheme and carried out community work in places such as schools and local councils to further their skills and improve their employment prospects.