The government has still not laid out its vision for job creation or ventured out into new areas of economic activity, Mario de Marco, PN deputy leader for parliamentary affairs, said today.

He said that the PN wanted to contribute to efforts to diversify the economy and was proposing areas which Malta should increasing venture into, such as the creative economy and digital gaming. 

He was speaking at a press conference outside the Safi Aviation Park, one of the areas of investment developed by the former PN government. He was accompanied by MEP Roberta Metsola and election candidate Stefano Mallia.

Dr de Marco stressed that jobs were central for families to have a better quality of life and to generate economic activity.

A vision for job creation motivated the labour force, particularly the young, to plan their future and develop their talents accordingly. 

Dr de Marco regretted that over the past year, the number of young unemployed who were not studying rose to 5,800, an increase of 1,200 from a year ago.

The Youth Guarantee Scheme offered by the government was not enough to motivate young people.

Dr de Marco pointed out how developing the creative industry and digital gaming would tie in with the growth Malta had seen in the IT industry including technical expertise, analytics, data mining and other specialisations.

He suggested that the government should provide fiscal incentives to attract companies in this sector. With a number of established companies, Malta could develop a strong economic cluster in this sector.

Malta could also offer an attractive corporate tax base on the model developed by the former government, including a tax cap of 15 per cent. 
Assistance could also be offered for start-ups producing products such as digital games.