EU-trained doctors, psychiatrists, dentists, psychologists, midwives, nurses, vets, counsellors and youth workers wishing to establish themselves in Malta are to have clear guidelines on how to do so.
Parliament yesterday concluded the second reading on the Bill transposing a 2015 European Union directive on the recognition of professional qualifications into national legislation.
The directive, modernising a 2005 directive in nine areas, aims to bring about partial access to regulated professions and mutual recognition of professional train-eeships. There are around 800 categories of regulated professions across the 28 EU member states.
Mutual recognition for a number of professions would be now provided for through the Bill debated yesterday. Compensatory measures, such as an adaptation period or an aptitude test, would be allowed only in cases where the qualifications of a professional differed substantially.
Minimum training requirements were included in the directive. For example, doctors’ basic medical education ought to be based on 5,500 training hours within a minimum of five years. The applicable rule is that professionals should have the necessary language skills to practise the profession in the host member state.
However, the possession of language skills is being further reinforced in the case of healthcare professions, where local authorities have a wide marginin the application of the lang-uage requirements.
An alert mechanism is foreseen whereby the competent authorities of different member states share information about professionals who have been restricted or prohibited from practising by national authorities or courts.
The Bill introduces the European Professional Card, an electronic procedure for the recognition of professional qualifications between EU countries, confirming that one has passed the administrative controls and that one’s professional qualifications have been recognised by the host country.
Currently the EPC is available for five professions: general care nurses, physiotherapists, pharmacists, real estate agents and mountain guides, and is expected to be extended to other professions in the future.
The transposition of the directive will bring about a structure within which the national agency authorising the registration of professionals in Malta may subject an applicant to an aptitude test.
Such a test may only serve as a means for the recognition of skills and knowledge that went beyond the required qualification.
The European Commission estimates that the demand for highly qualified workers is expected to rise by 16 million jobs by 2020.
Occupational mobility is considered an essential requirement for the EU economy to be efficient and effective in the global market and to address skills’ shortages.