Some Maltese simply refuse to work as waiters or cleaners, but we have also neglected to develop certain necessary skills, the minister said. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Half the new jobs created in Malta are taken up by foreigners, the vast majority being EU citizens, according to Employment Minister Evarist Bartolo.

“This is a trend which has been unfolding for years,” he said, stressing that the overwhelming majority were EU citizens and not sub-Saharans, as some people seemed to believe.

“Some jobs must necessarily go to people from overseas. For instance, if companies are mainly operating in the Swedish language or in German, they will not find enough Maltese with that language competence.”

Over the years, Malta had lost important skills such as those related to the construction industry, he continued. “So it is not just about attitudes where some Maltese simply refuse to work as waiters or as cleaners, but it is also down to the fact that we have neglected to develop certain necessary skills.”-

The government was working to address the skills gaps and mismatches between the labour market and the education and training on offer, Mr Bartolo said, adding there had to be better coordination between the two.

As a result, the Employment and Training Corporation is in the process of finalising the country’s first employability index, which will measure how students are faring within the labour market. Indications suggest that in certain sectors students are underemployed. The index, first announced in Budget 2013, will provide a further in-depth study identifying the precise areas.

Employment and Training Corporation chairman Clyde Caruana said that during this legislature, the number of those registered as unemployed went down to under 5,000 people from 7,800 people.

The youth unemployment rate in Malta has registered one of the best improvements across the EU, with the rate declining to 8.7 per cent for those between 15 and 24. Only Germany surpassed Malta in lowering its youth unemployment, Mr Caruana said.

The overwhelming majority are EU citizens and not sub-Saharans

Meanwhile, during the first quarter of this year, 66.1 per cent of those aged between 20 and 64 years were in employment. Mr Caruana expressed confidence that the 2020 target of 70 per cent would be reached.

Economy Minister Chris Cardona said that eight of every 10 new jobs were being created by the private sector. “The time where politicians try to claim the absolute merit for creating jobs – as happened during the previous administration – has ended.

“The government is there to stimulate job creation through incentives, schemes and social and education policies to maximise the potential of the Maltese.”

He said the government was noting a rise in jobs in industries which had suffered a decline under the previous administration: manufacturing and construction, which increased by 400 and 600 jobs respectively over the past two years.

Other sectors witnessing increases included the financial sector, administrative services, gaming, retail, hotels, restaurants and IT.

During the first seven months, the government raked in €565 million from income tax – 40 per cent more than what the Opposition collected in 2012, he said.