The term ‘digital’ has become a hackneyed cliché incorporated into our verbal jargon. The majority can’t get by without using an array of digitals tools and services. These alternately help and hinder us from getting through our day successfully. At this juncture, one must perforce stop to think, to reconsider what drives us and how we function and react as human beings.

It goes without saying that, upon opening their eyes in the morning, most people check their handheld devices or laptops for messages, e-mails and reminders. They get in touch with other people via various social platforms, be they text or voice.

The daily routine is inundated with constant communication with the world. It would seem that the whole planet is encompassed by our tiny screens, wherein reachability is a matter of course. We follow news and it follows us. It becomes obsolete within a short period of time, replaced by bulletins from some other region clamouring for our attention.

We order foodstuffs online; we shop for clothes; we purchase music and video entertainment; we choose our game sources; we pay bills. We do all this because it is convenient and easy and we, thus, avoid queuing… and waiting.

We take business decisions based on a whole paradigm of digital components. Digital is becoming first nature to most of us.

Who provides such tools and services? Should we wish to, how do we get involved? What does this entail? Are opportunities available? These are the questions people tend to ask.

These questions, and more, involve the full organic cycle, from the educational stage through industry opportunities, unto industry investment, evolvement and growth.

Digital is becoming first nature to most of us

Malta enjoys the luxury of having a vast range of local and foreign digital companies that are based here. These operations range from ICT services to iGaming companies. There is also a whole range of third party ancillary operations that are flourishing to support and assist the digital industry from a human resource point of view as well as from a product and business development perspective.

We live in an ever-expanding tech environment, in which digital products are being invented on a daily basis. The reason why these products work is because they are relevant to the life we live nowadays. Simply said, our life is based on current technology. The farther we progress, the more we need to change - and the more we need to adapt.

As Minister for Competitiveness and Digital, Maritime and Services Economy, I can attest to the fact that the digital sector is one of the fastest-growing industries in Malta. It is here to stay - and expand.

The industry attracts extremely diverse skill sets; whether you excel at mathematics, art, languages, creative work, or science, there’s bound to be a digital role that fits your skill set. An upfront advantage about the digital sector is that you probably already have a range of relevant skills because 60 per cent of digital skills are transferable to other parts within the digital industry, be it ICT or iGaming, digital media marketing or any of the hundreds of digital companies offering product and service variables.

My ministry is working closely with numerous stakeholders to develop a framework through which the Maltese people will be able to become part of a digital educational system, which will, ultimately, land them a job within the digital world.

The market is continuously searching for human resources, particularly within the iGaming segment. However, visibility of this industry for locals is sometimes dry. Is it because such companies do not reach out to the potential local talent market? Do locals understand an international working scenario and how to adapt to one? Or is because we, as a general workforce, do not understand how such jobs vary from the traditional static line of work we are used to?

A well-equipped and knowledgeable workforce plays a pivotal role with industry investors. Such companies proudly declare they are only as great as their talent.

We are at a stage in which we face serious competition from other countries in terms of human resources. Raising awareness among the different age groups, and also among the different strata of demographics, is the key for the future of local talent evolution within the digital industry.

There must be motivation to educate children, young people in their teens, professionals and also parents as to what really lies within this interesting digital world.

We need to incentivise and offer assistance to our upcoming generations so that they will be in a situation in line with what most new age industries, which will become increasingly digitised across the board, will need, five to 10 years down the line.

The more we are able to provide adequate human resources to the digital industry, the more this country willbe seen as an ideal hub for further digital investment, in tandem with all the other favourable attributes that our islands offer.

It is high time we really start digging deep to understand what ‘digital’ is really all about.

We must become increasingly proactive, rather than reactive, towards digital.

Emanuel Mallia is Minister for Competitiveness and Digital, Maritime and Services Economy.