Maltese people are not qualified for the kind of jobs created in our modern economy, leaving industries with no choice but to employ foreign workers, the Democratic Party said on Friday.

Anthony Buttigieg underlined a "deficit" between the labour market and the education system.

Speaking in front of the Education Ministry in Floriana, Dr Buttigieg said that a holistic round table of experts should plan out both a long-term and short-term plan to address this deficit. Students are also more stressed since their leisure time is decreasing while their workload is increasing, he added, saying that this too was a symptom of systematic failure.

He was accompanied by PD MP Marlene Farrugia, PD treasurer Charles Polidano and spokeswoman Rosa Borg.

Dr Farrugia called for more co-ordination between education policy makers and employers. 

Mr Polidano said there is a deficit of formation in our educative policy, which emerged out of a culture where "anything goes".

He referred to recent reports where an assistant head was assaulted after stopping a security guard smoking at school. The assistant head was later transferred in an attempt to cover up the ordeal, the Union of Professional Educators alleged.

Mr Polidano said that the culture in this country is one where “people try to shut you up if you defend what is right”.

The failures of our educative system are not just a symptom of the current administrations, but of previous ones as well, he added, noting that some recent policies, such as removing half-yearly-exams, were beneficial to students.