The Malta Maritime Forum wrote to the Education Minister to express surprise at the fact that the maritime industry does not feature in the “I Choose – Nagħżel il-Karriera Tiegħi’” initiative for 2021. This initiative was embarked upon by the Ministry for the purposes of students’ guidance on career and educational options in their latter years of compulsory education.
In the MMF opinion, the matter requires attention due to the :
- strategic and economic importance of the maritime industry to the Maltese islands
- the leading position of Malta as a maritime state on a global level
- skill shortages that continue to beset the labour market and the maritime industry even after the full effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Indeed, the industry provides numerous opportunities to Maltese youngsters who follow a career within it that provide superior monetary rewards and job satisfaction compared to other industries. In the current situation whereby a very limited number of Maltese people are available in the labour market, these opportunities must be offered to non-locals – often from Eastern Europe. Clearly, such a status quo presents a lose-lose scenario that needs to be reversed, primarily by making our students aware of the career opportunities that exist in the maritime industry.
The Malta Maritime Forum is willing to collaborate concretely with the Ministry with a view to rectifying this situation and pledged its availability to discuss the matter further.
