Gozo’s labour market

Whilst performing at a similar level as Malta’s, Gozo’s labour market also exhibits some of the same problems, but made more readily-apparent by its small size. The influx of migrant workers is being successfully utilised, but more needs to be done to upskill those with low skills, and to retain those with high skills. The next 15-20 years may well see an unfavourable change in the demographics of Gozo. This, together with the expected rise of automation, will probably have a negative impact on the Gozo labour market. Continued upskilling is one way to mitigate this, but this intervention must also be mirrored by an increase in the demand for highly-skilled workers. From a labour supply perspective those industries which provide a significant high value-added to the Maltese economy are currently not present, or present on a very limited scale in ; It is believed that this could be the key to achieving some of the goals in the Regional Development Strategy.

MCAST Encounter Series

As part of the MCAST Encounter series of events organized by the Education and Training Programmes Department, we would like to propose a thematic ‘Curriculum with Industry’ event titled: “ENCOUNTER: MCAST meets Industry – Employment and Skills in Gozo” This event will be jointly organized by the Education and Training Programmes Department at MCAST and the MCAST Gozo Campus, in collaboration with the Gozo Business Chamber and the GRDA.

This event aim to address the following:

1. How can MCAST contribute so that students, particularly Gozitans are not caught in this ‘low skill equilibrium trap’?
2. What are the views of the industry to tackle such issue?
3. How this ‘low skill equilibrium trap’ can be addressed in secondary schools?
4. What are the industry and the employers’ expectations for education providers particularly MCAST, in tackling this ‘low skill equilibrium trap’?
5. How can MCAST contribute to the ongoing vision regarding Gozo achieving carbon neutrality? What can industry do? What is the current level of preparedness? Which milestones need to be reached?

Amongst the participating stakeholders in this event, we are envisaging a strong representation and participation from the MCAST Institutes, whilst also inviting key industry partners and experts from Malta and Gozo, together with entities such as the Gozo Business Chamber and the GRDA.