MHRA says it will review government’s skills cards announcement

The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) has said that it will be reviewing, “in further detail”, the announcement regarding third country nationals requiring skills cards to get a work permit to work in Malta

All new third country nationals (TCNs), seeking to relocate to Malta to be employed in the tourism and catering industries, will be required to sit for a number of courses before coming over as from 2024, the government announced Thursday.

The MHRA said that it "believes that it is important that those seeking work in Malta have the necessary skills before they arrive in Malta” and said that “it is supportive of this ideal". However, it said, "solutions need to be well planned and sufficiently practical to avoid precipitating the existing challenges linked to labour supply shortages in the hotel and restaurant sector. This is a new reality Europe is facing with most countries registering significant staff shortages. Malta is no different".

"The MHRA will be reviewing in further detail the proposed process for implementation to ensure that it will not burden the rightful recruitment of foreign workers to Malta, as these are key for the survival and efficient operation of the hospitality industry, which is increasingly becoming dependent on the recruitment of expats."

The MHRA said it "will be discussing the announced modus operandi of the scheme and related costs with the relevant authorities, which is bound to further increase operational costs and make the process of recruitment more difficult than it already is. MHRA needs to also ensure that the process related to the issuing of the skills card is an efficient and expedient one".