Background information

Over the last few years, Malta has seen one of the most rapid uptakes of foreign labour in Europe. This has led to criticisms by customers of the tourism and hospitality sector that workers are often unable to communicate in either Maltese or English, and know little about the country they work in. Plans were thus announced in October 2023 that all new third-country nationals (TCNs) aiming to relocate to Malta for employment in the tourism and catering industries are to sit for a number of courses prior to entering the country as from 2024. By 2025, all tourism and hospitality workers would require a skills card to work in the industry. This plan was made available for public consultation in 2023, and later became law via the Tourism and Hospitality Skills Pass Regulations, 2024 (L.N. 78 of 2024).

The regulations stated that skill cards were to be obtained by new TCN applicants once the legislation came into effect (March, 2024), were to be obtained by other TCN workers already in the sector by 1st January 2025, and were to be obtained by all workers in the sector by 1st January 2026. No penalty, however, applies to non-TCN workers who do not obtain this.

Content of measure

Applicants submitting their application from outside the Schengen area must complete Phase One of the Skills Pass before initiating their application with Identità, the government agency responsible for identity management. Once approval is obtained from Identità, they must complete Phase Two and obtain the full Skills Pass before applying for an entry visa, where applicable. Phase One consists of online modules covering English proficiency, a basic Maltese tourism course, essential English for hospitality, basic customer care, and verification in their chosen field of work, each of which is assessed. This first phase of the course is taught by AI Chatbots. Phase Two involves a verification interview, during which a human assessor evaluates the skills acquired in Phase One (Skills Pass, 2025).

When the measure was first announced in 2023, employers raised concerns about the cost of the course. In response, during 2024, Malta Enterprise and the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) introduced a subsidy in the form of a tax credit covering up to 50% of the €475 fee for non-EU workers, available to employers who bear the cost of the Skills Pass (Times of Malta, 2024). In other situations, it is the applicants themselves who must bear the cost.

Use of measure

During a parliamentary sitting in October 2024, the Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo stated that 4,082 candidates had registered for the Skills Pass. Whilst all completed Phase One of the course and 92% passed this first stage, 47% did not pass the Phase Two of the course. Thus, overall, 51% of all applicants did not pass the Skills Pass (Malta Independent, 2024).

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Migrants or refugees in employment	Sector specific set of companies	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	Employer Other

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Consulted	Consulted
Form	Unknown	Unknown

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level

Involvement

The measure appears to have been designed by the Government, which then carried out a consultation process. Following this process, the measure was implemented and monitored by the Government. The social partners do not appear to have a direct role in monitoring or implementing the measure.

Views and reactions

According to a survey conducted by the Gozo Tourism Association (GTA), the majority of operators agreed with the introduction of a skill card prior to workers arriving in Malta, however, this was seen as being introduced too soon whilst the cost of the skill card was seen as excessive (Business Now, 2023).

The measure was also welcomed by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) and the Chamber of SMEs. However, both organisations expressed concern about the additional costs and difficulties employers may face in recruiting TCN workers (Business Now, 2023).

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 28 October 2023: Business now - Skills card for tourism workers is welcome, additional burden is not – hospitality stakeholders (businessnow.mt)
• 04 December 2023: Business Now - Vast majority of Gozitan tourism businesses say cost of skills card for TCN workers is too high (businessnow.mt)
• 28 March 2024: Tourism and Hospitality Skills Pass Regulations, 2024 (legislation.mt)
• 29 May 2024: Times of Malta - Skills Pass tax credit for employers who want to retain non-EU workers (timesofmalta.com)
• 21 October 2024: Malta Independent - 4,082 candidates registered for iSkills Pass since its inception - Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo (www.independent.com.mt)
• 25 April 2025: Skill pass - Obtaining the skills pass (skillspass.org.mt)