‘Budget fails to address recruitment challenges’

misco Director Joanne Bondin and Arkadia Head of Human Resources Denise Cortis expressed their disappointment at the lack of initiatives taken during the 2023 Budget to address the recruitment challenges that companies across the board are facing.

Speaking to MaltaCEOs.mt, Ms Bondin states that “the challenges being faced by organisations due to the tight labour market continue to grow and there was lack of reference of how the government is going to help companies to overcome this difficulty.”

On the other hand, the skills audit which is being conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) focusing on skills mapping among the working age population “will surely help in determining our local talent and assess what can be done to maximise our local potential,” the Director affirms, adding that “we need initiatives that help us attract talent to our island but, most importantly, retain the talent we have in order to avoid a brain drain.”

“Attracting and retaining talent is not only about job opportunities available but also about the quality of life such workers will have,” Ms Bondin confirms.

Speaking of training and development, the misco Director asserts that “[she] was pleased to note an extension of schemes related to training such as Investing in Skills which are highly accessible and necessary for organisations to train and upskill their employees.”

Arkadia’s Head of Human Resources Denise Cortis acknowledges that “there were many good points in this year’s budget especially in terms of quality of life and social benefits.”

However, she feels that “the employment crises that employers are facing each day was barely tackled.”

The Head of HR believes that “the least that could have been done, was subsidising company costs, or at least part of the cost, when employing people from abroad who need to apply for the work permit.”

“This would attract the applicant and help the employer,” Ms Cortis concluded.