The Institute of Tourism Studies on Wednesday said it wants to see more Maltese in the hospitality sector, as it announced that the Skills Pass for Maltese and EU workers will open in July and will be offered free of charge — unlike for third-country nationals.
Speaking at a press conference to give an update on the latest Skills Pass figures at the Institute for Tourism Studies, senior manager Martina Vella Montebello said: “We don’t just want Maltese nationals currently working in hospitality and tourism to remain in the industries, but for their numbers to grow,” she added.
The Skills Pass is a certification process initiated by the government to allow skilled workers in the tourism and hospitality industry to gain recognition for their skills and be able to work in Malta in this industry. It was introduced to control the quality of workers coming to Malta to work in the industry.
Up to the end of May, 8,615 TCNs already working in Malta had obtained the Skills Pass while 3,118 applied from abroad.
The majority of candidates who applied for the skills card were from Nepal and India, followed by the Philippines, Colombia and Pakistan.
From January 2026, all Maltese and EU nationals working in the hospitality and tourism sectors will be required by law to have the Skills Pass. Unlike for third-country nationals, who are already required to have the pass, it is free of charge.
Maltese and EU applicants may submit either their school-leaving certificate or MQF level 2 qualification or higher. Those who do not have academic qualifications may register on the Skills Pass portal and complete Phase 1 of the test.
Phase 1 consists of a variety of topics such as English proficiency, basic Maltese tourism product, essential English for hospitality, basic customer care, as well as verification in their chosen field of work. Each course ends with an exam.
After completing the course, successful applicants will receive the basic ‘red level’ Skills Pass.
Vella Montebello encouraged applicants to sign up “as soon as possible to avoid complications.”
“Registration is quick and easy. Applicants may submit their documents and their current place of work, and we will then carry out checks before issuing the skills pass,” she added.
Number of registrations up by more than a third
The number of registrations on the Skills Pass website went up by 31.2 per cent compared to January.
Of those applying from abroad, 31.6 per cent expressed interest in working as line waiters, while 22 per cent registered to be cleaners.
Since January, the pass rate for Phase 1 rose from 93 percent to 95 percent.
Meanwhile, 33 per cent of Phase 2 interviews done by candidates who are not already working in Malta resulted in failure.
However, since June 2024, an upward trend of six per cent was seen in average Phase 2 interview scores.
ITS CEO Pierre Fenech emphasised that the difficulty level of the tests had not changed since the scheme’s introduction, and that candidates were becoming more aware of what was required of them.
“Eventually, word spread among those seeking to apply that if you’re not capable, you’re wasting your money,” Fenech said.
“The figures also show that fears workers would stop wanting to come to Malta and opt for countries that don’t have these requirements were unfounded,” he added.
Fenech said that after the Skills Pass becomes ubiquitous, tourism and hospitality will be the only sectors where authorities will have an accurate picture of what qualifications people have.
“We will have hard data and not just studies, which will inform our re-skilling, upskilling and training efforts,” he said.