Where are all the jobs?

Whilst the Nationalist party is so proud saying how many new jobs are being created under their leadership, I am here to analyze the reality. I think that all the Maltese are sick and tired hearing the government saying such things when we all know that the reality is quite different. It is no secret that unemployment is always increasing in our country! (And all over the world too)

The latest ETC report showed an increase of about 5% in the last months. However there are many other unemployed people (thousands of them) who don't seek the help of ETC to look for their job. All of these aren't counted in the unemployment rate! 

Something positive about Malta is that many of our youths are choosing to continue studying after they finish their secondary education. Some decide to further their studies at MCAST or ITS whilst others choose to sit for their A-Levels exams with the possibility of furthering their studies at the University of Malta. That's all very positive, the problem however arises when these students finish their studies and start looking for work.

We've all heard graduates complaining that they aren't finding jobs related to their area of expertise. Many B.Com, B.A, lawyers and many other graduates are ending up working in clerical jobs whilst B.Ed are finding it very hard to find jobs as well. For example this year all those who graduated B.Ed in Italian or Maltese found out that there will be no jobs for them! The reason being that there is a huge list of graduates before them who are still looking for posts as well!

Another disaster is the fact that a few years back the government encouraged many people to study in ICT. They where promised employment with Smart City or any similar businesses. They were told that Malta would be one of the leading countries in the EU when it comes to ICT.

However nowadays we are seeing otherwise. Smart City hasn't even opened yet, Malta is by no means creating a lot of jobs related to ICT and all of these students are now graduating or very close to do so. Where are all of them going to work? Will they just join all the other graduates who will be looking for jobs?

Personally I think it's a big waste! We are investing a lot of our taxes to help students furthering their studies by giving them stipends etc... and then after they graduate they are still finding no jobs! All their skills and talents are being wasted in jobs that by no means reflect their ability! To make things even worse many others are not finding jobs AT ALL! However the unemployment problem doesn't end with the students...

There are many other people who are either being discriminated against because of their gender or age! A problem I faced a lot of times is the fact that many (almost all) job posts ask for 12 to 24 months experience. How is a graduate expected to have that kind of experience if nobody is willing to give it to him at the first place? On the other side of the spectrum older people are being discriminated against because they are 50 years or older, the reason given being that they will retire soon and it isn't beneficial to the company to employ those people!

The government has been talking about all the jobs that they are creating (even for housewives) for quite a while now, but I ask: where are all these jobs? are they suitable? do these jobs exploit the workers? Anyone who is looking for a job surly encountered a job (contract) with very poor working conditions with a minimum wage! Those are not the kind of jobs the PN should be so proud he is creating! We want suitable jobs that reflect our qualifications, ability, potential and experience!

Andrea Gatt