The authorities have recently started allowing third country nationals to apply to work as waiters because of a huge shortage of staff in the sector.

MHRA CEO Andrew Agius Muscat confirmed with this newsroom that Identity Malta and the ETC had recently started considering applications from third country nationals after recommendations by the association.

“Until very recently third country nationals were only considered for cleaning-related jobs but things have changed and the authorities have taken our recommendations in board,” Mr Agius Muscat said. “There were issues related to recruitment, with employers not finding enough people and delays in the process to recruit non-EU nationals.  We discussed these problems with the authorities, explained that demand far exceeds supply. They are now considering issuing the necessary permits for third country nationals. This does not mean that all who apply are accepted.”

The MHRA CEO said that although the association did not interfere in the recruitment of workers by its members it always encouraged them to employ Maltese people first.  “Many waiters in our restaurants are foreigners. There is nothing wrong with that, in fact it shows how globalized we are. But ideally they would also employ Maltese people. This would ensure that part of the wealth generated goes to the Maltese and also ensure a level of identity. Tourists lose part of the ‘local’ experience if they come to Malta and all waiters are foreigners.”

Mr Agius Muscat stressed on the need for more investment in the Institute of Tourism studies to attract more Maltese to work in the tourism industry. “But in the meantime we need to plug the hole. There are a number of options and this was one of them,” he said. 

The MHRA CEO said the recruitment problems were felt mostly during the summer months. He explained that while many European countries are experiencing a shortage of workers due to high youth unemployment rates, the situation in Malta is somewhat different, since youth unemployment locally is very low.