Malta's future economic success hinges on two major points. The first is the upskilling of the Maltese workforce, and the second is the importation of labour. These were two of the points raised earlier this week during The Malta Business Weekly's Business Breakfast, in collaboration with the Malta Federation of Professional Associations.

The first point requires an improvement in our education system and continuous training. An important factor highlighted during the Breakfast was that in today's world, workers change jobs far more frequently than they used to in past generations. This means that workers need to learn new skills at a constant rate to keep up, especially with the constant advances in Artificial Intelligence and technology. Companies need to train their workforce to keep up with the times, and need to offer attractive packages in order to keep hold of their valuable employees.

However, this is not the only issue. Malta has a very low unemployment rate, and Malta's population growth rate is not what it used to be. As such, foreign workers are needed, and will continue to be needed in the future.

During the event, Malta Employers' Association director general Joseph Farrugia argued that it is currently an employee's market. He argued that monetary compensation is not the only thing employees care about, and non-monetary benefits are also now a key factor in employee retention.

However this economic growth and success has brought about certain negative situations. One such problem is the rent market and property prices.

Economist Gordon Cordina argued that increases in rent and property prices are more focused in specific areas of the island, arguing that it is not generally widespread and there are areas where affordability can be seen. He said that there isn't that much evidence that people are being out priced, further explaining that there is no evidence of a bubble.

However,   this contrasts what another economist, Tonio Fenech, had previously told The Malta Independent: "The unemployment rate is low but this does not mean that the level of wages workers are paid is adequate. Unfortunately, with the pricy rise in the property market, people with an average wage are finding it difficult to buy. Even rents are very high. When you talk about paying €1,000 a month for a decent apartment... how many people earn €20,000 to €24,000 a year? There are also many people buying property to rent, and this is also creating an artificial demand. People think that as many foreign workers are coming to Malta, they purchase a property, fix it up and rent it. But this is only sustainable as long as more and more foreign workers continue to come to the islands."

This brings into question whether wages are meeting the increased cost of living on the island, and this will be key when looking at whether government's economic plan is successful or not in the medium to long run. If the Maltese people will not be able to keep up with the market while companies continue to succeed, then any kind of successful economic growth would be meaningless.