There is no doubt that, at face value, the government can boast with the country’s employment figures.

The unemployment rate in Malta is the second best, behind Germany, in the European Union, and that is something that any government would be proud of.

That the rate is also the lowest we have had in years is also an achievement. Figures show that the 5.1% unemployment rate is the lowest since Eurostat started publishing figures concerning Malta.

But not everything is rosy.

For years, under a Nationalist administration, there was a huge effort to reduce the numbers in the public service. But in 30 months this government has reversed the trend, and it has employed 5,500 persons. Some 3,000 of them were in replacement of others who retired, but a good 2,500 new jobs were added.

This puts an extra burden on the government’s coffers, and one has to question whether there was a real need for so many new jobs. Let us remember that these people are paid from taxes.

The Nationalist Party is arguing that these people were employed by the government as a gift for their loyalty to the Labour Party. The government argues that jobs in the private sector have also increased, which goes to prove that the economy is performing well.

The truth, as always, is somewhere in between. The PN would be wrong to dismiss the government’s achievements in the jobs sector, considering that in spite of what is happening around us, Malta is doing well. And the government would be wrong if it continues to employ people in the public sector indiscriminately and without there being a need.

What is important is that the government keeps an eye on developments around the globe to be in a position to anticipate the changes that will take place. It is common knowledge that Malta has seen a shift in types of employment needed over the past decades. Jobs that were flourishing in the 1980s and 1990s are nowhere to be seen these days, and they have been replaced by other jobs needing other skills.

In this respect, there should be forward-planning in our education system, as this should be geared at producing younger generations capable of filling up the posts that are created. For example, it is evident that over the past years the teaching of languages has been somewhat put aside in the past 15-20 years, and now it is being realised that languages are needed even in new industries such as information technology.

Companies in this sector are finding it hard to employ Maltese people simply because they speak only Maltese and English, when other languages such as German, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Arabic are required. While it is understandable that science subjects are important, languages should not be given the cold shoulder.