The construction industry in Malta has long been blighted by lacking standards. There was a time when many builders were exactly that, builders by trade for generation after generation. Many were from the stone quarry villages of Mqabba and Siggiewi, their trade having been handed down to them from their fathers and grandfathers before them.

But things have changed, and quite radically. As the building boom exploded in Malta, concrete high rises first began to appear. This was a totally new technique and traditional methods went out of the window. This trend continued and slowly but surely, health and safety models became outdated and there were casualties on the job. This continued to escalate as Eastern Europeans and Sub-Saharan Africans began to take up the jobs. While the injuries began to mount, the quality of work, especially jobs that are hidden, such as plumbing and electrical wiring was sometimes at best, haphazard, and at worst, downright dangerous.

The issue became more and more compounded as workers from other countries, with different standard promised levels of quality that were not matched. This is not to say that some Maltese tradesmen did not jump on the bandwagon too.

This government has worked hard to clamp down on health and safety abuse and has also sought to improve the levels of quality in turnkey and trade jobs. It was announced yesterday that a skills card will be launched for four specific trades: painters and plasterers, tile layers, electricians and plumbers. In order to be eligible for a skill card, one has to present a certificate of competence - issued by an acknowledged educational institute, as well as a certificate of attendance for a health and safety course. In the absence of a certificate of competence, a person may go to the ETC and be trade tested. 

In five years time, having these cards will have to be mandatory - especially when selecting workers for public contracts. It will also be mandatory for workers to sit for a first aid course with the OHSA in order for them to have better health and safety training. 

The regulation of such trades will improve the quality of buildings and their finishings, hopefully reducing the amount of shoddy work that has taken place over the years and continues to take place.

In the private sector, it will benefit both the purchasers of such services, as well as the tradesmen themselves, who will be better trained and will be able to inspire more trust from those that engage them.

In the public sector, it will also help in terms of the government knowing who it is engaging and then being able to hold them accountable if something goes wrong. On the flipside, if the government is satisfied with the work, it can easily engage the services of the said tradesman or company again. Malta needs to improve standards. We are, in true Mediterranean style, too lackadaisical. Yet improvements are being made and this is to be encouraged. However, it will be useless to implement this system if it is not checked rigorously. Allowing it to come into force without the necessary checks and constant follow up will surely lead to abuse.