The survey carried out among young people by EY Malta goes to show that great changes are required for Malta, in terms of the environment, education, good governance and the quality of life in general, to remain attractive to young people, the Nationalist Party said.
The 4th EY Generate Youth Survey 2021 – The pulse of Malta’s future generations, which was carried out amongst generation-Z and millennials found that 60% of this category would rather move abroad elsewhere in Europe than stay in Malta.
The survey outlines their views on Malta, their future and the similarities and differences between the generations.
During a press conference on Friday, the Nationalist Party reacted to such results, saying that it is crucial to not only carefully take note and consider these figures, but it is even more vital to take action and bring about change which is necessary for young people.
PN MP Karl Gouder said that this survey is one that needs to be taken seriously.
Back in 2013, the Labour Party promised a dream to the young people of Malta. However, eight years later, 60% of these people feel betrayed and disappointed, Gouder said.
Gouder added that “it is very worrying to see that almost three-quarters of this category expressed a sense of frustration for living in Malta. This is not only worrying for the country itself, but it is also worrying for Maltese families as it is difficult for them to see their children wanting to leave the country and start a new life elsewhere.”
He said that the running of this country has set aside the children and young people in Malta.
Malta’s biggest challenges include overdevelopment, the environment, traffic and the international image of Malta.
“If we do not make the changes needed for our country and its people, we will only suffer,” he said.
“Ever since Malta was put on the FATF grey listing, the government has not taken this matter seriously enough but has instead downplayed it and created a false narrative, pretending that this matter is not a big deal.
From this survey we can see that our young people are worried about this negative international image on our country, that is particularly due to the FATF grey listing,” Gouder said.
Meanwhile, PN Candidate Joseph Grech highlighted a survey which was conducted in 2016 on a similar matter. He said that 79% of people aged between 15 and 30 stated that they were happy to live in Malta.
“However, this percentage has changed greatly as in this five-year period, we have seen the figure completely turn upside down.
If we continue going on in this manner, the country will experience a brain drain. This means that we will have a shortage of talented people,” Grech said.
He added that the Nationalist party has always been in favour and promoted that young people should go and experience life abroad. But more importantly for a country is for those same young people to return and bring with them that they have learned back to the country.
“It would be a disappointment if we lost these young people for good,” he said.
For his part, PN candidate Alex Borg spoke about the PN’s vision, saying that the party has always been at the forefront of improving the quality of life.
“The PN has always worked to give a sense of empowerment in youth work. On the other hand, the PL created a sense of preciousness and went far from creating a sense of empowerment,” Borg said.
Speaking about the brain drain issue, Borg said that this is becoming a national problem not just for Gozo. Many Gozitans opt to find work in Malta rather than stay in Gozo.
“We cannot get to a point where the Maltese people leave abroad and go to find work elsewhere,” Borg said.
Asked by The Malta Independent on what the Nationalist Party plans on doing to change the minds and perspectives of these young people, Gouder highlighted that there are many aspects to consider.
However, he said that “among the many proposals, we must take care of our environmental spaces as youths can no longer live in this way. We must also develop new industries and create attractive and fun jobs, with interesting roles and good wages. We must also give young people the opportunity and resources to become entrepreneurs. We also need to change the way we look at the environment and the way we develop in our country.”
“Unlike the Labour party who focuses on elections, the Nationalist Party focuses on long-term planning strategies and proposals for this country,” Gouder added.