Furniture manufacturers are having to turn down work due to a shortage of skilled workers and are collaborating with MCAST to attract more young people to the trade.

Very few students are choosing carpentry as a career owing to the misconceptions that surround it, says Mario Cardona, MCAST deputy principal for Technology and Applied Sciences.

“Students associate carpentry and furniture making with a traditional way of doing things. They tend to think of a carpenter as someone with a saw in a very traditional setting, and are not attracted by it,” he said.

“But in reality, the sector is producing very high-level products that are customised and require a skill set that is complex compared to the past. This is not currently visible to the students.”

Only one student is reading for an advanced diploma in joinery and furniture manufacture while five are in the lower-level diploma course.

The numbers have been similar over the past few years.

While it was not financially feasible to keep the course open, MCAST wanted to keep the lifeline going.

What furniture makers are saying

Domestica Limited owner, Chris Vassallo Cesareo, said the sector had experienced a shortage for five years but lately it was under more strain since it was difficult to bring in foreign workers due to the pandemic.

The young tend to think of a carpenter as someone with a saw in a very traditional setting

The company has 18 employees and would gladly take on another 12 overnight if there was the option, he said.

Over the years, demand for customised furniture had remained steady but orders were “very touch and go” as a result of skeleton staff.

Stephen Azzopardi, the owner of Saw Limited, said that he could only accept about half the orders he received due to lack of manpower.

The company employs 72 people and would take on another 20 instantly, he said.

Demand for custom-made furniture had flourished in recent years and continued to grow throughout the pandemic, he noted.

“People were inside their homes more, so were more likely to feel annoyed by something they did not like and wanted to change it,” he said.

Pressure from low-cost countries

In a recent meeting with MCAST, The Malta Chamber explained that the furniture sector was facing enormous competition from countries with low production costs.

“The reliance on innovation, authentic tradesmanship and design as a competitive advantage of the Maltese furniture sector makes it more vulnerable,” said chamber president Marisa Xuereb.

Xuereb and Cardona identified the need for improved collaboration between MCAST and the industry to better understand the rapid technological development in the sector.

They said they will campaign to dispel misconceptions and to give the trade the appeal it needs for the new generations.