The 2021 ICT Skills Demand and Supply Monitor report, a study carried out by Ernst and Young for the eSkills Malta Foundation, was launched last month by Economy and Industry Minister Silvio Schembri.
The study is considered crucial to the ICT industry, including the government sector and the ICT departments and units in the other industry sectors. It gathers relevant information from the ICT industry, education and training establishments, and government, and identifies specific skills and policy gaps that the various stakeholders can address.
The report provides insight into current demand from organisations such as ICT companies, CIO offices, ICT departments and units, and supply institutions such as universities, colleges and training companies as well as from the individual ICT professionals.
The study used the European e-Competence Framework as a base for potential competencies required in the ICT sector, thus giving it a European context. The study reflects on the feedback acquired and indicates the direction this buoyant industry should consider to reduce competence gaps.
The ICT industry relies on highly skilled resources, which demands continual upskilling and reskilling of human capital with the right competencies. This, in turn, fosters professionalism and higher company performance.
The biggest challenges currently faced mainly revolve around human resources and continuous development, with a scarcity of ICT professionals in relation to market demand, and existing ICT professionals lacking the required learning and development opportunities, such as training and certification. Current demand cannot be met solely by relying on the local tertiary education pipeline.
The number of ICT students is not growing proportionally to the demand, so in the short term, the industry needs to look to potential resources stemming from the much wider international talent pool. It is thus highly recommended that Malta’s ICT market appeal be highlighted and given more international exposure, as well as be potentially enhanced by exploring and pursuing initiatives that have proven to be successful on the international stage.
Enabling and streamlining key stakeholder communication across the field is essential to ensure the market can evolve homogenously in line with international trends, and a more centralised approach is recommended. While the study sheds light on several developments and provides context for key considerations, ongoing dialogue between key stakeholders needs to be facilitated by centralising communication through a national platform.
The progress made on the Maltese ICT market across all dimensions over the past decade sets a precedent that needs to be followed up by a proactive approach to the market’s continuous development to realise its existing potential and accelerate its growth and evolutionary path.
This report is compiled and structured to reflect the overarching dimensions and implications of the responses with a view to formulate recommendations that address the challenges faced by all relevant stakeholders while attempting to stay impartial to subjective individual challenges.
The eSkills MaltaFoundation is planning to carry out workshops with stakeholders to foster further activity.
The ICT Skills Demand and Supply Monitor 2021 may be downloaded at the link below.
https://eskills.org.mt/en/demandsupplymonitor/documents/ict_demand_supply_monitor_2021.pdf