Malta Gaming Authority report highlights country’s egaming skills gap

Fifty-seven-percent of Malta-licensed firms believe a lack of appropriate skills is the main cause of unfilled vacancies in the island’s egaming industry, according to a new survey published by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA).

The MGA’s Information Unit conducted the survey during the first quarter of 2018, carrying out specific analyses on each job category, level and firm size.

More than 5,861 people were employed in the Maltese egaming industry during 2017, rising 10% on the previous year. However, there were still a total of 781 unfilled vacancies being reported by licensed egaming firms on the island.

These unfilled vacancies are primarily in the game operation and development category at operational level.

The MGA said the figures present “significant potential” for Malta’s local education system to address the issues arising from the findings of the survey. To justify this call, the MGA highlighted figures which reveal that 15% of licensed firms recruit workers immediately after the completion of their formal education.

The survey also reported that 55% of Malta-licensed gaming firms had organised in-house training for their employees to address the skills shortage, while a further 21% had invested in overseas training for their workers.

The MGA reported revealed that more than 60% of Malta-licensed gaming firms sourced experienced employees from other firms in the country, with 37% recruiting directly from the online gambling sector and 24% recruiting from other industries.