As from January of next year, foreign persons from third countries, both those who need a visa and those exempted from it, need to follow a number of training courses and assessments which includes a mandatory course in English.

Details were announced by Minister for the Interior Byron Camilleri and Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo.

In order to enable them to work in the hospitality sector, there will be a course about the tourist product in Malta, and a course on how to serve a client in a basic way and other skills based on the line of work such as: bar, front office, restaurant or kitchen.

It was explained that an individual assessment will be made for each course. This course, accredited by the Institute for Tourist Studies and the necessary assessment must be done in their country of origin online and the certificate issued by ITS will be used in their visa application.

Those who go through all the stages including the necessary verifications established by Identità and come to Malta, must be re-submitted to another examination in Malta to be examined in practice by the ITS.

In the absence of compliance with these quality standards, Identità will not issue the working permit to the foreign worker.

It was also announced that from October of next year, those foreign workers who already work in tourism locally must also sit for courses and exams in which they will be assessed on their skills as will be done for those who wish to come to Malta and work in the said industry.

In the case of a foreign worker who is already working here, but does not pass, the work permit will not be renewed.

From January 2025, foreign workers coming from the European Union as well as Maltese will also be part of this important exercise in order to recognise their skills in the tourism industry.

The Ministers explained that the ultimate goal will be to introduce a skills card for everyone who works in the hospitality and tourism industry. This reform will be led by the Institute for Tourist Studies through the ITS Training School in joint work with Identità and the Maltese Tourism Authority.

Minister Clayton Bartolo pointed out how this is a necessary reform that will be spread over a period of years. “This is the first tangible step built on continuous education and effective training through which we begin to see a higher quality service offered to Maltese, Gozitans and tourists.”

Minister Byron Camilleri stressed that “through the condition of the skill cards announced today, we are we establish quality standards that lead to requirements without which the residence permit cannot be issued, by the Identity Agency. This reform and line of thinking should be extended in other sectors of our country’s economy so that we constantly demand quality.”

File photo/Gozo News

Permalink: Foreign workers in tourism to undergo training courses to gain entry to Malta