The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), through its Information Unit, has conducted a survey among its licensed remote gaming operators in order to obtain a better understanding of the existing skills gap in the gaming industry. The survey was conducted during the first quarter of 2018, and its analysis was carried out for each job category, level and firm size.
The following are the key highlights from this survey:
- A total of 781 unfilled positions have been reported by the remote gaming companies in Malta as at the end of 2017;
- Unfilled job vacancies are primarily in the game operation and development category at the operational level, presenting significant potential for the local educational system to contribute in addressing the issues of job vacancies in skills that are specific to the gaming industry in Malta;
- According to the survey results, 57% of respondents consider the lack of appropriate skills, in terms of either work experience or qualifications, as the main cause of unfilled vacancies;
- The sourcing of experienced talent from other firms in Malta is practised by over 60% of surveyed firms; the majority of operators recruited workers already employed by other firms in the online sector (37%) or in other industries (24%);
- The recruitment of workers immediately after the completion of their formal education was reported by 15% of firms, confirming the potentially stronger role which could be played by educational institutions; and;
- Various initiatives are undertaken by the gaming companies to address the skill shortage in the industry with majority of firms (55%) organising in-house training for their employees or investing in overseas training (21%).
Over the past months, several policy efforts have been made to address this skills gap. In fact, in November 2017, the European Gaming Institute of Malta (EGIM) was launched following an agreement signed between the MGA and MCAST. This strategic initiative aims to increase the talent pool in the gaming industry and create more long term careers for both local and foreign students. Educational programmes through EGIM started being offered as from October 2018.
A full copy of the survey can be downloaded from here.