Temping agencies want the government to consult with them before making skills passes mandatory for all non-EU workers. The Association for Temping and Outsourcing Agencies (AFTA) said it fears the new requirement, announced by the government last week, risks adding red tape and making Malta less competitive in what it described as 鈥渢he global war to attract workers鈥. Skills pass requirements were first introduced by the government in May 2024. The pass requires workers to pass an online exam and interview focused on basic skills, English and Maltese. At the time, only non-EU workers employed by hotels, bars and restaurants had to obtain one. The government now wants to expand that requirement to encompass all non-EU workers, irrespective of what sector they work in. AFTA said the hospitality sector has found it much harder to compete with other industries for workers as a result of the skills pass rule, and that it was therefore positive to remove that discrimination by placing all sectors on the same playing field. However, it also said the additional bureaucracy 鈥渃ould result in Malta becoming less competitive in the global war to attract workers.鈥 鈥淭he expansion of this policy should therefore be designed to create a level playing field, not shift labour shortages from one sector to another,鈥 it said. AFTA President Fabio Muscat said the association was in favour of a skills pass that teaches workers the basics of the English language, Maltese culture, legal rights and responsibilities. But content had to be tailored for specific sectors. 鈥淎 dishwasher may need a different level of English than someone customer-facing. A one-size-fits-all approach does not make sense and we need to learn from what is not working in the current system before making it worse for all industries,鈥 Muscat said. Role-specific training, especially for technical or licensed professions, should be handled separately and not duplicate existing requirements. 鈥淭raining a qualified electrician or security guard via a generic online course is neither feasible nor necessary. Where job-specific licences or qualifications are already legally required, these should exempt the candidate from overlapping content,鈥 the association stated. AFTA said the skills pass idea could become a benchmark model for other countries that rely on foreign labour, and added that it is preparing a position paper on the pass to help inform the government鈥檚 thinking.