Malta's Financial Services Sector is Investing in its Most Important Asset: People

Malta punches above its weight. For a nation of roughly half a million people, its financial services sector has built an international reputation that belies its size. But sustaining that success demands more than effective regulation and licensing frameworks, it requires   the right people, in the right roles, at the right time. 

This is why the Malta Financial Services Advisory Council (MFSAC) Human Resources & Education workstream - led by David Delicata and Maria Cauchi Delia – is so important. With 61% of the programme already delivered, the momentum is real and the direction is clear. 

Good policy requires good data. Through collaboration with the National Skills Council, the MFSAC has developed a structured research package - drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)-derived questionnaires - to be executed by the University of Malta. This will generate the kind of robust baseline dataset that moves policy conversations from anecdote to insight, going well beyond the limitations of existing data sources. 

Beyond immediate recruitment, the workstream is thinking about the longer game. Over 80 financial literacy programmes have been catalogued and brought under a single forum for the first time, with Junior Achievement launching a dedicated Centre for Excellence for Financial Education in schools. 

Progress is already underway. A landmark survey of over 1,500 Maltese adults, conducted as part of the MFSA's EU-funded Technical Support Instrument project in collaboration with the OECD, has found that Malta's overall financial literacy levels sit slightly above the OECD average - an encouraging baseline from which to build further.  

Conversations with the University of Malta’s International Office are also underway, exploring how international students can work locally during their studies and transition into the workforce on graduation, building the kind of organic, lasting connection to Malta that no incentive scheme alone can manufacture.  

Taken together, these initiatives are building Malta's financial services sector a talent ecosystem that is evidence-led, policy-aligned, and built to last. 

This is the sixth part in our series focused on the MFSAC interim report. Each week, we will be doing a deep dive on a different workstream, and the progress made since MFSAC introduced the Financial Services Strategy in 2023.