Category: Articles

The European Space Agency – ESA and Xjenza Malta invites you to a Briefing for the European Space Agency (ESA) PECS Call for 2025. This is a great opportunity for all companies and institutions who are interested in Space Applications and Services to apply for tenders to conduct research and development in this broad and rapidly growing sector. During the session ESA will be providing training for potential candidates on how to apply for ESA Tenders under the Maltese PECS arrangement.

Join us for the briefing at Xjenza Malta, Villa Bighi, Kalkara on the 18 October 2024.

Applicants from the Private and Public sector can also book one-to-one meetings with an ESA representative to discuss their project proposals after the briefing. Please note that these will be hosted at Xjenza Malta on the 18^th of October from: 15:30 – 18:00

To register: Click here and for more information please visit: https://lnkd.in/g2ZujWVh

The Energy and Water Agency together with the Institute for Sustainable Energy, at the University of Malta, are pleased to announce the third edition of the National Energy Conference which will be held on the 24^th October 2024 at Villa Arrigo, Naxxar from 9am till 4pm. 

This year’s conference shall explore the intertwined nature of the energy and digital transitions, and how the latter is shaping the former. It shall bring on the table for discussion the opportunities, as well as challenges associated with these transitions and take stock of the preparedness of Malta’s energy system.

 The conference will once again bring together both local and international speakers from various energy sectors as well as academia to discuss topics related to the aforementioned. The audience which is expected to be a mix of policy makers, professionals, business entities, students and public officers, will also have the opportunity to engage in a Q&A after each session.

Click here to register

Shanelle Zammit, presently reading for a Master of Science in Strategic Management and Digital Marketing at the University of Malta, is currently conducting research that aims to investigate the influence of Employer Branding on employee attraction and retention in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

You are being invited to take part in this research.

Click here to participate in this survey

The Malta Chamber of SMEs was honoured to welcome H.E. Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia to Malta Mr Zouheir Bouras, to its offices.

The SME Chamber delegation was compose of President Mr. Paul Abela, Deputy President Mr. Philip Fenech, Council Member Mr Noel Gauci and EU Affairs and Funding Executive Mr Jamie Tanti.

The meeting discussed potential for business collaboration between Malta and Tunisia and the work that can be undertaken to support this and increase trade between these countries which already enjoy close relations

On Friday 20th September the Malta Chambers of SMEs met Prime Minister Robert Abela and other Cabinet Ministers and Parliamentary Secretary as part of the pre-budget discussions.

During this meeting, SME Chamber President Mr Paul Abela highlighted the SME Chamber Budget 2025 proposals published earlier last week.

The SME Chamber was also represented by Deputy President Mr Philip Fenech and council members Mr Marcel Mizzi, Mr Michael Galea, Mr Beppe Muscat and CEO Ms Abigail Agius Mamo and Mr Andrew Aquilina.

The Meeting was held at NM Group premises, a member of the SME Chamber which employs over 60 people.

In preparation for the Rolex Middle Sea Race 2024 the Malta Chamber of SMEs is supporting a number of initiatives by the Malta Tourism Authority.

Hospitality and Retailers are encouraged to promote their premises, during the week preceding and on the day of the Start of the race on the 19^th of October, by utilising VistaMalta’s prepared social media post and stories art, on their websites, Instagram and facebook. By using the same artwork to support your individual offers to attract business, we are creating teamwork and create hype and curiosity from visitors and tourists, who would then be convinced to go to Valletta or 3 Cities to watch the race, shop and also dine later in the same areas.

All participating hospitality and retailers are encouraged to place the poster in their shop/premises windows and create an attraction for consumers and guests to enter their premises.

IDEAS:

Menus with special sailing or yachting themed titles or cocktails with a nautical comical twist add flavour to the day. Gastronomy specials for the day on blackboards, could also have a marine theme/titles. Retail outlets perhaps could dress their windows with nautical props, to promote their goods or special offers already underway.

Businesses are  encouraged to come up with their own way to promote their business, but having a nautical theme for the day, creates an atmosphere that visitors will enjoy and it will encourage them to explore and remain in the cities for the day.

The intention is to create something of an annual themed nautical festival, riding on the existence of the Rolex Middle Sea Race.

Other initiatives:

• On the 19th of October, Valletta Cultural Agency is organising a traditional Maltese folk band, that will play at Upper Barrakka at 11:00am and later at the Lower Barrakka.

• Heritage Malta has confirmed that shall offer a 50% reduction on entrance fees to Fort St Elmo, Fort St Angelo and to the Maritime Museum on the day.

• VisitMalta shall be organising the In Guardia reenactment troupe, to parade from the Grandmasters Palace in Valletta, to Upper Barrakka via Republic Street between 1000hr – 1200hr, on the 19th October. They shall stop intermittently en-route, to announce the Start of the Rolex Middle Sea Race, that will take place in the Grand Harbour. Re-enactors shall also be ‘on guard’ at Fort St Angelo and by the Siege War Memorial Bell in Valletta.

Start of Race information. Please visit www.rolexmiddlesearace.com

The world of recruitment is undergoing drastic transformations in order to survive and organisations need to adapt to the evolving dynamics of the job market, keep up with technology and embrace innovative strategies.

With the shifting workforce dynamics, and the ever-evolving business landscape, the way organisations attract, assess, and onboard talent is changing drastically. In this article, we will explore the key trends that are set to reshape recruitment practices in the coming years in Malta.

What are job seekers after?

This year, Misco issued a report titled “Insights into Job Seeker Dynamics 2024”. This is a yearly report that enables companies to understand what job seekers are after whilst gaining knowledge of job seeking trends in the current market. This knowledge helps companies remain competitive in an evolving market and make strategic HR decisions for the future of the company.

A consistent result we see year on year is that the majority of candidates change jobs between the third and fifth year of their employment (28%) followed by 26% who change employment every 6 to 10 years and 13% of employees who change jobs every 1 to 2 years. These results show the importance of keeping employees interested in their role and responsibilities, especially in these critical years in order to reduce turnover as much as possible.

Whereas salary is the first thing people look out for when searching for a job, it is the experience that the company provides them with that keeps employees from moving to another company. This includes working conditions, employer brand, flexibility, empowerment, development and growth opportunities among other areas.

To create a positive working experience and environment, companies need to encourage more collaboration between HR professionals, Recruiters, Hiring Managers and other relevant departments to ensure a more holistic and efficient recruitment process. Whilst maintaining a data-driven approach, companies need to understand the evolving trends in HR and create an employment experience that matches the expectations of both the candidate and the business.

With the changing expectations of both the candidates and the business, having an agile and flexible recruitment strategy that can quickly adapt to the changing market conditions is a must. This may refer to the flexibility in adjusting recruitment processes to meet the specific needs of different roles, candidates or situations. For example, this may simply refer to the timing an interview might need to take place in, to rapidly move candidates through the interview process. Recruitment strategies need to be fine-tuned and refined along the way to improve results and stay competitive.

Rather than searching for people when someone leaves the company or when the team is overburdened, companies are realising that they need to create talent pipelines before the actual vacancy arises. With the current market, employers need to start searching for skills that they expect to need for the business in the future. As Johnny C. Taylor Jr., President and CEO of SHRM said, “The key to talent acquisition isn’t filling a role quickly; it’s finding the best talent for the role.” This proactive approach to recruitment is key for long-term success.

HR as a function needs to become more strategic and in order to do so we first need to understand the needs and challenges of the company. As Steve Jobs once said: “If you define the problem correctly, you almost have the solution.” Another important aspect is to keep collecting continuous data that will help you analyse trends throughout the months and years and make decisions based on this data. This data can also help us refine our strategies, personalise the candidate experience further and optimize the overall recruitment lifecycle.

The future of recruitment is being shaped by dynamic shifts in both job seeker expectations and business needs. For organisations to stay ahead they need to be agile, data-driven and proactive in their approach to talent acquisition. By understanding job seekers’ motivations such as company culture, flexibility and growth opportunities, businesses can create an employment experience that not only attracts top talent but retains them for the long haul.