Moving to Malta [April '15]...looking for advice

Hi Im Tracey from UK I am planning to move to malta with my partner mick mid to end of next year. I am an experinced midwife and Mick is an experienced general builder.  Ive been trying to email the hospitals and ministry for energy and health for information but not received any response todate .  If anyone has any advice for to brits hoping to live and work in malta it would be greatly received

Hi , I am a UK Registered Nurse and worked in Malta for just under a year. You will need to register with the Maltese Council for Nurses and Midwives before you can work. The process took 4 and a half months for them to issue my registration certificate, during which time I was continually lied to/fobbed off by the officials responsible for registration. They told me in July when I submitted my documents that it would take no more than 3 weeks to complete and at the very most , a month - I finally received my certificate in late November!!!!!! - quite frankly, they are an embarrassment to our profession!!!
Finally started work in mid December and wish I'd never bothered. Poor professional standards , the sort of things that would have you struck off in the UK are regular practice there and the attitude of " well this is Malta " wears a bit thin after a while!!!
Ridiculous salaries, some of my ex-colleagues were working 70-100 hr weeks to get by and an off-duty system that gave you only 1 day off at a time - the maltese get the pick of the best shift patterns !!!!
Sorry to be so negative about the work situation there but it's not really a serious place for health professionals in my opinion, I couldn't wait to get back to the UK to be honest!!!
Great for a holiday, fantastic climate but as for work , well laughable really!!!!😳

I see nobody can help me in this site    At least you could have open your own post in order to comment about a completely different topic..

Jorg , my only suggestion is apply to any company you are interested in including the i gaming ones if they want you they will interview you , if not then you'll know ... You will find it easier to find work when in malta as many will not take applications from outside Malta (though I gaming companies may have own rules) ... Contact the etc on arrival register for there services and you can use the website to apply for work

Sorry cannot be more help but I don't work in those industries

Hi Moyes14 thanks for your reply definitely given me food for thought. Tracey x

Hi coxf0001 thank you i'll check it out. tracey x

Hi Jorge,

I'm afraid there is very little call for your ME qualification. Maltese people are very resourceful and make/fix a lot of things with steel and metal including from what little I have seen, complex machinery and structures, but the approach seems to be rather empirical and hands on. If you're up to speed with computing and in particular net technologies, you've come to the right place. In absence of that, IGaming is a big industry here and I imagine you have a good chance in particular as you seem to be a sporty guy.

Listen to this:
A disproportionately high number of young teen come to Malta over the summer months to study English language which is one of Malta's industries. There are a lot of language schools and they all try to attract those kids by combining language tuition with an array of activities. French, Russian, whatever moms and dads happily offload their children on these language schools so they can go to work over summer. The schools often need babysitters,  errr I mean group leaders and activity organisers, (but make no mistake, since they are still kids, a lot of babysitting will be part of your job description). There might be a niche and head start for you with your experience in that area. I imagine some of staff are hired for summer season only but maybe some are kept on full-time.

Good luck

robpw2 - Thank u for your answer. Any help is apreciated.

New Horizonz - As you say, situation seems close to what I would have guessed, thank you very much. Few questions:

About IGaming companies, cause I don't really know much: Could anyone recommend specific roles I could give it a try in that industry? Reading offers, sports trader could be potentially a match but they usually ask for statistics or experience.

About 'babysitting/group leader' job, that would be perfect! Found an offer online and applied..Do you know any idea where should I look for more vacants like that? English schools directly, tourism companies..??

Finally arriving 9th of April. Still thinking where to live, considering St Julians/Sliema vs St Paul's bay. Any tips? What would be best for sports/jogging?

iGaming
(I am no expert and have never worked in this area but through contact with other people I picked up a few things along the way, Hopefully someone working in this area can give a more accurate overview)
This has grown to cover a very wide area of activities: on one end of the scale you have traders: they control the betting flow, set the odds and take bets. They are present and in real-time  set or change things. They have sports knowledge and need to be good with numerate people no other specialised skills. They make money for the company and/or maximise profits by betting against the market or change odds as the event progresses and depends on demand. They work shifts as industry is in theory 24/7. These people have knowledge of the sports races, events or activities, that people bet on. They are users of IT services and not technical/IT people.
Due to tax breaks and incentives there are also a growing freelance professional gamers and gamblers present in Malta. They bet their own money to earn a living from their winnings.
Then we have billing and payment people to handle the actual money side of it. They are e-commerce people and have specialised knowledge of financial systems and processes.
Then we have various programming/IT/internet protocols and security/etc that design/write the software/make the igaming platforms/user interface/front and back office to mange large no of queries and data collected, make the whole thing safe and bullet proof so cheating is prevented or detected early. As big money is involved, there is a lot of activities.
You also have sales and associated staffing to promote and increase sales like any other products.
The industry is bigger than I explained. A lot of offshore and contract development work comes to Malta too.
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Language:
There are around 50 or so language schools, 80% are in Sliema, SJ and surrounding areas. Here is a list:
http://www.visitmalta.com/en/language-schools
Make a neat standard head letter and apply to all: larger and small anywhere on the island. You never know: you only need ONE job offer.
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I thought of one more area you might have a chance: no shipbuilding in Malta but there is a thriving refitting or overhauling ship industry here. As ships can sail anywhere in the world, the standards applied here must be the same as South Korea, northern Europe or North America. So I expect some proper  mechanical design and formal engineering activities present on the island.
phewww I need a coffee now

My opinion:
Sliema is more upmarket
St Julian's is more lively
Paceville is the nightlife capital of Malta.
All these are relatively more expensive to live compared to anywhere else in Malta. They're properly multi national, young and dynamic year round. If you can afford it, stay here and you're close to everywhere.

Bugibba/Qawra/St Paul's Bay are often much cheaper but a bit out of the way.
Older folks tend to stay there, quiet and low key other than in summer time. Dead in winter

Jogging routes
Along the sea front is popular in from Xemxia to Salina approx 12km
Also really nice from Msida all the way to Pembroke approx 15km
(A subset from Tinge Point to Spinola  more popular, approx 4km)
Sporting fascilities scattered on the island depending what you partake.
A lot of gyms in Sliema/SJ and in most big hotels

Hi Jorge,
Just arrived in Malta! I chose St Paul's Bay area, because is cheaper to be honest, and I prefer a calm place as well. The thing is I'm really happy with my choice. Nice to jogging too. I'm looking for job at a moment, I don't know much, but I can give you more details after, if you want.

New Horizonz, thanks again! I pay you that coffee next time..

Ana, my 1st thought was to go for a calm place as well, but at the end i don't know anyone in the island. Probably St. Julians/Sliema should be easier at the beggining to meet people and find a job quickly. Good luck with jobseeking, tell me after if you find sthing relevant.

Hi all and Welcome to our island!!

I am Maltese and a native speaker of the language. Its nice to read how many of you found Malta as their second home. I understand how it is to move to another country ... totally different place, culture, mentality and so on... on the other hand its the fun part of it . . .I will be more than happy to give a hand/advice ... I am a graduate Maltese teacher with 15 years of experience in teaching both locals and foreigners . . I will be happy to offer my services to anyone interested in learning the language and its culture. . individual/groups . .  any age... conversation/written/reading . . you can contact me on my e-mail address lezzjonijiet.malti@gmail.com

Hello LearnMaltese

Please post your ad in the Language classes in Malta section. 

This will create more opportunities for you.

Thank  you,

Marjorie