Finding a Job in Malta for Non-Maltese Speakers

Updated at Apr 16, 2025 | by Admin

English speakers have a great chance of finding job opportunities in Malta even if they cannot speak Maltese. According to the reports of a recent Malta skills survey, 96% of the population can understand English. While Maltese is understood by 90.4% of the population. These statistics show that English is spoken widely throughout the Island creating more job opportunities for English speakers.

Malta’s Business Language

Both Maltese and English are used as business languages in Malta. Maltese is preferred in small local businesses, while English is used in large multinational companies. Moreover, work emails and official business documents are written in English. The operating system and additional softwares installed in computers also use English.

Where English is Preferred

Following industries and businesses have rich job opportunities for English speakers in Malta:

  • International Businesses
  • Tourism
  • iGaming
  • Finance
  • IT and Tech
  • Hospitality
  • Customer Service

Where Maltese is Preferred

Maltese is mainly preferred in:

  • Government Institutions
  • Education Sector
  • Media
  • Retail
  • Cultural Gatherings

Challenges For Non-Maltese Speakers

Interacting with the Maltese people on social gatherings can be a bit challenging for non-Maltese speakers. Although Maltese people love to speak English, they tend to switch to their native language at cultural gatherings. Having said that, they will try their best to make English speakers comfortable by keeping their conversations in English as long as they can.

Conclusion

It would not be wrong to say that a non-Maltese speaker with fluent English can get equal job opportunities to a Maltese speaker. There are exceptional sectors where Maltese is preferred like Government institutions, Education and Media. While English is highly preferred in iGaming, tourism, hospitality and customer services. Non-Maltese speakers might struggle to connect with locals at cultural events, though this rarely affects their professional life in Malta.