Will AI Replace HR Jobs in Malta? Here’s What to Do in 2025

HR professionals in Malta should pay close attention to AI in 2025 because the technology is already streamlining talent acquisition, onboarding, performance management and engagement - moving time from paperwork and CV piles into strategy and people-centred work (see how AI speeds recruiting and personalises onboarding in O.C. Tanner's overview).

Mercer's analysis shows generative AI tends to reshape tasks rather than wipe out whole jobs, creating chances for HRBPs, L&D specialists and rewards leads to focus on higher‑value work; that means Maltese HR teams who adopt AI responsibly can lift productivity and design reskilling pathways rather than defend the status quo.

Practical, employer-facing options exist for upskilling (for example, short courses and bootcamps such as Nucamp's AI Essentials for Work) and local training providers run Malta‑accessible programs, so now is the moment to pilot AI tools, tighten governance and prioritise human oversight to keep people at the centre.

“When it comes to AI, human resources teams have a significant opportunity to lead the way. It's important not to miss the moment.” - Lambros Lambrou, Chief Strategy Officer, Aon

In Malta in 2025 the picture is clear: AI is already embedded in day‑to‑day HR work, nudging teams from administrative chores toward strategic people work - think AI triaging routine queries via chatbots and summarising candidate documents so HR can focus on judgement and culture.

Local HR tech watchers note rising adoption of AI‑powered performance management and analytics, with hybrid work and personalised learning pathways making upskilling urgent for Maltese employers (MAP IT 2025 HR trends for Malta).

Global benchmarking from Gallagher shows most leaders still view AI as an opportunity (68%), many have invested already, but skills, ethics and compliance remain top barriers - so Maltese HR teams must pair new tools with clear governance (Gallagher 2025 AI adoption and risk benchmarking survey).

Practical HR guidance stresses starting with low‑risk wins (automation, document summarisation, targeted reskilling) while building measurement and trust so AI augments rather than replaces human decisions (AIHR guide to AI adoption in HR).

The result for Malta: faster processes, sharper people analytics, and a pressing need to reskill - because efficiency gains mean HR can spend hours saved on strategy, not spreadsheet chores.

In Malta the HR roles and activities sitting most squarely in the automation crosshairs are the repetitive, rule‑based chores that scale easily - think payroll and time‑tracking, resume screening and interview scheduling, onboarding paperwork and document management, plus routine employee queries that chatbots can handle 24/7; these are the low‑risk, high‑return wins organisations are automating first (see DocStar guide to HR automation for recruitment, payroll, and document management).

Local HR teams should watch transactional casework and heavy data‑entry functions most closely, because research shows automation can take on a large share of repetitive tasks and frees HR to focus on strategy and people‑centred work - for Malta that means planning reskilling for affected staff and redesigning roles rather than cutting them (details on common use cases in Zalaris HR automation overview: streamlining HR operations at scale).

Picture an inbox that once held dozens of payslip or leave queries a day being handled automatically - that visible shift is the “so what?”: time reclaimed for coaching, culture and complex judgement.

“…56 percent of typical “hire-to-retire” tasks could be automated with current technologies and limited process changes.” - McKinsey & Company

In Malta the HR roles most likely to expand aren't the spreadsheet‑bound jobs but the relationship‑focused and strategic ones: human resource business partners, learning & development specialists and total‑rewards leaders who can interpret AI outputs and turn them into people‑first actions (see Mercer's analysis of how generative AI reshapes these HR roles).

Expect a rise in wellbeing and human‑relations specialists to handle the emotional nuance machines can't, plus new demand for cybersecurity, legal and ethical experts to manage AI risk and compliance - all echoed in Sloneek's ranking of positions that AI will transform rather than replace.

Practical gains - faster screening, smarter analytics and personalised learning recommendations - free HR professionals to do high‑value work, so picture an L&D specialist curating personalised “learning playlists” while AI takes care of admin; it's a vivid rebalancing of time toward coaching, strategy and culture.

Keep people at the centre by pairing tech with governance and design: O.C. Tanner's work on people‑centred AI shows how tools can surface flight‑risk signals and guide timely recognition without replacing human judgment.

Organisational lessons from major AI and digital transformations map directly to Malta's HR priorities: start with clean data, assemble cross‑disciplinary teams and measure real business outcomes so pilots scale into sustained change.

IBM's procurement reimagining shows how linking siloed data and a team of IT, process and procurement experts turned days of work into minutes - a model Maltese employers can follow when automating onboarding or payroll - and IBM's case studies highlight concrete wins (20% cost avoidance; 70% faster problem resolution; 25% quicker onboarding) that make the “so what?” unmistakable for local HR leaders (How IBM reimagined its procurement systems - Procurement Magazine, IBM enterprise case studies on AI and digital transformation).

The Moderna–IBM collaboration underlines another practical point: experimenting early with new architectures (here, quantum plus AI) is about augmenting capabilities, not replacing people - an argument for piloting advanced analytics in workforce planning before broad roll‑outs (Moderna–IBM quantum and AI collaboration case study).

For Malta: prioritize low‑risk, high‑value pilots, capture time‑saved metrics, invest those hours into coaching and reskilling, and bake governance into procurement so AI becomes a tool for redeployment and culture, not just cost cutting.

“We embrace new technology early because we would rather understand it on our terms than play catch-up later.” - Wade Davis, Senior Vice President, Digital, Moderna

Malta's HR teams must treat AI like a governance challenge as much as a productivity opportunity: EU data rules, rising litigation and the forthcoming EU AI Act mean that anything touching personal data - from resume screening to performance profiling - needs clear legal grounds, human oversight and documented risk controls.

Practical steps flagged in industry guidance include conducting DPIAs for high‑risk hiring tools, mapping data across the AI lifecycle, and choosing “buy vs build” carefully so third‑party contracts and vendor assurance are watertight (see Alvarez & Marsal's pragmatic playbook on AI governance and privacy risks).

GDPR's limits on fully automated decisions (Article 22) plus the need for transparency, data minimisation, retention rules and explainability mean HR must be ready to explain and remediate algorithmic decisions; the Sembly overview of GDPR and AI summarises the obligations and why human review is essential.

Technical best practice - regular data cleansing, audit logs, pseudonymisation and guarded international transfers - supports compliance and trust (TechGDPR's primer on AI and the GDPR lays out these foundations).

In short: build an AI inventory, add AI modules to DPIAs and vendor checks, and require human checkpoints so a candidate never receives a final hiring decision without a human in the loop.

Turn strategy into action with a compact, Malta‑focused 10‑step plan: 1) Inventory current HR tasks and map where AI can help (start with resume screening and routine queries); 2) Pilot low‑risk automation such as an Applicant Tracking System to speed hiring - see Talexio's local playbook for Malta; 3) Clean and centralise HR data so analytics and skills mapping are reliable (consolidation is non‑negotiable given Malta's strong cloud and digital uptake); 4) Run AI bias audits and DPIAs for hiring tools before scaling (audits are now a mainstream recruiting trend); 5) Pair every pilot with clear vendor controls and procurement clauses to manage third‑party risk; 6) Use no‑code automation for onboarding and document workflows so HR owns change quickly; 7) Integrate HR systems (payroll, time, ATS) to avoid fractured data and boost decision speed; 8) Measure time‑saved and redeploy hours into coaching, L&D and retention work emphasised by Mercer's human‑centric productivity framework; 9) Launch rapid reskilling playlists for critical roles (ICT, AI, cybersecurity) to close local skills gaps; 10) Track outcomes and iterate - if a pilot doesn't lift candidate experience or free time for people work, stop and redesign.

This sequence turns abstract AI opportunity into practical steps Maltese HR teams can follow now to protect jobs and raise value.

“HR is tasked with cultivating continued innovation while maintaining a healthy work culture in a climate where opportunities are high, yet budgets are tight.” - Kate Bravery, Senior Partner, Mercer

Supporting employees in Malta means turning national schemes into practical pathways: employers can tap Malta Enterprise Skills Development Scheme (which can cover up to 70% of training expenses - including trainee wages - and is open to SMEs and large undertakings) to fund in‑role reskilling and short, job‑relevant “learning playlists,” while individuals and smaller cohorts can use the Jobsplus Training Pays Scheme for grants paid after successful course completion to bridge transition costs; both schemes emphasise digital, green and employability skills that map directly to demand in local sectors (see the Malta Enterprise Skills Development Scheme and the CEDEFOP Skills Development Scheme overview for details).

Pairing these public supports with employer-led apprenticeships, University of Malta short courses and targeted bootcamps creates a redeployment roadmap: fund training, protect wages during learning, certify outcomes and move people into newly created roles so that time saved by AI becomes time invested in careers, not redundancy.

“This scheme is not only an investment in businesses, but we are investing in the workforce. By upskilling and reskilling our workers, we are supporting sustainable growth. This investment in the quality of the country's human resources also forms part of our drive to stimulate the digital and environmental transition towards a future-proof economy.” - Minister Miriam Dalli

For HR leaders in Malta the takeaway is pragmatic: treat AI as a governance and people strategy issue, not a magic bullet - align pilots with Malta's regulatory landscape (led by the MDIA and EU rules), require human oversight and DPIAs for hiring tools, and prioritise low‑risk automation that frees time for coaching, total‑rewards design and reskilling.

Start small, measure outcomes and bake procurement and vendor clauses into every purchase so liability, transparency and data‑protection obligations are clear (see Ganado's practical overview of Malta's AI rules for guidance).

Pair those measures with an immediate learning offer: targeted upskilling (for example, Nucamp AI Essentials for Work 15-week bootcamp) helps HR teams turn saved hours into career pathways rather than cuts.

The “so what?” is simple and visible - a once‑crowded inbox of routine payslip and leave queries becomes an opportunity to redeploy people into coaching, wellbeing and strategy.

In short: govern firmly, pilot wisely, measure time‑saved and invest the gains in people so AI becomes a tool for workforce resilience and growth in Malta.

“The need to carefully manage potential risks means that a successful framework for AI integration requires more than investment in technology. It necessitates a comprehensive, cross-functional approach to decisions, bringing IT, data privacy, legal, compliance, risk management and business leadership, among others, to the table to ensure AI systems are safe, ethical and compliant. For a period of time, it is also recommended that a human validate the results and outputs to avoid unintended consequences.” - Mark Bloom, Global Chief Information Officer at Gallagher