Six new pharmaceutical firms to open shop in Malta

About six pharmaceutical companies should start operating in Malta by the end of next year, meaning that turnover and exports would increase considerably over the next couple of years, said Malta Enterprise chairman Joseph Zammit Tabona.

These healthcare industry companies have been attracted over the last year, giving rise to a shortage of appropriate staff in the field, he said.

It was in view of these developments that a partnership agreement was yesterday signed between Malta Enterprise and the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology to set up the appropriate course at the college.

The idea was to meet the key operators to find openings and create the right environment for employment.

As a result of the agreement, Malta Enterprise is sponsoring the new BTEC national diploma in applied science at the college to specifically target the pharmaceutical industry.

The course, in the Business and Commerce Institute, is spread over three years and is being followed by 26 students.

But more were needed to fill the shortage, Mr Zammit Tabona said.

Malta Enterprise's aim was to support sections where there was room for expansion. It also envisaged openings for employment in the IT industry.

Mr Zammit Tabona said Malta offered significant competitive advantages in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, and already established companies were upgrading and enlarging their premises.

New projects in the industry, approved in 2004, represented an investment, per capita, of €119,331 and an estimated €173,333 by 2007.

Victor Scicluna, president of the board of governors of MCAST, said the partnership crystallised the cooperation between the college and the ME board.

If Malta were to take full advantage of the foreign direct investment opportunities in the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector, a concerted effort was required to ensure that stakeholders worked in a coordinated manner to provide the skills and training programmes required.

The cooperation helped the college to achieve its aim to churn out today's and tomorrow's workforce through close collaboration with the key persons, who attracted investment to the island, he said.

The agreement also meant that the college was in a position to be more flexibile and to react easily to the changing situations in industry.

Malta Enterprise's CEO, Ing. Philip Micallef, said Malta's chief and only asset was its human resources, who needed to be prepared to be able to supply the industries that were being attracted.

Apart from the technical diploma, Malta Enterprise was also working at the university level, with a course for industrial pharmacists.

Frank Edwards, the consultant to the board of directors, who was recently appointed MCAST principal, said the agreement also brought about links with industry that allowed the college to understand how the economy and industry were developing.

The agreement, from which Malta as a whole stood to benefit, called for the setting up of steering committees at each organisation.