Guidance and counselling
Co-operation between the University of Malta, MCAST on Leonardo da Vinci project
The Guidance and Counselling Department at MCAST have been working together with the Students' Advisory Services at the University of Malta on a Leonardo da Vinci project entitled "Co-operative project for the development of skills of occupational guidance".
The beneficiaries of this project were John Bartolo and Rose Anne Borg (MCAST counsellors), Albert Debono and Noel Caruana (representing the Students Advisory Services), and Manwel Debono and Christine Farrugia (representing the Centre for Labour Studies at the University). The beneficiaries participated in a study visit recently carried out in Dublin, Ireland.
The aims set out for this visit were:
¤ to have a good overview of the guidance system in Ireland and the implementation of such a system.
¤ to visit different institutions related to the sending organisations and see examples of management of career guidance.
¤ be aware of new methodologies used in guidance within the educational and employment sector.
¤ to explore the possibilities of incorporating innovative ideas within the guidance systems involved in the project.
To be able to reach the set aims, the beneficiaries visited various institutions including the National Centre for Guidance in Education, the Marino Institute of Education, the Dublin Institute of Technology, the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art and Design Technology, Trinity College and the FAS, Ireland's National Training and Employment Authority.
Together with the key contact persons at these organisations and other staff members, the beneficiaries were able to discuss innovative approaches, ICT tools and working methods used to give information and guide students in their careers.
Various differences were identified between the Maltese and Irish guidance systems and various techniques were picked up to be able to be transferred and used by the local guidance services offered to students both at MCAST and at UoM.