Lufthansa Technik Malta is working closely with the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology to fill 500 new job opportunities over the next few years.

The company, which employs over 230 workers, plans to take on 200 trainees from Mcast's September/October intake.

The college offers three courses in aircraft maintenance, each leading to a career in the industry.

Lufthansa Technik yesterday held a Career Awareness Day to encourage young people to pursue its line of work.

Education Minister Dolores Cristina said Lufthansa Technik, which came to Malta in 2003, offers challenging and lucrative careers to young men and women.

According to the company, Lufthansa Technik is one of Malta's success stories, thanks in particular to the investment being made with the government in projects such as the new facility in the limits of Luqa, which is being built and which will accommodate five aircraft at the same time.

An Mcast trainee said Lufthansa Technik offered students practical training that complemented the more theoretical work done at Mcast.

Stephanie Meli, a 20-year-old trainee, said she always wanted to pursue a career in aviation and has already acquired her piloting licence. She commended her lecturers for their dedication, adding that this was not just a career for men.

If you want to get there, you will get there, she said, explaining that this was a lucrative career with a lot of job opportunities.

The trainees, who can be as young as 15, are offered practical training at Lufthansa Technik and some months abroad to further their experience. This year the students will be spending three months in Manila, in the Philippines, where they will be undergoing training at an aircraft maintenance facility.

Mcast is offering the public the chance to view its projects exhibition being held at St James Cavalier, Valletta, where students from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering are exhibiting their projects.