Tertiary education is about specialising in an area of interest and of labour demand. The human resources field is constantly diversifying and people feel the pressure to attain an academic qualification.
The Centre for Labour Market Studies has been offering distance learning courses in this field since 1990. In its eight years as local agency for the CLMS, the Foundation for Human Resources Development (FHRD) has seen 250 Maltese students graduate from the UK university.
The CLMS, which is a department within the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Leicester, offers the whole range of programmes including Certificates, Diplomas, Masters and Doctorates.
All programmes are internationally acknowledged and locally recognised by the Academic Credentials Evaluation Board within the Malta Qualification Recognition Information Centre. Students are encouraged to link their work experiences to the academic arguments they put forward in their course work. The programmes are designed to take students on a journey of personal development (the individual dimension), to the exploration of individual learning at the workplace (organisational), through to the impact of globalisation on human resource development practices (national and the international).
The degrees' relevance to the world of work is evidenced by the numerous organisations sponsoring students.
The courses are created for the adult learner who wishes to pursue academic development while juggling work and family commitments with study. The distance learning medium and the flexibility of the courses address this issue and is also an advantage for the employer as there is minimum disruption in work schedule.
The centre's team of administrative and academic staff endeavour to address every request for advice. They support 1,000 students at any one time, with Malta assisting approximately 75 of these.
As the local agent, FHRD accompanies students from course enquiry to graduation. It provides administrative and emotional support, and is a direct link to CLMS. The foundation organises two annual teaching events during which CLMS academic staff provide tutorial support. It also provides a library of books relevant to the suggested reading lists.
The FHRD also facilitates periodical support meetings, including support with IT facilities, grants access to CLMS students to the FHRD library and encourages students to create study groups.
An information meeting for prospective students will be held at the FHRD's San Ġwann premises on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The meeting will be an opportunity to meet graduates and view the course material.
For more information call 2137 8895 or e-mail dgouder@fhrd.org.
Ms Gouder is distance learning executive at the Foundation for Human Resources Development (FHRD).