Printing association contributes to industry diploma

The Malta Printing Industry Association has reached agreement with Mcast and the Employment and Training Corporation over the 'First Diploma in Printing' course.

Under the agreement, the course is to be revised and tailor-made for the local industry.

The MPIA is a voluntary association established in 2002. In 2008, the council met 14 times and collaborated with Integraf, the European association for printers of which MPIA is a member, on its four ongoing projects: a project focused on stimulating cooperation between printing companies; education and training: the Eco Print Project, and its main project that of introducing research and innovation needs in the European graphic industry.

The association has applied for support from Malta Enterprise but to date has not yet received the agreed funding for its day-to-day running and the continuation of its main projects.

Malta's printing industry generates 4.6 per cent of GDP and employs over 2,400 people full-time.

MPIA general secretary Margaret Buhagiar has been working with the European Commission on comprehensive sectoral analysis of emerging competences and economic activities in the printing sector in other EU member states.

Over the past year, the MPIA was also invited by the Malta Qualifications Council to participate in a conference in Wiesbaden, Germany, and sponsored by ENQA-VET, on quality in worked-based learning: meeting the demands of the labour market and life long learning.

The MPIA is also working with the Malta Qualifications Council on a Leonardo da Vinci project which will run until 2011. Entitled Inlearning, it focuses on the validation of informal and non-formal learning. The MPIA's role is to provide the expertise needed for MQC to identify the processes needed to validate informal and non-formal learning in the printing industry.

To join the association, call 9933 6926 or 2398 1055 or write to admin.mpia@gmail.com.