Mcast to offer degree course in aviation maintenance

The Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology is planning to offer a degree course in aviation maintenance.

Principal and chief executive officer Maurice Grech said the college had already made contacts with the aviation industry about the possibility of offering on-the-job training.

The college already has an Aviation Maintenance Training Centre which provides courses in aviation maintenance and repair.

A group of 59 students have received certificates after completing three courses through the Lufthansa Technical Training School in Hamburg, which were delivered by Mcast. They underwent 12 months on-the-job training with different maintenance, repair and overhaul organisations, with some going for training to Manila.

Before Mcast received its approval as a European Aviation Safety Agency, in 2008, it was training students through Lufthansa's school. The last group trained by Lufthana's school graduated on Friday. "There are bigger countries with more resources than Malta who do not have an aviation training centre," Prof. Grech said during the certificate-presentation ceremony at Lufthansa Technik, in Ħal Farruġ.

The college started offering aviation courses in 2004 through the help of Lufthansa Technik and has already trained more than 200 students while another 271 are currently in training.

Prof. Grech said the success of this venture has continued to raise Mcast's training profile. "This is a tool to attract other investors in different categories."

Paul Attard, the president of Mcast's board of governors, said the standards demanded by the European Aviation Safety Authority with regards to curriculum content and delivery as well as training facilities and resources were exceptionally high and overstretched the college's capacity.

However, the college had reached these standards within a short time and acquired the necessary licence to start delivering the courses itself.

"Mcast is ready to adapt existing courses as well as develop new ones in order to cater for the emerging skills needs of industry," he said.

Christoph Meyerrose, the managing director of Lufthansa Technical Training, said Malta had achieved a training environment that was the envy of many countries in Europe and described the training as a breeding space for aviation talent.

He stressed the importance of lifelong learning, which was reiterated by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who urged students to continue with their training.

Dr Gonzi said yesterday's event was testimony to the fact that, when industry worked hand in hand with teaching institutions, it would achieve the best human resources.

He said Mcast had transformed the way Malta looked at vocational training, and had grown since the time, eight years ago, when it used to offer courses to 1,500 students. More than 5,500 full-time students attended Mcast courses last scholastic year and the college was offering 120 full-time courses and 300 part-time ones - a leap from the 46 courses on offer in 2001.

He said Malta's flexible, highly-skilled and dedicated workforce was one of the most determining factors for foreign investors to choose Malta as an investment destination. "Even for Lufthansa Technik, the work ethic of the Maltese has been a crucial determinant in its expansion over the years," he said.

He said its biggest vote of confidence in Malta and in the capabilities of locals lay in the expansion of its workforce. "What started off eight years ago as an operation with 100 workers is today a multi-million investment with a workforce above the 500 mark and which is expected to continue increasing," he said.