Fourteen local and international students have already enrolled in the newly set up International Vocational College (IVC) Malta’s Diploma in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship which opens in September, college chief executive officer Michelle Gialanzè told The Sunday Times.
The three-term, one-year diploma – a level 3 Edexcel Btec and level 4 Malta Qualifications Framework programme – is designed to give participants a foundation in business knowledge and skills. It falls under the IVC’s core philosophy to bridge the gap between education and work by boosting students’ employability.
A wide-ranging syllabus covers, among many topics, business in an international context, financial and business planning and pitching, leadership and teamwork, market research, e-marketing, branding, and legislation.
It is primarily aimed at 17- to 20-year-olds who are in the process of mapping out their further education and future career paths.
The qualification is equivalent to two ‘A’ levels, and gives students work experience through a series of placements within the Vassallo Group’s diverse activities. Students are assigned mentors and encouraged to design a business plan.
The intake’s best plan will be awarded a €10,000 prize.
The course will accept a maximum of 35 students and is planned as an annual offering.
Established last February by Dr Gialanzè and the Vassallo Group, the majority shareholder, the St Julian’s-based International Vocational College is just one of two recognised Btec centres in Malta.
The other is the state-run Malta College of Arts, Sciences and Technology.
The college was Vassallo Group chairman Nazzareno Vassallo’s brainchild. He and Dr Gialanzè met in Poland as members of a business delegation accompanying then President Eddie Fenech Adami’s state visit two years ago.
In conversation, Mr Vassallo and Dr Gialanzè found they shared the same vision of success in business stemming not necessarily from academic qualifications but from vocational training. Dr Gialanzè was eventually convinced to join the group to realise Mr Vassallo’s dream to establish a vocational college.
“I feel quite strongly there is little transition between schooling and the workplace. The college aims to fill that void, to join the dots, so to speak,” Dr Gialanzè explained.
“In everything we do we aim to help students become more employable. The diploma in enterprise and entrepreneurship will also teach students different disciplines and skills such as networking and public speaking, communication skills and behaviour at the workplace.
“The Vassallo Group will give students the opportunity to move around its activities from hospitality to catering to social services every two months. Guided learning hours will be held in the afternoon when students will obtain input for the academic part of the programme.”
Dr Gialanzè also plans to officially establish an entrepreneurial network under the college’s umbrella in November.
The network will offer support to entrepreneurs who feel the need to ‘connect’ with others in their sectors to exchange ideas.
Even before its formal launch, the network has already held free webinars, with the latest, on start-ups, just last week. Information on free events is available online and on the IVC’s Facebook page.
This summer, the college is to hold three talks to showcase its aims and provide business knowledge opportunities. The first, tomorrow, will see Chris Vassallo, director of Vassallo Group’s catering operation, Cater Group and Dr Gialanzè explain the IVC’s philosophy.
On July 28, a psychologist will lead an event themed ‘Get naked’ to focus on preconceptions of students’ education and career choices. A case study on entrepreneurship is planned forSeptember 3.
“We designed the college’s first diploma not only for students who are taking a year out to discover what they are good at but also for those seeking to obtain entrepreneurial skills, which everyone should be equipped with.
“Potential professionals seeking to establish a practice still need business skills like financial literacy.”
Dr Gialanzè, a linguist and special needs professional who later obtained a doctorate in IT and education, also plans to run events in September for graduates to further their knowledge in skills such as networking, IT, and well-being at the workplace.
Dr Gialanzè explained she was engaging several professionals and academics from Malta’s business networks so that IVC would fulfil its aim to be a corporate college, designed by business for business.
The college’s Department of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, Dr Gialanzè pointed out, was only the first in the college’s plans.