What role does continuous learning play in boosting employability?
It’s a fact that today we are living in a world that is continuously changing and where the concept of a job for life no longer exists. Technology is rapidly evolving and therefore it’s imperative for every person to keep abreast with the technological changes that are happening in any sector, first and foremost to remain employable and secondly in an effort to improve the prospects of one’s career.
In fact it’s widely recognised that skills must be continuously updated to render any person employable. It’s therefore clear that continuous learning, or better still, lifelong learning is a key factor in this process.
To prove this point, one only needs to have a quick look at how the world of work changed over the last 30 years. Jobs have changed drastically or effectively died out, forcing employees to take on new skills or face unemployment. There does not seem to be an end to this trend, especially as technology continues to dictate so many changes in our daily lives.
This is where MCAST comes in. At MCAST we strive to provide vocational education and training that addresses current and future industry needs, be it in the engineering field, business management and commerce, arts, community services, information technology or applied sciences. This is done by keeping continuous communication with the local industry, reviewing and updating our training courses accordingly to provide quality education to both our full-time and part-time students.
Employees might find it difficult to pursue a full-time education. How do the MCAST part-time courses enable students to simultaneously work and study?
Adults in employment have little chance of pursuing full-time education. MCAST understands that working adults have personal commitments in their lives that inhibit them from following training courses during the day. Therefore, MCAST offers a wide range of part-time courses during evenings or on Saturdays. In addition, sessions are held typically once a week with the more advanced courses still not exceeding three sessions a week. Sessions start in late afternoon, allowing working participants to finish work and commute to one of our campuses. Parking is easy and provided for free.
Since last September MCAST is offering part-time Bachelor’s degree programmes. These have proved to be extremely popular, which proves that people are keen to improve on their qualifications even though they are in employment. The commitment and determination shown by these students drives us to provide more quality training opportunities for them.
What part-time courses do you offer?
MCAST is currently promoting around 300 part-time courses in a broad spectrum of subjects, levels and duration. The shortest courses are the hobby courses that are usually completed within a few months. Hobby courses run at one session per week. Certificates of attendance are also presented to attendees who log at least 80 per cent attendance. The most popular of these courses are those related to interior home design, horticulture and landscaping, gardening, cultivation of citrus and olive trees, children’s learning activities and play, salon management, hair, make-up and beauty courses, tailoring, art, various courses in engineering and IT courses.
MCAST is currently promoting around 300 part-time courses
We also offer accredited courses which lead to an MCAST certificate of achievement at various MQF Levels. We are launching the Bachelor of Science (Hons) in banking practice and management in collaboration with the IFS University College of the UK. We will also offer the popular diploma in procurement and supply from the UK based Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply.
Then there are three accredited courses related to water and the environment: the MCAST advanced diploma in water technology and operations at MQF Level 4, the MCAST higher diploma in environment conservation at MQF Level 5 and the MCAST higher diploma in environment and water technology at MQF Level 5. A number of these accredited courses are registered with the Get Qualified scheme run by Malta Enterprise that enables students to benefit from tax rebates of up to 70 per cent of the course fee on successfully completing the course.
As in previous editions, a 24 page prospectus is being delivered to all households and businesses in Malta and Gozo. The prospectus has a complete list of the courses on offer besides various helps and tips on how to check for course details and how to apply.
What are the entry requirements?
Most of the hobby courses do not have specific entry requirements. Intermediate level hobby courses may require that a candidate has successfully completed the introductory course. This is necessary since many courses are designed to be modular and build learning on one another.
Accredited courses do have minimum requirements. The requirements vary from course to course but are available on the part-time courses website at http://shortcourses.mcast.edu.mt .
However, mature students over the age of 21 or 23 (according to the course being applied for) can also submit their applications which are then reviewed by an appropriate board of studies. We regularly have a good number of mature students who apply for and eventually attend our part-time courses.
How do you ensure that such courses address industry needs?
It’s very important that the courses on offer ultimately also address the needs of the industry. MCAST maintains an excellent relationship with the industry and is very active through its Partnerships Office and Apprenticeships Office who regularly meet with industry partners to discuss various issues that are important for the industry and also to keep MCAST in touch with the industry. The synergy that exists between the two sides is significant and this guides MCAST to develop part-time courses that address the needs of the industry.
Apart from part-time courses, MCAST’s commercial arm, MCAST Gateway to Industry, collaborates with the industry and develops and delivers a variety of tailor-made training courses for industry partners who request them in extremely short time-frames and at very competitive rates.
Malta’s economy is becoming increasingly sophisticated and varied. How do you help the various sectors source the right employees?
MCAST works to keep abreast with the socio-economic development of the country and constantly updates its curriculum to address not only the current needs of the industry but also the needs over the next few years.
Students enrolling for the long courses must have the right skills to be employable and serve the needs of the industry when they effectively complete their training. Therefore the MCAST Curriculum Department is continuously working to review and update all the training programmes on offer to ensure that they are relevant to the needs of the industry.
All the courses offered by MCAST, be they full-time or part-time, are checked, verified and validated by our Quality Assurance Department. Only courses that meet and exceed the stringent quality criteria are eventually put on offer.
Louis Aquilina is director, Partnerships Office, MCAST.
Applications for the MCAST part-time courses will be received at the MCAST Part-Time Courses Office, Main Campus, Corradino Hill, Paola:
From Monday, February 22 to Friday, March 4 between 8:30am and 4pm
From Monday, March 7 to Friday, March 11 between 8:30am and 7pm
Prospective candidates may also apply online on http://shortcourses.mcast.edu.mt between Monday, February 22 and Thursday, March 31.
Senior citizens get a 75 per cent discount on course fees (excluding course materials).