According to an article by Elena Ralli, published in New Europe, there are 700,000 unfilled job vacancies in ICT – given the European decline in competitiveness, the EU is encouraging action to provide Europeans with the necessary skills to pursue digital careers.
Moreover, despite the economic downturn in Europe, the number of digital jobs is growing by three per cent every year.
This bodes well for Malta, as students are taking to ICT as ducks to water. The ICT industry is ideal for Malta. The industry is dependent on investment in knowledge while saving on brick and mortar and space in general. Companies based in Malta are involved both in the development of ICT systems for local consumption, with the larger portion of employees focused on the export of ICT services such as online and digital gaming, financial and health services, digital media content, animation and creativity. The industry caters for circa 12 per cent of Malta’s GDP, yet has the potential to grow exponentially.
Computer science is integrated in everything we do. From the most basic household chore to the most sophisticated engine room, computers are integrated to facilitate the end user communication with the mechanics of the device. And time is not standing still. Every couple of years there’s a new revolution of devices – smartphones and tablets have opened huge opportunities for new digital media industries to develop.
Computer scientists seek a career as protagonists in solving complex problems. A reader of a computer science degree is not a passive individual, since the rigorous conditioning of mental processes ingrained during the academic and vocational development will gear the individual towards making a difference in the world. Pessimists tend to downplay the importance of ICT as a career or think that, given the economic downturn, the scale of careers in ICT has been downsized.
The reality is that locally, we will never experience a company moving to Malta seeking the immediate employment of hundreds of computer engineers – our expertise is too refined. Our graduates are knowledgeable and exceptional generalists.
A company seeking low-cost production will employ in other countries where hundreds of computer engineers are willing to work at a fraction of the cost of a Maltese graduate. Companies in Malta seek the employment of a couple of software engineers every year, growing their business in an evolutionary manner, allowing for teams to build strong buttresses before making any further leaps. Jobs in ICT are here to stay, and people who are willing to work hard will be rewarded.
St Martin’s Institute of Higher Education, an affiliate institution for the University of London International and licensed by the National Commission for Further and Higher Education, has pioneered academic and vocational programmes in ICT for the novice and expert professional. The institute was the first to offer Maltese nationals the opportunities to read for a degree in computing and information systems in the evening and was the initial instigator for the introduction of the Information Systems Auditor profession in Malta through the setting up of the ISACA (Malta) Chapter and the CISA school.
St Martin’s Institute is also the primary provider of education for computer games, with the institute’s student teams winning the Gamezing 2011 and 2012 national games development competition. For those who seek a career in business process reengineering based on ICT, St Martin’s provides a degree in information systems and management.
St Martin’s Institute relies on a pedagogy which puts students at the centre of the educational process. The University of London, the conferring university to St Martin’s Institute students, is a people’s university and professes that it examines on the abilities of the student rather than try and catch out weaknesses.
Over 50 per cent of St Martin’s Institute graduates attain a first class honours in computing – you will surely set your foundations on solid rock for your opportunities without boundaries.