Michael Farrugia, Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, together with the director of Civil Protection, Emanuel Psaila and deputy director Peter Paul Coleiro visited the International Safety College (ISTC) in Ħal Far, part of Alberta Group, followed by an overview of its business operations.
The minister was greeted by group chairman George Barbaro Sant, director Liz Barbaro Sant and college director Andrew Gilravey together with the members of the team. Dr Farrugia said that the Civil Protection Department, as in the past years, will continue to collaborate with ISTC.
The CPD continues to train its personnel to be able to deal with different types of rescue and disasters. It is for this reason that it needs to have its own facilities for continuous intensive training to deal with all possible scenarios.
The CPD continues to train its personnel to be able to deal with different types of rescue
Dr Farrugia reminded all present about the modernisation of the Civil Protection Department fleet, upgrading equipment to today’s needs and taking new responsibilities after the introduction of new legislation especially with regard to the safety of buildings and other facilities.
The minister was briefed about the various tailor-made accredited training solutions provided by the institute, serving clients locally and offshore, namely in Europe and the Mena region.
Mr Barbaro Sant said: “We have been delighted to host the minister and update him on the great progress that has been made at our training centre. Our state-of-the-art facility has already been able to serve candidates not just from Malta but from all over the world.”
ISTC keeps abreast with competing international training centres and recognised international standards such as Opito, IOSH, Nebosh and Bureau Veritas.
The purpose and core values behind the ISTC is to instil an educational culture and develop skills that meet safety needs for the aviation, marine, oil and gas, hospitality, as well as civil defence organisations. This allows the college to train high-calibre companies, including Malta International Airport, HSBC, Shell and British Gas.