Through its membership of the World Airport VIP Forum (WAVForum), La Valette Club at Malta International Airport is offering its team of employees training opportunities overseas.
WAVForum is an independent working group set up with the aim of integrating and standardising VIP services among member airports, and offers group members the possibility to share best practices and knowledge and to experience VIP business models at different airports.
Through the WAVForum, La Valette Club has also embarked on staff exchange programmes where team members engage in two types of job practice.
Job shadowing, which essentially entails those in the programme to shadow and work alongside personnel in another airport, giving employees the opportunity to observe and experience first-hand how other airports work by literally following staff as they go through their daily routines.
Job support is where La Valette staff is sent to other VIP airport clubs to offer support for large scale events and during particularly busy periods.
Customer service hostesses at La Valette Club Leanne Bondin and Eleonor Curmi have just returned from Helsinki, where they engaged in job support on a national hockey event held in the VIP building in Vantaa airport.
Commenting about the experience, Ms Bondin said this was her first taste of working overseas and was positive all round. Her time at Vantaa airport helped her in getting to know how other organisations work and how cultural differences affect operations.
La Valette Club administrator Moira Fenech explained how these overseas placements also contributed greatly to motivating and inspiring employees.