The Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations of Malta (Feltom) said it welcomed the Government’s vision of seeing education as an area of growth.

It said the success of English language teaching (ELT) as a foreign language in Malta confirmed the potential of education to become an important economic contributor. “Feltom has always believed in Malta’s ability to become a regional educational hub, and by assuring high-quality standards of its members it has managed to develop a successful sector,” it said.

In 2012 alone, over 81,000 foreign students came to Malta and spent over €135 million. This created numerous job opportunities for English teachers and support staff with the payroll totalling more than €12 million.

Feltom added that it believes there is scope for the ELT sector to continue developing in the shoulder months by strengthening the English for specific purpose courses and by tapping into new source markets, including South America, the Middle East and Asia.

The federation and its member schools are focusing their international marketing efforts on these emerging markets which can offer opportunities for Malta.

The federation said English language teaching can complement efforts to establish a regional higher education hub in Malta and it called on Government to continue supporting the sector and investing in Malta’s general infrastructure.

In the coming months, Feltom and local English language schools will be taking part in a number of foreign fairs to promote Malta as an education destination, and in March, the federation will be organising its annual Malta workshop with foreign agents travelling to Malta.