MCAST, in partnership with Ministry for Education and Employment (MEDE), the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, and the National Skills Council, has embarked on the ESF joint-funded project Achieving vocational excellence through enhanced work-based learning.
The overall objective of this project is to provide a higher qualitative VET experience, generating higher calibre skills and increase in skills profile. The project includes a number of interlinked and complementary actions:
- development of a competence framework covering over 250 occupations in Malta;
- setting up emulative centres to explore emerging economic sectors and innovative technology requiring competences not readily available, and to address their provision. These centres will aid student take-up of essential competences and help them improve effectiveness as apprentice and full-time employee;
- an analysis tool, based on statistical modelling techniques and producing coherent skill needs forecasts for Maltese economic sectors, replacing the current ad hoc skills forecasting format;
- 15 thematic training and information workshops for apprentice sponsors, organised by the National Skills Council in strategic partnership with stakeholders from all economic sectors;
- a ‘train the trainer’ accredited course for MCAST staff to mentor, train and facilitate learning process for apprentices during their work-based learning period. Around 600 MCAST students in an apprenticeship programme are expected to benefit from the project and 400 trainers/mentors will be trained.
During the project launch in November 2019 the education and employment minister stated: ‘the worlds of education and of employment are two important elements; one cannot live without the other’. The president of the Maltese Chamber of Commerce affirmed that learners opting for a vocational pathway ‘are given the opportunity to learn on the job’.
The project implementation phase is expected to be completed by 2022.
Read more