Our mission statement is “to provide universally accessible vocational and professional education and training with an international dimension, responsive to the needs of the individual and the economy.” The only way to be constantly responsive to the needs of the economy is to maintain ongoing consultation and collaborations with employers, and their representatives. MCAST highly values its strong ties to local and international industry stakeholders, and is engaged in a continuous effort to consolidate and extend such collaborations to as many industry sectors as possible.

MCAST supports industry through two main types of collaboration:

Consultation

Whenever MCAST is planning the introduction or renewing of a course, it seeks the advice and support of the major employers and industry representatives related to the area of study in question. In this regard, government ministries and authorities and employers’ and trade organisations, such as the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and the Chamber of Engineers, provide links to local employers, and at times even help in the organisation of consultation meetings, where the proposed new course is thoroughly analysed, with a particular emphasis on how it will be providing workers with the skills, qualifications and experiences needed to meet the latest industry needs in the particular sector. During such meetings, MCAST also invites the industry to discuss current and future skills gaps and identify solutions as to how these can be tackled through the upgrading of current full-time or part-time courses or the introduction of new ones.

Industry proposals

At times, the industry itself approaches MCAST to propose new courses that are required to meet the latest industry needs. In this case, MCAST first understands the required competencies, then proposes new training programmes or amendments to existing courses to fill these lacunae. In such cases, MCAST also pays particular attention to make sure that a course does not restrict students to one particular skill or job position only, but also provides them with the required flexibility to be able to further their studies or to seek career advancement through higher positions.  

The College offers three different types of courses to provide new opportunities for young and adult learners, while meeting industry demands:

1. Full-time courses, which are mostly aimed at younger students, but also available to adult learners under the Maturity Clause. The introduction of new courses in response to industry demands would essentially open up new career opportunities for the College’s current and prospective students.
   
   
2. Part-time courses, which allow individuals already in employment, or adults who are inactive, to acquire new skills and qualifications, or retrain themselves, to seek new jobs or improve their performance and efficiency in their current occupation. Through its company MCAST Gateway to Industry Ltd, the College offers over 300 part-time courses, training up to 4,000 students every year.
   
   
3. Training for industry, where employers ask MCAST to design part-time courses specifically for one company or sector. In this case, training programmes are based on the specific needs of the particular company/sector and will be aimed at specific groups of employees, to retrain them and give them an opportunity to obtain new skills with a view to improving the company’s competitiveness.

Other MCAST collaborations with the industry include:

Provision of Equipment: Various industry partners donate or sponsor advanced industry equipment and other resources to be used during students’ practical training sessions at MCAST’s workshops and laboratories.

Promotion: MCAST’s strong industry links facilitate the promotion of the College’s courses among prospective students through targeted information campaigns in work places. These campaigns encourage workers to seek lifelong learning to acquire new skills and qualifications.

Research and development: As part of their studies, MCAST students are required to conduct industry research and develop innovation projects that provide solutions to particular challenges experienced in different industry sectors. Students are encouraged to collaborate with local companies to base their projects on designing and implementing solutions to actual challenges faced in the sectors related to their areas of study. By supporting students through consultation and sponsoring of resources, employers would be investing in the development of a more competent workforce, while obtaining practical solutions that can improve their efficiency and productivity. 

For more information about MCAST's collaborations with industry, or to request a meeting, contact the External Affairs Office.