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MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
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Dear Students,
You will no doubt agree that employers prefer workers who have the right mix of
skills and competences. It therefore stands to reason that, the integration of academic
and vocational curricula at all study levels, will in time benefit all Maltese students
when they start looking for a job.
There are many successful models of integration which one can follow. In its effort
to support learners with no formal qualifications when they join the MCAST beginners’
courses, the College intends to introduce, as from September 2010, embedded learning
for those who require extra help to be able to progress in their studies.
Through embedding, vocational and academic lecturers shall work together to incorporate
indispensable elements from the key skills subjects, namely Mathematics, English,
Maltese, Information Technology and Personal Development into the vocational programmes.
By identifying where literacy, language, numeracy, etc., occur naturally, teaching
and learning can become more relevant and purposeful.
At the higher end of the scale, and at the beginning of the scholastic year, MCAST
benefited from significant ESF funding and introduced vocational degrees in a number
of institutes. It was originally planned to introduce these courses in September
2010. Yet, the College managed to conclude all preparations a whole year in advance
so that in September 2009, seven vocational degree programmes in various specialist
study areas were launched. Over eighty students who completed their Higher National
Diplomas with the required grades, are today following BA Hons and BSc Hons courses.
The College will continue to work with employers to design qualifications that qualify
for employment at whichever level these are mostly needed. Most courses have been
negotiated in collaboration with industry, and they equip learners with the skills
and knowledge that employers are looking for. Our breakthrough aircraft maintenance
courses offer a classic example. In continental Europe, where vocational qualifications
are, more often than not, firmly established and respected, vocational degrees are
greatly valued.
Both the academic and the vocational have different organising principles and purposes
which need to be reflected in the content and design of the courses. We are here
looking at an alternative system based on the approach which a number of countries,
like France and Germany, have successfully implemented over the years, whereby vocational
education is not seen as unjustifiably narrowing in scope: rather the practical
focus becomes the incentive to achieve high general educational standards.
The College is also committed to the continuous professional development of its
staff. The training of trainers may be seen as a three-pronged strategy in that
lecturer, College and learner all stand to benefit. It is our intention to continue
offering development opportunities to both academic and non-academic staff, so that
they fully meet the responsibilities of their role in order to keep on raising MCAST’s
professional profile through the provision of appropriate levels of support and
teaching to our students.
In this regard, at the beginning of 2010, and again with the support of ESF funding,
MCAST, through Fraunhofer of Germany and a selection of prominent universities,
started offering Masters programmes to lecturers in a selection of vocational subjects.
On completion of their Masters courses, these lecturers may be engaged to teach
on the new undergraduate courses, to be introduced later this year, in four more
institutes, namely Agribusiness, Building and Construction Engineering, Community
Services and Mechanical Engineering.
MCAST is also in the process of accrediting its short courses. As for the full-time
courses, students shall be able to gain credits for successfully completed study
units. Accumulated credits may be used as building blocks to obtain a recognized
certificate or diploma. This approach will give learners the opportunity to achieve
a qualification in small incremental gains while seeing more immediate rewards for
their effort.
Since MCAST was set up in 2001, the College spent millions of euro to bring about
the necessary changes and to allocate resources wisely. Stateof- the-art equipment,
new and totally refurbished premises, investment for the professional development
of staff and student success in securing a job are typical of the tangible outcomes
which continue to bring about a constant increase in registration figures. Both
our full-time and parttime students are today confident that MCAST is offering them
an opportunity for self-improvement and a key to success in life.
The education and training MCAST provides today manifest the characteristics of
tried and tested systems, namely, qualifications which indeed qualify, consistent
standards maintained through credible assessment, skills typical of a sound general
education, and clear progression routes.
I look forward to meeting you in College and wish you all every success.
Prof. Maurice Grech
Principal
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