Hudson Group and MCAST have signed a Memorandum of Understanding which will enable MCAST students gain exposure and on the job training within the retail industry. This will seek to equip students with the necessary skills to grow within this ever growing international industry.

Whilst the Retail Industry is one of the main employers on the island, besides the Advanced Diploma in Fashion & Retail offered by the MCAST Institute of Creative Arts, there is little other related formal education offered to students who wish to take up a career in this field.

The two parties are therefore collaborating in order to enrich the theoretical and practical training to prepare students for employment in the retail industry. In particular, Hudson Group employees will support the development of the current curriculum and will run lectures and workshops for the MCAST students in a number of Retail related fields.  

Furthermore, on an annual basis, a number of Students will be offered Apprenticeships that will enable them to gain invaluable work experience that will complement their studies, whilst exposing them to the various interesting career opportunities in the retail sector.

“The Retail Industry offers many interesting career opportunities with many exciting roles in areas such as Brand Management, Retail Store Management, Visual Merchandising, Planning & Buying and Marketing amongst others. Being a major player in the Retail and Distribution industry in Malta and the Mediterranean region, we feel we are an ideal partner to support MCAST in its mission to bridge the skills gap and prepare their students for employment in the industry” said Alfie Borg, Hudson Group CEO.

About Hudson Group

Hudson Group is an international retailer and distributor primarily involved in the sport and fashion wear sectors. The Group’s head office is located in Malta but is also present through offices in Italy, Spain, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Though Hudson Holdings was founded in 2006, the Group's roots reach as far back as 1987 when the first pair of NIKE was sold in Malta.

Locall Presence

In Malta, Hudson Group is the leading retailer and distributor of sportswear products. We represent numerous sport brands such as NIKE, Converse, Timberland, Crocs, Eastpak, New Era plus franchisees of GoSport from France. We also own our own franchise concepts, Urban Jungle and House of Sport, across the Maltese Islands. In the fashion world we serve the fast fashion market in Malta through New Look, River Island, United Colors of Benetton, 3INA and Kiabi, making us one of the leading fashion retailers locally. We use Malta as our training ground to launch brands and franchises, test them, get to know how they work and then take them internationally.

International Presence

Internationally, the Group currently has a direct retail presence in European and African countries as well as a distribution base covering over 30 territories. Urban Jungle, our own home grown sneaker store, has been taken internationally across European and North African cities. This sneaker store concept is present in top cities (www.urbanjunglestore.it) including Milan, Rome, Torino, Naples as well as in Madrid, Paris & Casablanca, amongst others. 29 open to date. In Africa within the retail sector, we are present in Morocco through NIKE stores and distribution, Urban Jungle stores and Tommy Hilfiger mono brand stores and are the distributors for NIKE in 28 Africa countries. These are served from our logistic hub in Malta and through our in country offices. We also undertake the distribution of other brands, mainly in the sportswear sector such Converse for parts of Africa with a current focus on the North African countries. Recently the Group has become the master franchisee of New Look for Tunisia and has opened a New Look store in Tunis through a local partner. This is the first step towards taking fashion franchises to Africa, outside Libya where the Group was previously significantly represented. The Group is in the process of establishing retail presence in Algeria and developing further its distribution in Sub Saharan Africa.

Brand & Franchise List

The Brands and Franchises handled by Hudson Group and its partners either internationally or locally or both include: NIKE, Converse, River Island, New Look, United Colors of Benetton, Timberland, 3INA, Crocs, Kiabi, Tommy Hilfiger, GoSport, Urban Jungle.

L-MCAST ikompli bil-process ta’ tigdid biex titfassal l-istrategija ghat-tliet snin li gejjin, b’konsultazzjoni pubblika li saret nhar il-Hamis 7 ta’ Marzu fic-Centru tax-Xjenza Interattiva ta' Esplora fil-Bighi. Il-Ministru ghall-Edukazzjoni u x-Xoghol Evarist Bartolo, is-Segretarju Permanenti fi hdan il-Ministeru ghall-Edukazzjoni u x-Xoghol Dr Frank Fabri, il-President tal-Bord tal-Gvernaturi tal-MCAST is-Sur Frederick Schembri u l-Principal tal-MCAST Prof James Calleja, ilkoll indirizzaw din l-attivita’.

Matul dan l-avveniment, li ghalih kienu prezenti raprezentanti ta’ diversi entitajiet u persuni li jahdmu mill-qrib mal-MCAST, gew diskussi fit-tul il-proposti mnizzlin fil-pjan strategiku tal-kullegg ghas-snin 2019 – 2021. Dawn il-proposti kienu pprezentati b’mod dettaljat mill-Principal tal-Kullegg Prof James Calleja fil-bidu tal-workshop. Prof Calleja spjega kif l-MCAST huwa impenjat li joffri taghlim u tahrig rilevanti u ta’ kwalità, li jirriflettu l-htigijiet tal-ekonomija Maltija.

Min-naha tieghu, il-President tal-Bord tal-Gvernaturi tal-MCAST is-Sur Frederick Schembri accena kif l-MCAST toffri taghlim u tahrig ghall-izvilupp professjonali tal-istudent. Il-programm tal-apprentistat (Work-Based Learning) li jhaddan fih l-MCAST jipprovdi taghlim kif ukoll tahrig fuq firxa wiesgha ta’ hiliet li jippreparaw l-istudent biex jahdem fid-dinja tax-xoghol. Fi kliem is-Sur Schembri, l-apprentistat huwa investiment li jrendi ghax meta l-persuna tiggradwa, tkun diga mharrga fuq il-proceduri tal-kumpaniji fl-industrija.

Il-Ministru ghall-Edukazzjoni u x-Xoghol Evarist Bartolo sahaq fuq l-importanza li l-edukazzjoni tkun ibbazata fuq it-taghlim u t-tahrig fil-livelli u istituzzjonijiet kollha tal-edukazzjoni sabiex ikolna sostenibilita’ socjali, ekonomika u edukattiva. Il-Ministru qal li l-ligi tal-Work Based Learning, li kelna qbil unanimu fuqha fil-Parlament, hija turija tal-impenn nazzjonali li ghandna lejn dan is-settur fejn ninvestu fit-tahrig fis-sistema edukattiva ta’ pajjizna li tiffoka fuq l-investiment tal-istudenti ghall-hajja tieghu jew taghha. Il-Ministru tenna li l-ahjar edukazzjoni hija dik li thejjina biex insolvu l-problemi reali u trawwimna fil-valuri tal-onesta’ u solidarjeta’.

is-Segretarju Permanenti fi hdan il-Ministeru ghall-Edukazzjoni u x-Xoghol Dr Frank Fabri beda billi rringrazzja lil kull min mill-2001 ta’ s-sehem tieghu fl-MCAST u bis-sahha ta’ dan l-impenn l-MCAST illum qed tkompli tara li tiggedded ir-rilevanza fil-programmi ta’ taghlim taghha. Hu emfasizza l-impenn favur edukazzjoni tabilhaqq rilevanti, ta’ kwalita’, ekwa, u inklussiva tul il-hajja li mehtiega ssir b’modi differenti fil-klassi, fil-workshop u fuq il-post tax-xoghol. Hu tenna li s-success fl-edukazzjoni u fix-xoghol dejjem inkiseb u qieghed jinkiseb kull darba li naghrfu nahdmu lkoll flimkien favur vjagg edukattiv li jissarraf f’cittadinanza kritika u attiva, u l-impjegabilita’ sostenibbli f’dinja mimlija sfidi u li qed tinbidel b’ritmu mghaggel hafna.

As part of the ‘European Youth Health Champions Project’, a new online learning portal was launched on Thursday, 14th March at Agenzija Zghazagh, MCAST Youth Hub, Students’ House Paola.

The event focused on three areas namely the Blended Mobility, the role of the Peer Educator Vs the Professional and the Launch of the Online Training and Workshop.

After the Opening Pleanary, two young people, Carla Cassano and Federica Pettinato gave interesting testimonials about their face to face peer education training experience at the Lake District.

This was followed by a panel discussion composed mainly of professionals including Ms.Miriam Teuma (Agenzija Zghazagh CEO), Dr.Nadia Vassallo (Vice Principal Curriculum and Student Affairs), Dr.Rose Falzon (Director Student Support Services) and Mr. John Bartolo (Director Student Outreach and Events), Carla Cassano (MCAST student) and Luca Maistre (GCHSS student). Several issues related to Youth Particaipation were debated and it also included audience interactivity.

The highlight of the event was the launch of the online learning portal which is open and accessible for everyone. These new, evidence-based, transnational learning resources in youth peer education were created to promote health and to enhance physical activity. The audience present were given the opportunity to register, login and browse through the modules.

The Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) invites you to participate in three-day training course on using techniques and methods in biodiversity and land monitoring, as part of the ReNature project. The ReNature 1st Training Course aims to provide participants with an understanding of ecosystem services and green infrastructure, give an overview of the main green infrastructure elements in urban areas in the Maltese Islands, and to identify methods that may be used for an assessment of the ecosystem services provided by green infrastructure. The ReNature 1st Training Course will be delivered by speakers from the ReNature consortium, and the research community within which it is embedded.

The Horizon 2020 project ReNature (Promoting research excellence in nature-based solutions for innovation, economic growth and human well-being in Malta) aims to develop the capacity of MCAST and the national stakeholder community to become front runners in research and innovation for nature-based solutions that tackle environmental challenges faced by modern societies.

The ReNature 1st Training Course will take place 7-9th May 2019 at the Institute of Applied Sciences, MCAST. More information about the training course and the abstracts for each lecture can be accessed from here.

We would be grateful if you could confirm your attendance by sending an email to Judita.Tomaskinova@saidfamily.com by Tuesday 2nd April 2019. Participation is free of charge but places are limited and will be allocated on first come first served basis.