THE LEARNING ISSUE ISSUE 06 MARCH/APRIL 2011
MALTA'S LEARNING CURVE
EDUCATION MINISTER EXAMINES OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM
TRAINING & MOTIVATION
JEFFREY PULLICINO ORLANDO ON SCIENCE
Contents 10 A learning curve Sandy Calleja Portelli interviews the Hon. Dolores Cristina, Minister for Education, Employment and the Family.
14 Examining our education system Our teaching methodology does not prepare students for the real world, shadow education minister Evarist Bartolo tells Veronica Stivala.
18 Popularity contest Hon Dr Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, Malta Council for Science and Technology Chairman, explains how MCST is striving to make science popular in class.
25 Get a job Claudio Farrugia, CEO, ETC tells Victor Calleja how the ETC helps make the local workforce more productive and responsive to new labour market requirements.
31 The language question Our knowledge of English and foreign languages has helped keep us economically afloat and in close contact with the world. Let’s mind our language, says Dr Michael Refalo.
33 Learning to grow When people are enjoying themselves they stand a better chance of learning and retaining what they have learnt, says Steve Tarr, Managing Director of Mdina Partnership.
41 Real estate Duplex Real Estate Branding CEO Keith Pillow explains how the HSBC Malta Property Expo showcases and contributes to a healthy property market.
43 Family affairs Pier Luca Demajo, CEO, M Demajo Group, explains how the Group moves with the times while maintaining and cultivating its traditional family values.
46 The architect’s plans For architecture, an open mind is better than an open cheque, architect Godwin Vella tells Kris Micallef.
58 Preppy perfect This teen-inspired trend keeps popping up on the catwalk - from Paris to Milan and London to New York. Get collegecool in stripes, bright colours and clean-cuts.
60 Nice to eat you Recipes by Mark Zerafa from Zeri’s restaurant, Portomaso Marina.
63 Too many cooks will not spoil the broth Food workshops turn stale working relationships into a recipe for success, says Mona Farrugia.
37 Out of the classroom
66 Encouraging further education
E-learning is immediate, flexible and varied – we do need this education, says Mark Debono.
The Get Qualified scheme helps generate new opportunities, says Chris Galea, Malta Enterprise.
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Welcome It all starts when, while clearing out some old rubbish, you come across a box full of tattered primary school exercise books, and an old college tie signed by all your back bench companions and scribbled with the old cliché “Keep in touch”. So you send a tentative e-mail to a ‘boy’ you went to school with, wondering whatever happened to him. Contact details are swapped and the old classroom grapevine is watered with gossip about who lost their job, their hair, their dignity. A week later, after much plotting on a Shakespearean scale, you’re at the school reunion. And you’re wondering why the popular guy is now sitting on his own, how the ugly duckling is now all curves and curls, how the guy who everyone thought would fail is now driving a €70,000 car. But what hits you most is how much you miss school. True, you hated it while you were numbing your behind in class, but looking back, you realise how education was so much fun. And it certainly opened doors.
Education has always been important, yet as we rush to a servicebased economy, learning has assumed a primary role. And it’s no longer limited to our younger years – learning has become a quality that is nurtured on a lifelong basis. In this issue of Money, which focuses on the theme of learning, we interview Education Minister Dolores Cristina and shadow education minister Evarist Bartolo on the education reform and how this needs to prepare us for the challenges of the 21st century. Claudio Farrugia, CEO of the Employment and Training Corporation explains how the ETC encourages diverse skills and provides training opportunities while Dr Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, Malta Council for Science and Technology Chairman, says how MCST is striving to make science popular. Tackling learning from a different angle, Mona Farrugia explains how food workshops can turn stale working relationships into a bubbling recipe for success. Read on and enjoy.
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Sandy Calleja Portelli interviews the Hon. Dolores Cristina, Minister for Education, Employment and the Family.
l ea r ni ng curve cu r v e A learning As our economy continues to evolve from manufacturing to a more service-based one, education becomes ever more important. How is the education system changing to prepare students for the new circumstances?
Our education system is continuously developing and adapting to the needs of the country and students. The inclusion of industry representatives on the MCAST Board of Governors and the University Boards has created greater synergy between education and
10 - Money / Issue 06
industry. In recent years, University and MCAST have introduced tailormade courses for industry’s need such as aviation maintenance, financial services, pharmaceuticals and ICT. Over 11,000 students attend the 627 different University courses on offer while MCAST provides over 210 courses, including seven degree programmes, to more than 6,000 students. Over the past three years, 1,069 scholarships were awarded to persons studying at Masters and Doctorate Level.
The Institute of Tourism Studies is working on a strategy to develop the Institute and put it in a better position to meet the needs of the crucially important hospitality and tourism industry. As at 2009, 36.4 per cent of 17-year-olds were not registered to continue post secondary education. What steps are being taken to address this? In 2010 the number of students registered in further and higher education institutes rose sharply as more students entered MCAST and University and more
institutions responded to the survey. The remaining 27 per cent refers to 17-year-olds who were not registered in any institution surveyed. They are not to be confused with early school leavers since a number of them may continue studying at a later stage. Besides reforming primary and secondary schooling to reduce the number of early school leavers, a working group was set up in 2010 to recommend changes to the MATSEC system to make this certification accessible to more students without lowering standards. The report is currently being drafted.Â
The new National Minimum Curriculum has been in the pipeline for some time. When will this be finalised and what impact will it have on education? Work on the national curriculum framework started in March 2008 and the consultation should commence this Easter. The committee included representatives of the major stakeholders in the directorates of education, the state, church and independent sectors with the Faculty of Education and the MATSEC Board. The framework will provide an updated vision for education in the early years, primary and secondary cycles for schools in Malta and Gozo. Implementation will impact directly on syllabi, assessment and training needs, the teaching and learning processes as well as the quality assurance mechanisms to ensure its successful implementation. How will the new benchmark tests assess skills rather than memory? The benchmark tests are in Maltese, English and Mathematics. The four main language skills are being assessed separately to provide a detailed profile of competence for each pupil. This profile provides valuable information to the education system at different levels – for pupils and parents, teachers and schools and the system as a whole. This is crucial as we strive to raise standards in both languages at a national level. In Mathematics, teachers requested the inclusion of the mental component to give credit to this important skill. The written Mathematics papers are graded in a way that they provide pupils with different competency levels to demonstrate their knowledge and ability. Will benchmark tests be continued into post-primary education? At this point in time, the focus is on the end of primary education where we needed to replace the highly selective examinations (Junior Lyceum and Common Entrance) with a system that is more meaningful and educationally sound for all students in the different sectors. Such an innovation involves a great deal of work so that it is calibrated to address the range of competences of our learners.
Once students enter secondary schools, different scenarios will be in place. For Mathematics, English and Maltese, students will be grouped according to the benchmark results for each of the subjects. Science groups will have a maximum of 16 students, enabling teachers to focus on enquiry-based learning during all science lessons and to use science labs as needed. Students’ particular subject options and other criteria such as feeder schools, students with learning support assistants, and student needs will also impact on the groupings to be used. What is the way forward for lifelong learning and adult education? Lifelong learning is not just about employability (upskilling and reskilling) because it is no longer just one aspect of education and training – it has become the guiding principle for provision and participation across the full continuum of learning contexts. Lifelong learning is about personal fulfilment and creativity, active citizenship and social inclusion, without ever losing focus on employability, innovation, entrepreneurship and adaptability. The Europe 2020 strategy and ET 2020 set two particular benchmarks to which the lifelong learning policy and adult education need to respond concretely and therefore should be focused on them. These benchmarks are that the share of early school leavers should be under 10 per cent and at least 40 per cent of the younger generation should have a tertiary degree; and 15 per cent participation of adults (25-64 year olds) in lifelong learning. Part of the solution to meet these challenges is to organise a better framework for the so called ‘second chance education’ and provide alternative learning pathways – such as art, drama, music, dance, film, television, new media – on a national scale, even in parallel to compulsory education.
Will the focus move away from the pure pursuit of academic qualifications to empower students to take on an integral role in society?
We also need to further develop the teaching of crafts associated with the cottage industry – by developing further, I mean that skills in the craft should be combined with entrepreneurial and innovation skills. We should also offer new courses that respond to today’s needs, scholarships which will focus more on research, innovation and excellence, and provide lifelong guidance, which is a separate discipline from the type of guidance we already provide.
As from this year, Form 1, 2, and 3 students will receive credits for all educational experiences during the scholastic year. This profile credits results in examinations and teacher assessments (formal education), activities and clubs during midday break (non-formal education) and outside school activities (informal education). The secondary school certificate and profile also credits personal qualities such as leadership and communication skills, as well as attendance during each year.
Based on NSO projections for 2020 when we expect to have a population of 213,500 (aged 25-64), 15 per cent of adult participation in lifelong learning translates into providing learning to 32,000 adults. According to NCHE projections, tertiary education institutions should try and provide learning to four per cent (8,540) of this cohort. Hence, other adult learning providers need to provide learning to around 23,500 adults if we aim to reach the 15 per cent participation rate of adults in lifelong learning. The current participation rate is seven per cent.
Now that entrance exams to senior schools have been removed, will students be able to attend lessons depending on their capabilities in any given subject?
As the pressure mounts to increase the female workforce, is there a realistic target for the school day to become longer?
Money / Issue 06 - 11
The secondary school certificate and profile also credits personal qualities such as leadership and communication skills, as well as attendance during each year. Extending the school day is not necessarily the answer to increase the female workforce. Government plans to increase the employment rate from 58.8 per cent (2009) to 62.9 per cent by 2020 by continuing its investment in family friendly measures, flexible working arrangements, fiscal incentives and the provision of childcare centres while providing support for vulnerable groups to integrate better in the labour market and promote active ageing. Attracting more women to the labour market is a priority if Malta is to achieve its 2020 EU employment targets and we still have a long way to go in this respect. Notwithstanding this, the female employment rate has risen by 11 per cent since 2003, particularly for females aged between 25 and 54 years. Over the past years Government has introduced various measures to attract more inactive women to the labour force and to attract women to continue working, particularly after having children – these measures are still in force while new measures are being introduced. Fiscal measures aimed at motivating women to remain or return to the labour market are available to female employees and inactive women. To assist our families to reconcile work and private life, the Government promotes flexible working arrangements and special leave provisions for employees within the public administration. In order to increase employment, we need more facilities that support families with children while parents are at work. The provision of childcare centres in Malta is a fundamental step in supporting our families to have a better work life balance and provide the opportunity to parents to continue working and building their career. Although progress has been registered, there still seems to be a weak take-up of work/life balance measures. There can be various reasons behind this but one should look into our culture and mentality, with an apparently strong cultural bias influenced by family patterns and religion for a female to be the full-time family career. The number of females with one child in the labour market stands at 39.1 per cent. This falls significantly once a second child is born – 27.8 per cent – and further still with the addition of a third child, with a percentage of 21.7. This shows that the more children are born, the less likely women are to return to the labour market.
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The use of childcare facilities where both partners are employed is quite low though increasing. Affordable childcare centres can be a concern for families and therefore government childcare centres are free of charge for families where the household income is less than €10,000 annually and increases pro rata according to income. Most parents see childcare centres as convenient for the couple, and instrumental for the proper upbringing of the child and its socialisation with other children. They also relieve grandparents and serve as back-ups when parents are unable to use flexitime at work or change their shifts to accommodate family responsibilities. One of our priorities is the provision of after school programmes which can help working parents cope better. The high take-up of flexible working arrangements within the public administration shows that flexibility is an important tool for working parents and thus the Government is looking into ways to effectively put this in practice. Klabb 3-16 is an initiative in this direction and last month we opened another Klabb 3-16 in Mosta.
Lifelong learning is about personal fulfilment and creativity, active citizenship and social inclusion, without ever losing focus on employability, innovation, entrepreneurship and adaptability.
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Examining our education system Our teaching methodology does not prepare students for the real world, shadow education minister Evarist Bartolo tells Veronica Stivala. Photos by Christian Sant Fournier
T
he world is advancing at lightning speed. In the space of a few years we’ve seen huge developments in technology, communications and nanotechnology – we now have the iPad, edible computer chips and even 3D printers. It goes without saying that as a result of such speedy developments, it is so easy for everything else to become dated, and even outdated. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the local education system. Although improvements are being made (more of that later), Malta is losing too many young people at secondary level – that’s 37 to 39 per cent of students. As a result, these students haven’t got the necessary educational foundation to be able to continue studying. Of course we can’t expect schools to be serving edible computer chips as a delectable snack. However, “In a fast-developing world where technology rules, school is so boring in comparison to the rest of the world which has computers, video-games, the internet and so on,” says Evarist Bartolo, shadow education minister. He points out that the fundamentals have not changed since his school days 50 years ago. “You have a teacher at one end of the classroom, and you’re meant to follow for about six hours. Isn’t it very unnatural that we expect kids of that age to sit down hour after hour?” he notes.
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This system is also having an effect on the gender divide. Girls are succeeding more. Boys tend to find school more boring and with the lack of contemporary education, they are finding it all the more so. “For Malta to face the challenges of the 21st century, where our only hope is to go for highly-skilled jobs, the current education situation is worrying both for individuals and for the country. This is an area we can’t simply brush off simply because we’re small.” Bartolo believes that what the country needs is better planning and a change in approach. In today’s world, where things are changing so rapidly, the divide between teachers and students is very old-fashioned. By this, Bartolo means we must be aware of how we are all learners. For example, when it comes to the digital world, children can teach adults. Thus there need to be changes in teaching methodology, the setup, curricula, syllabi as well as in the way we test students. Although not completely against exams, Bartolo says teaching students to regurgitate what they learn is neither best practice nor interesting. Moreover, it does not prepare them for the real world. “Schools today, more than teaching content, should be teaching learning skills,” says Bartolo. Students must also be taught how to apply what they’ve learnt in class in real life. Because Malta cannot afford to publish its own books with local examples, Bartolo says teaching material must be supplemented with material that presents local examples. The classroom also needs to become a place where students are encouraged to talk and to voice their opinion as these are vital skills for the real world. Changes, of course, are and have been taking place. However, Bartolo finds the
reform v in terms of implementation plans for which teachers must be given prime importance. “The changes that need to be implemented need to be constantly planned out with teachers and parents, irrespective of what politicians and education officials say. Top down reforms ultimately fail,” he notes.
We discuss tangible solutions to the system, touching on language teaching as an example. Despite Malta being a bilingual country, many are not equally proficient in the two languages. Bartolo suggests we adopt a system of teaching English and Maltese as foreign languages depending on the students’ abilities.
Continuing with his emphasis on teachers, Bartolo explains how they must be given more training. Twenty hours a year is simply not enough.
A one size fits all approach cannot work, and although they should follow a national curriculum, schools should be given the liberty to shape their own policies, contents and programmes according to the reality of their students.
For the next scholastic year, there will be teachers who will be facing students
On a related note, Bartolo says we need to work harder at identifying
Schools today, more than teaching content, should be teaching learning skills. with mixed abilities for the first time. They have not yet been trained for this. The same goes for lifelong learning teachers who have not been adequately taught the skills to teach adults. “We are increasing the service but the actual pedagogy of the educators is still lacking,” says the shadow minister. A problem is that things are not moving in a coherent way. For example, in June, Malta will introduce national benchmarking exams. These are national only in name, as church schools and independent schools are not yet on board. Simultaneously, preparations are underway to change the syllabi of the secondary school first year. These should have been already changed. We’re just a few months away from the next scholastic year, says the shadow minister.
children with problems very early in order to be able to intervene effectively. “The present setup of the Child Development Assessment Unit, where we have children waiting simply for an assessment, is a big problem.” For example, he knows of parents who have only now diagnosed their 14-year-old daughter with dyslexia. Catching them while they are young is one of Bartolo’s strong beliefs. Indeed, he says children should be sent to education centres even before the age of three as much happens in the brain before this age. These must be seen as a stimulating educational setting where young ones can socialise with other children. We discuss tertiary education and the need for a second university. Apart from the University of Malta, other institutions
Money / Issue 06 - 15
For Malta to face the challenges of the 21st century, where our only hope is to go for highly-skilled jobs, the current education situation is worrying both for individuals and for the country. such as MCAST have already started offering vocational degrees. The fact that students are reading for degrees abroad and through e-learning platforms shows there is a need for the local tertiary system to expand. The question that needs to be answered, says Bartolo, is whether another full-blown university or rather standalone faculties should be created. Of course, the best approach is to nip things in the bud – what is most important is that students are targeted as young as possible when it comes to not just traditional education, but also sport, music, art, dance. Where Bartolo feels there is a gap is to have a virtual tertiary institution like the Open University in the UK. In this way, students can be mainly catered for online. This system would help fill the void for tertiary education for mature students who didn’t have the same opportunities when they were younger.
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16 - Money / Issue 06
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Popularity contest Hon Dr Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, Malta Council for Science and Technology Chairman, explains how MCST is striving to make science popular in class. Photos by Christian Sant Fournier
T
he Malta Council for Science and Technology is increasingly in the limelight for its role in supporting research and innovation. We join the Hon. Dr Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando in his beautiful office at Villa Bighi to discuss how this ties in with the education sector in Malta.
18 - Money / Issue 06
“You want to make me chairman of MCAST?,” was Dr Pullicino Orlando’s reaction when the Prime Minister asked him to take the helm of the Malta Council for Science and Technology’s board of directors. While being aware of this entity, he did not make the association with the acronym. However, as his role was explained further, he realised how apt his mission was.
Dr Pullicino Orlando was asked to raise the profile of MCST, make science popular by engaging more children and young adults, and facilitate research in Malta. Now, as chairman of MCST, Dr Pullicino Orlando emphasises that, “It is not just MCST – science and related matters also need to be given a higher profile. “At the time I was very excited,” continues Dr Pullicino Orlando, “and over the past few months my excitement has grown. It is a very interesting job and we have succeeded in building a good team.” MCST has grown substantially of late, one of the reasons being the National Interactive Science Centre. While education is the remit of the Ministry of Education, the ISC will popularise science, including important parts of the national curriculum through consultations with teachers. Work is well underway, with the added benefit of restoring a site that has been in a state of disrepair since WWII. An outline development permit has been obtained and MCST is in the process of selecting hands-on exhibits and activities for the centre, making science fun and accessible. “Our main aim through the ISC is making kids realise that science is relevant in their everyday lives. Moreover, science is fun. School kids are given the impression, both by parents and guidance teachers, that science is difficult. However, science is not just about difficult exams,” insists Dr Pullicino Orlando. “It is part of every activity that each one of us does every day.”
The project is headed by the Science Popularisation Unit at MCST. This unit has also obtained funding through the European Social Fund for other initiatives which were all aimed at exposing school children to the sciences. Thousands of children attended the 2009 and 2010 Science and Technology Festivals while a Roving Science Fair featured at 10 colleges. Science in the Community events were held at six local councils in Malta and Gozo and Arki, the robot mascot of the sciencebased mini-series, was aired on local TV stations. The
schemes such as MGSS, STEPS and preferential stipends. Through the renewed strategy, MCST will also provide a greater focus within the four priority areas of health and biotech, value added manufacturing, ICT and energy, and environment to generate the human resources required to sustain the economic growth in Malta in these areas. On the subject of developing synergies, Dr Pullicino Orlando also notes that it is important to maintain a holistic approach by collaborating with
Our main aim through the National Interactive Science Centre is making kids realise that science is relevant in their everyday lives. Science Popularisation Unit also trained 17 individuals, mostly science teachers, in science animation skills. “While we influence a small part of the education sector, we must act in synergy with the Ministry of Education,” says Dr Pullicino Orlando. In fact, the MCST’s primary role is that of an advisory body to Government on science and technology policy. As part of the renewal of the research and innovation strategy, the Policy Unit at MCST has been heavily involved with the Ministry of Education in an effort to improve the quality of the national curriculum and attract students into the right areas at the right levels – secondary, tertiary and beyond. One such proposal is a new post-doctoral scheme to complement existing
stakeholders other than the Ministry of Education. The MCST works very closely with the University of Malta, Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology and Malta Enterprise on several initiatives. Other projects also require input from entities such as the Chamber of Engineers, Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, MIMCOL and Gozo Business Chamber. Another of the MCST’s responsibilities is to administer local funds and entice the local community to apply for FP7 funds (European Community Framework Programme for Research, Technological, Development and Demonstration). Dr Pullicino Orlando explains how, apart from the indirect effect of research carried out through these funds in building a knowledge-based economy, many individuals
benefit directly by obtaining a Master degree or Doctorate through participation in projects funded through these mechanisms. Through the auditing procedure, statistics on qualifications and publications are collected, enabling the MCST to monitor the success of the programme in impacting the national strategies. The national research and innovation programme, administered by the National Funding Unit, for example, requires industry-academia collaborations. This means that education is not restricted to schools, colleges and university but goes as far as creating skills within the workforce. Dr Pullicino Orlando adds how, “Applying for EU funding can be complicated, so the fact that potential applicants have gone through the motions on a local level makes them familiar with what is expected. While this is an indirect effect on education, it helps researchers considerably.” The Manufacturing Research Platform, a European Regional Development funded project led by the same unit, promotes research in the area of higher value-added manufacturing. The aim of this project is to show companies how accessible and important research can be in giving a company its competitive edge. Again, this works towards developing a more highly skilled workforce while also generating research matter with a higher applicability due to being industry-driven. How does Dr Pullicino Orlando affect MCST’s position with regards to education?
Money / Issue 06 - 19
Research and innovation
Education is not restricted to schools, colleges and university but goes as far as creating skills within the workforce. “The advantage of having a standing and acting member of parliament as Chairman means that I bring connections that MCST needs to set the ball rolling in the right direction in a number of different areas. For example, I am on a first name basis with the Minister of Education, as with all my parliamentary colleagues, so I have direct contact with her on a regular basis. It is no problem for me to express what I am feeling.” He also adds how, “All my colleagues support me.” Falling within the remit of the Office of the Prime Minister, Dr Pullicino Orlando through the MCST has also been shown support to the tune of a 60 per cent increase in the budget for the national research and innovation programme 2011. He adds earnestly that, “I have the good fortune of having a very varied and enthusiastic board of directors. By varied I mean that we have high level representation from local higher education institutes, Malta Enterprise, local industry and other scientifically-oriented professionals. The members are very active, focused and give constructive input.” And what would the Chairman of MCST like to be known for? With a big, knowing smile, he replies, “I think I will be known for a few other things as well. However, my main aim is the goal given to me by the Prime Minister, namely making science more popular, establishing the Interactive Science Centre and insisting on the highest standards. I am pretty satisfied with the support we are getting in every respect. We have built up the Science Popularisation Unit almost from scratch and we will continue to carry out the sterling work in supporting researchers.” On a closing note, Dr Pullicino Orlando adds that, “There is always more to be done and I would be very pleased to further engage myself and MCST in education. The only limitation we have, as with all entities, is budget. Without me blowing our collective trumpets, I can say, hand on heart, that we are doing our best under the circumstances.”
20 - Money / Issue 06
Government has recently allocated €1.1 million for research and innovation. MCST provides state financing in the form of grants for research, development and innovation in science and technology through the national research and innovation programme. For more information visit the national investment programmes section at www.mcst.gov.mt. The focus of the programme is knowledge transfer between academia and industry with specific focus on the four priority areas identified in the national research and innovation strategy, namely environment and energy resources, ICT, value added manufacturing, and health and biotech.
Funding FP7 is the EU’s main funding instrument for research, technology, development and demonstration, covering almost all scientific disciplines. The overall budget for FP7 is approximately €50.5 billion. For more information visit the FP7 section at www.mcst.gov.mt The specific programme Cooperation within FP7 addresses the need to strengthen competitiveness and to underpin EU policies through the gaining of leadership in key scientific and technological areas such as health, food, agriculture and biotechnology, information and communication technologies, nanosciences, nanotechnologies, materials and new production technologies, energy, environment (including climate change), transport (including aeronautics), socio-economic sciences and the humanities, security, and space. FP7 sets out a specific programme on ‘People’, with the objective of strengthening the human potential in research and technology in all European countries. The actions allow for the training and professional development of researchers of all levels of experience, providing them with a springboard for initiating and launching their research careers. The ‘Ideas’ programme focuses on frontier research and projects should not be linked to commercial objectives. Proposals of an interdisciplinary nature, proposals in new and emerging fields, and high risk/high gain proposals are encouraged. The specific programme ‘Capacities’ addresses the need to enhance the excellence of research and innovation capacities throughout Europe. These needs will be met by supporting modern and effective research infrastructure, strengthening the innovation capacity of SMEs.
22 - Money / Issue 06
Vodafone provides the fastest mobile internet experience in Malta
The team behind these results (L to R) Steffan Galea – Radio Networks Manager; Alan Caruana – Networks Manager; Sandro Pisani – Head of Technology; Mario Cordina – Radio Senior Engineer.
V
odafone Malta has been confirmed as being the operator with the quickest web browsing performance, the fastest file download performance and the fastest file upload among all mobile radio networks in Malta. This certification was provided through an independent study conducted by German company P3 Communications GmbH. Vodafone was also certified as having the best speech quality of voice service on the islands. Money Magazine spoke to Sandro Pisani, Head of Technology at Vodafone Malta who said Vodafone is extremely satisfied with these results. “Our investment in high-speed mobile broadband network has translated into best-in-class results which confirm our commitment to give great value to our customers,” he maintained. The performance benchmark measurement campaign was carried out by P3 Communications, one of Europe’s leading providers of radio network testing, independent measurements and audits of service quality. These tests were carried out between November 9, 2010 and November 17, 2010 in Malta and Gozo in all major localities and on the connecting roads as drive tests and outdoor stationary tests.
Vodafone Malta was awarded with four P3 certifications, declaring Vodafone as having fastest web browsing, fastest file download, quickest file upload and best speech quality of voice service. This certification confirms that Vodafone’s highest-grade, efficient and reliable network is the best on the market and that customers who are at the core of the Company’s operations are actually enjoying the fastest experience of mobile internet among all networks in Malta. “These independent results are testimony to the strategic work our hardworking team is doing and to the great importance we give to anticipate customer wants and needs based on rapidly changing trends. Access to data on Smartphones has now become a staple need and the expectations of our client-base for an efficient service are being met. Our customers can call, read and write emails, browse the web, download files and check Facebook on their mobiles without any network hassles”, continued Sandro Pisani. “These certifications are but one instance where Vodafone’s slogan ‘Power to You’ is translated into tangible results and experiences.”
Last year, Vodafone Malta, together with its technology partner Nokia Siemens Networks, completed the upgrading of its radio network and introduced High Speed Downlink Packet Access and High Speed Uplink Packet Access technology – an investment of €12 million in high-speed mobile broadband network that is also environment-friendly. Sandro Pisani explained further and stated that, “the investment that Vodafone Malta carried out in network modernization involved replacing all our 3G base stations with a new generation of base stations from Nokia Siemens Networks. Moreover this new Radio Access Network Infrastructure will be consuming around 25% less energy than older models.” Vodafone’s network has been upgraded to Download Speed of 14.4Mbps and Upload Speed of 2 Mbps. “These are theoretical speeds but we can comfortably say that customers may actually experience average Download Speeds of 4.5Mbps with peaks reaching close to 10Mbps. All Smartphones and Vodafone Internet Key Users will benefit from these high speeds, depending on the capabilities of the device being used,” emphasised Pisani.
Money / Issue 06 - 23
THERE’S THE COURAGE TO DARE. THERE’S THE CURIOSITY TO EXPLORE. THERE’S THE THIRST FOR PASSION AND THE HUNGER FOR EXCITEMENT. THERE’S THE HUNT FOR EXPERIENCES THAT ARE NEW AND UNIQUE. there are EMOTIONS that TAKE US TO THRILLING PLACES. THAT’S WHY YOU DRIVE the all-new volvo S60.
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Victor Calleja is the Managing Director of Crest Limited which is involved in publishing, marketing and anything concerning the written word.
Get a job Claudio Farrugia, CEO, ETC tells Victor Calleja how the ETC helps make the local workforce more productive and responsive to new labour market requirements.
C
laudio Farrugia comes from a marketing background and has been CEO of ETC since May 2010. His marketing savviness must be working well because he gives the impression of having been much longer at the helm of ETC. He is passionate, realistic and is a great believer in motivation. True to his marketing roots, he wants to see results. And ETC, even before Farrugia became its CEO, has had good results both in training and in keeping unemployment figures relatively low. The results at ETC are good on all counts although, as Mr
Farrugia says, “We can still do more, train more people and convince more employers to use our services.” Farrugia is a voluble man but one who is intent on delivering and is also ready to learn and hear all about the needs of industry and the workforce, not just now but also in the future. Farrugia has the unenviable task of getting all the unemployed to believe in themselves and return to the workforce. One of the most daunting tasks facing anyone heading ETC is that we all seem to think of it as the place
where the unemployed and the unemployable register and receive their benefits. This is far from the reality. ETC, echoing the EU in its shift in attitudes, today looks at its mission as one of an agency for job seekers. Anyone who is, to use a horrid nomenclature of old, “on the dole” or just unemployed, needs a change in mentality to start believing in themselves and their skills. And if those skills are not useful or needed, then new skills will have to be learned and old attitudes unlearned. Training, mentoring, retraining, apprenticeships and special schemes are some
of the tools which ETC uses to make the local workforce more productive and never be a burden on society. Victor Calleja: Training and retraining are very important aspects of a modern workforce. How successful do you think ETC has been in helping Malta steer clear of the ravages of the recent financial meltdown? Claudio Farrugia: ETC has been a catalyst in the provision of initial and ongoing training which was designed to meet the needs of employers and
Money / Issue 06 - 25
employees. This training also helps to prepare job seekers making them more employable. ETC training is mainly labour marketled and programmes are designed to meet current and future labour market needs. ETC was also entrusted by Government to provide direct assistance to companies which had difficulties and were either working a reduced week system or were planning to lay off people. The ETC contribution was through the provision of training that satisfied the needs of
employers and employees, hence preparing them to become more flexible and adaptable to new labour market requirements. VC: How does training facilitate job integration? CF: When designing new schemes the ETC takes into consideration the needs posted by employers and those of its clients. To do so it consults employers and/ or their representatives and its internal information resources, such as employers’ vacancies. On the other hand
Mobile Proximity Marketing launched in Malta Innovative Solutions Ltd, a subsidiary of Mailbox Services Group has launched Mobile Proximity Marketing on the local market – a new platform that allows the wireless distribution of advertising content through a localised broadcast, targeted to mobile phone devices in a particular area. Location-to-mobile technology allows brands and content owners to reach mobile phone users through devices that use localised wireless connections like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and NFC. “Mobile proximity marketing is the latest innovation in intelligent marketing,” said Keith Abela, Group Marketing Manager at Innovative Solutions. “It allows brands to send advertising content to potential customers in the right place and at the right time.” Innovative Solutions backed by Futurlink, the Spanish IT company behind the technology, has already installed mobile proximity marketing systems at Pavi, Smart, The Point and Vodafone’s Valletta branch and mobile kiosk. Mr Joe Cuschieri, Head of Commercial Operations at Vodafone Malta, gave praise to the technology being introduced by Innovative Solutions and said the solution provided to Vodafone was proving very effective. For more information visit www.innovative.com.mt
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it also takes into consideration the knowledge and skills possessed by its clients. The result is the gap that would need to be filled through the proposed initiative. VC: ETC has launched a number of apprenticeship schemes. How were these schemes devised and what is the rate of success in terms of numbers and absorption of apprentices into the job market? CF: The ETC is the administrator of local apprenticeship schemes with MCAST and ITS as the offthe-job training providers. There are currently two apprenticeship schemes: the Extended Skills Training Scheme and the Technician Apprenticeship Scheme. An apprenticeship includes two training components, on-the-job training provided by employers and off-thejob theoretical tuition. Such training contributes to the achievement of the necessary knowledge, skills and competence required by a person to perform to the required standards in a trade or profession. The success of these schemes can be gauged by the number of apprentices remaining in the labour market and doing the job for which the apprentice was trained. The result of a survey carried out amongst apprentices completing their apprenticeship programme during the last three years shows that 85 per cent were in full-time employment, 10.5 per cent were pursuing further studies, one per cent were registering as unemployed while the remaining 3.5 per cent were inactive (neither registering nor employed).
“The result of a survey carried out amongst apprentices completing their apprenticeship programme during the last three years shows that 85 per cent were in full-time employment.” The average number of participants in the apprenticeship schemes for the past three years has been increasing steadily and now numbers 774. We need more and we will try finding ways of increasing the numbers. However, when compared to other countries we do have a very good success rate in job placement for these apprentices. VC: What skills are being catered for, for today’s and tomorrow’s needs? CF: ETC is very open to new ideas and is very flexible in reacting to new needs especially those requested by employers. It already offers a vast portfolio of programmes, schemes and initiatives that cater for a variety of needs. VC: How does ETC interact with schools? Do you feel the national curriculum could include some aspects that would facilitate the integration of students into their future work?
CF: ETC offers a vast array of initiatives through which it interacts with schools and schoolchildren who will soon be leaving school. These initiatives mainly consist of information and guidance sessions for students, teachers and parents and direct training provision. Some of the initiatives are prompted by the colleges and schools or entities from within the Education Ministry. For example, the Youth.Inc project is managed by the Foundation of Educational Services and is aimed to assist those youths who have finished compulsory education, and have not applied to participate in further education in a recognised institution. The ETC contribution in this project is to provide basic skills, trade programmes and placement in industry. This and other schemes and initiatives are all endorsed and assisted by ETC. VC: What impact has European mobility had on job training? CF: The impact has been minimal. Eures Malta within the ETC organises several activities to promote mobility. We have training sessions specifically designed to assist job seekers or anyone interested in finding a job in an EU member state, the EEA and Switzerland, to develop a proper European format CV, provide assistance on how to search for jobs on the European portal and provide information on living and working in the country of choice. Language Training courses are also organised to equip these people with basic mastery of the language required to work abroad. VC: How easy is it to find good trainers and how do you keep them up to date? CF: To provide training ETC engages training service providers. These are selected following a call for services and their engagement depends on the demand for the training programme they offer. Their selection is based on their knowledge, experience and expertise in the subject taught and on their ability to transfer knowledge and skills to an adult audience. VC: What is the level of EU cooperation in the field of training? Do we tap into the available funds, and knowhow to an acceptable degree or can more be done by ETC and other bodies in the training field? CF: ETC has and is making extensive use of financial aid from the European Social Fund. Most of the training initiatives currently in place form part of the ESF Employability programme which is the largest ESF initiative of its kind ever held. Through ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) EU funding, ETC has managed to extend its training facility and has in fact managed to construct an extension to its old centre and also build a new state-of-the-art training facilities. The ETC Training Complex is now fully accessible to persons with mobility problems and includes all the latest training aids and facilities.
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ETC vocational training and programmes Apprenticeship Schemes Extended Skills Training Scheme Technician Apprenticeship Scheme Traineeship Schemes Training Programmes Job Skills Programmes Basic Skills Work Orientation and Retraining Programmes Training Subsidy Scheme Trade Testing Business Start-up Scheme For more information visit www.etc.gov.mt
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Language
Dr Michael Refalo is a former Minister for Tourism, Justice, Culture and the Arts. He is a Companion of the Order of Merit of Malta, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a former High Commissioner to the Court of St James’s.
The language question Our knowledge of English and foreign languages has helped keep us economically afloat and in close contact with the world. Let’s mind our language, says Michael Refalo.
P
ositively incredible but true is President Sarkozy’s proposal that from the age of three French children should be exposed to the English language. How has this come about? What is the cause of this upheaval in French state instruction, this modern day revolutionary storming and conquest of French education’s Bastille? For the president of a country as fiercely patriotic and selfcentred as France to make this announcement is as unexpected and mindboggling as it is forward looking. President Sarkozy recognised the obvious and decreed that future generations of French children starting from kindergarten age should learn the English language and be quick to grasp the proverbial nettle. Although the Spanish and Chinese will probably disagree, English is the leading global language, the lingua franca of business, technology, tourism, commerce, investment and fast becoming the language of diplomacy and international relations. Knowledge of languages, in particular English for the past couple of centuries and in earlier times the languages of neighbouring Italy have kept Malta and its people in touch with the outside world. In addition to our innate industry and work ethic, the level of attrition in Malta is among the lowest, our knowledge of English and foreign languages such as Italian, French, German and more recently Spanish and Arabic have helped keep us economically afloat and in close contact with developments in other parts of the world.
The advent of modern means of communication, the radio, television, mobile and online communication have increased the value and importance of the spoken and written word. English in particular has become indispensable. That said the current state of written and spoken English in Malta and if may I add in the United Kingdom, is to say the least disappointing. A cursory look at our local English press, official communications, press handouts, parliamentary and law reports and readers’ letters confirm the sorry state of affairs and throw up a plethora of entertaining howlers, a miscellany of mixed metaphors and a worrying disregard for basic grammar. That a similar situation, albeit to a lesser degree, prevails in the United Kingdom should not make us complacent. A case in point is Michael Henderson’s piece Bookselling for Illiterates published in the January 29, 2011 issue of The Spectator which decries the disappearance of well-read staff in Britain’s leading bookstores. It is not for me to determine the whys and wherefores for the decline of linguistic standards. However over-reliance on text message abbreviations, sloppy use of English in e-mail communications, an ever diminishing number of persons who read books for pleasure and the virtual disappearance of letter writing have undoubtedly contributed to the debacle.
A chance meeting in 2008 followed by a visit to Dartmouth House in London triggered my interest in the English-Speaking Union (ESU), a non-political, registered charity run on voluntary lines to promote friendship and understanding through the use of the English language. After setting up a Steering Committee in December 2008, May 2010 saw Minister Dolores Cristina, British High Commissioner Louise Stanton, ESU Chairman Martin Scicluna, several academics, businessmen and representatives of local British and English language organisations launch an ESU branch in Malta followed shortly after by the establishment of a branch in Gozo. In a short two year span ESU Malta has acquired offices, engaged a professional director of education, recruited an increasing number of life and annual members and most importantly follows a management plan which keeps it ticking and implements its aims and objectives. ESU Malta is by no means a complete cure for the malaise of the English language. A review of its endeavours and achievements to date shows that it has done and is doing its bit. ESU Malta has introduced public-speaking and debating skills at the University and in Maltese schools, which in May this year for the first time ever will be represented at the ESU’s global public-speaking competition in London.
ESU Malta is running practical, hands-on English-speaking support programmes in state schools from which over 300 children aged three and four have benefitted, offers scholarships which enable young persons to further their knowledge of English, numerous courses in English presentational skills for students, people in business and others for career advancement, courses for staff members of major banks and hotels, as well as for government officials. Other planned courses will cover business presentation skills, in-service training for teachers, journalism, e-mail and letter-writing, English grammar and precis writing. Moreover ESU Malta has invited Shakespeare expert Stanley Wells, Professor David Crystal, who is the world’s greatest authority on the English language, and other leading literary personalities and organised their programme of speaking engagements in Malta. That this has been achieved in such a short time and mainly through the generosity and foresight of sponsors, the assistance of a small, growing voluntary network of helpers and the ongoing interest of ESU members is probably as incroyable as President Sarkozy’s decision to better equip the children of France.
Money / Issue 06 - 31
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Learning to grow When people are enjoying themselves they stand a better chance of learning and retaining what they have learnt, says Steve Tarr, Managing Director of Mdina Partnership.
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otivation, team spirit building, communication skills, management and sales development – these are all important items on any company’s CV. Founded in 1980 and nowadays delivering programmes across the UK and in 15 other countries, including Malta, Mdina Partnership provides tailored programmes that mix theory with practical experience, thus meeting the needs of both the organisation and the individuals involved. Steve Tarr, Managing Director of Mdina Partnership, founded the company over three decades ago.
“Following that, I attended over 43 training programmes in just a 12-month period, while studying what made people change their behaviour. I then formed Mdina Partnership and, three decades later, it has grown to what it is today. We have our head office in the UK, a new office in Germany and our operation here in Malta, with plans to further expand in Italy. “I started coming to Malta 26 years ago for a couple of days a month. Eventually, this grew to two weeks every month. I decided to base myself here because I have co-directors in the UK who can run that market. I commute to the UK every month for only one week a month.
“The company was formed in the UK over 30 years ago by myself when I was a European Sales Director with a major automotive parts company and I was accountable for managing a team of over 150 people.
“I was very lucky that when I first started trading in Malta my first clients were leading business people. You know how Malta works – people refer you to others and now our extensive client base includes some of the top organisations in Malta.
“Back in those days, I could not find bespoke training and development programmes. Then one day I was in a meeting with three other sales directors from three different organisations, and they were saying how they were facing my same problem – that they could not find bespoke training services. This prompted me to look further into the matter.
“I am also proud of the fact that two years ago I was one of the founder members of Business Leaders Malta, which organises top class business conferences by invitation only – this was designed to invite business leaders to an event where they can be encouraged to think about issues they are facing and realise they are not alone.”
Every country and people do business differently. From your experience, what are the main characteristics in the way Maltese conduct their business, that differs from other countries? “I have delivered programmes in over 30 countries and I find the major difference to be that Maltese organisations are constantly looking to diversify,” says Mr Tarr. “This enables them to grow because the local market only offers a small potential for them. In the past few years some of my clients are now looking more positively to go international with their offering. I have also seen a huge change in mentality – local companies are really looking to make themselves more professional. Some find this a lot harder than others but that is where we come in to help them change and force them to address the difficult issues.” Given the constant sales pitches from multiple forms of advertising, how can a business distinguish itself from its competitors? “The organisations that really get their customer service right will grow. The problem is that a lot of companies talk about good customer service but they do not take enough action like customer service training on a consistent
Money / Issue 06 - 33
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basis, mystery shopping and taking action on the results, like rewarding excellent customer service. Therefore companies need to be bold and have the courage to have their customer service measured. Satisfied and motivated staff delivers good customer service while poorly motivated and poorly managed staff deliver poor customer service – there is a clear link and this has been proven many times.” A formal degree is just the entry key to a position – yet how important is staff’s lifelong learning process to their employers? “On the basis that everyone has potential, it is management’s responsibility together with the relevant individual to develop this potential,” says Mr Tarr. “Ongoing training and development is key to company success, staff motivation and eventually staff retention. “Customer service is key. Exceeding customer expectations is increasingly important for the successful growth of organisations that need to be different. Customers want personal communication – research shows that the automated switchboard is what people hate most when calling large organisations.” What is the main difference between managers maintaining control over their team, and a mutual relationship that sees both sides going through a healthy learning process? “I think you can have managers with control over their team whilst developing a mutual relationship and a healthy learning process,” says Mr Tarr. “The key is to establish a management style that encourages participation, involvement, decision making, training and effective communication channels.” Would businesses expect immediate results from your programmes or is it a gradual growth? “It really depends on what the objectives are. For instance, if the objective is to cause the management team to design a threeyear plan, this can be developed very quickly with a clear end result. However, if the objective is a complete culture change in specific areas, this could take considerable more time. “The average length of time with our clients is now eight years. All of our programmes will have an initial two or three days and then follow-up sessions three to four weeks apart. This gives delegates a chance to complete certain actions that were agreed during the previous session.” An important aspect of training is the level of enjoyment that participants get out of it. “It is crucial that delegates enjoy the training and development sessions. Firstly, they need to be non-academic but practical. Secondly, they need to address real live issues. Moreover, they need to have fun during every session. We use case studies and real live stories and we always get feedback that our delivery style is different and fun. When people are enjoying themselves they stand a better chance of learning and retaining what they have learnt.”
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Changing business rhythms Over 250 of Malta’s top business leaders attended a dynamic conference, held in the Ballroom of the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Golden Sands, that resourcefully highlighted the importance of change and adaptability in the modern marketplace. The conference was introduced by Steve Tarr, Managing Director of Mdina Partnership and one of the founding members of Business Leaders Malta, who discussed the four major stages of change: denial, resistance, exploration and commitment. Those themes were further highlighted during a Q&A session with a panel of top local business leaders. Speaking after the conference, Mr Tarr said: “We actually had to turn people away this year, which shows how open innovators are to the idea of change, and how much they crave this type of pioneering learning environment.” The Conference also presented a session by Steve O’Halloran, from Examplas UK. Additionally, Susan Cole, Director of Guthrie & Cole UK, talked about the fundamentals of leading through change and making a real difference. Delegates were also privy to three custom-created videos by branding and design agency BRND WGN, which highlighted the importance of crafting strong brands. The themes of the conferences were summated through a vibrant session, led by JugsMalta’s Gianni Zammit, that showed first-hand how change can be adapted to. Change Your Frequency was organised by Jugs@Malta, KONNEKT and Mdina Partnership in collaboration with Island Hotels and BRND WGN and sponsored by Exemplas, Melita, Motherwell Bridge, Smart Technologies and SkyParks Business Centre.
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Out of the classroom
E-learning is immediate, flexible and varied – we do need this education, says Mark Debono.
A
s the world increasingly moves to the online realm, education has never been off the mark on the internet. Online learning has proven that it’s here to stay, and there are many avenues one can pursue using this channel. E-learning, a term used to describe both out-of-classroom and in-classroom education carried out by the aid of technology, is extremely widespread and is continuing its advance both in terms of curriculum and range.
Before choosing an institution to study with, you should carry out some research about the diversity of courses it offers and the areas of study the institution specialises in, as well as the level of accreditation and recognition the organisation enjoys. You should also check whether the institution or qualification is recognised by the relevant boards or standards in Malta.
Various certifications can be obtained online, ranging from certificates in many subjects, to diplomas, degrees as well as post-graduate level courses.
Many Maltese decide to further their education after graduating from the University of Malta. This carries the advantage, or disadvantage, of allowing you to work while studying. This does require motivation and resilience, as keeping up with work and study can be stressful at times.
The Open University is one of the best known institutions for online certifications and offers hundreds of different courses and study plans to choose from. These include specially designed introductory courses which allow students to build towards their first university-level qualification, degree or beyond.
Perhaps one of the largest advantages of online learning is its immediacy – you can start right away in many cases and within a few days in others. There is no need to wait until October for the start of the scholastic year – if you feel you need to learn something, research which institution offers the knowledge, make your decision, and get started.
Business has also used online education to varying degrees of success. Not only do businesses send their employees on online courses, as they are cheaper and faster than offline models, but many a business has devised and is offering its own online courses. These companies include technological giants such as Adobe and Microsoft.
Another advantage of studying online is the vast and diverse choice of courses available. Many areas of specialisation are not covered locally, and with the ever expanding job market, certain qualifications are becoming necessary.
Depending on the course structure, you will use tools and channels such as forums, wikis, discussion boards and other modes of online communication. Communicating with tutors will probably involve e-mails or Skype conversations. You will probably also use one of the various online repositories of resources, publications, papers and dissertations. Some lectures are held through webinars or podcasts that are downloaded periodically.
The quality of the tutoring is also an advantage to be considered. Many of the lecturers and tutors are internationally qualified and hugely experienced in their respective field, which may not always be the case when studying locally. Exposure to a large number of texts from various sources all around the world is another advantage. In depth research is of course mandatory even in conventional institutions; however a physical library has limitations of space and budget.
Money / Issue 06 - 37
One advantage of studying online is the vast and diverse choice of courses available. Many areas of specialisation are not covered locally, and with the ever expanding job market, certain qualifications are becoming necessary. Many online courses allocate part of the fee to enrolment in various online repositories and subscription to periodicals, which makes research easier, if more demanding. The flexibility that an online course allows is also a hugely advantageous point. Especially in cases where there are no set lectures to sit for, and there are only a number of tasks or reading to do, these can be done whenever convenient to you, be that early morning or at night. Learn and study whenever it suits you, your business and your employers. Training can fit in around work patterns and personal life, whether you work regular office hours or on a shift-work basis. The online learning system is also particularly friendly and useful to students with mobility and dexterity difficulties, who may have had adaptations made to their computer input and output systems. Online courses are also flexible in presentation, for example, by allowing documents to be read aloud, visually impaired students gain an equal footing, whereas in a traditional setting, they would be disadvantaged. Of course, this is not to say that learning online does not carry certain disadvantages along with it. For a start, you require huge reserves of motivation and resilience in order to keep up with the volume of work you must do, on your own account and in your own time. This
becomes much harder if you are also juggling your studies with a full time employment. Being patient and dedicated will help in this regard, but what is needed most is willpower to learn, succeed and excel. As with their offline counterparts, online educational institutions will need to carry out tests to gauge their students’ learning. Some of these tests will be assignment-based while others will be open book tests. However, a number of these may be online tests, carried out in real time regardless of where you live. If the institution is British or European, this should not present much of a problem, but if you are studying with a US, Canadian or Australian school, this may cause problems of timing, and you may have to sit for exams at the strangest times of the day. Finally, as with education in general, online courses are not known to be the cheapest alternative around. Maltese students are somewhat spoilt knowing that their entire education is paid for publicly, but that may bring about decreased competitiveness and a lack of desire to adapt courses to future requirements. Though they may be expensive, online courses are kept incredibly updated, this owing to the fact that the institution is primarily a business, and without constant updates to curricula, business would be lost.
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38 - Money / Issue 06
Styled to seduce
Thanks to its graceful lines and high-gloss finish tinted black glass roof, the new Renault Megane Coupé-Cabriolet exudes elegance and distinctive style. The Megane Coupé-Cabriolet stands out through its folding glass roof, the segment’s largest. The opening and closing of the two-part roof is controlled by a fully-powered, electro-hydraulic mechanism. The standard fixed glass wind deflector is unique in the segment and reduces wind noise and turbulence at up to 90kph with four occupants in the vehicle. Elegant details prevail inside the cabin, thanks to a blend of soft forms, an outstanding standard of finish and the use of high-quality materials. Designed to carry four people and their luggage, new Megane Coupé-Cabriolet offers a conventionally proportioned, easy-to-access boot. The boot compartment is generously sized for the category. Renault Megane CoupéCabriolet’s precise, reassuring handling and outstanding acoustic comfort all contribute to the exceptional driving pleasure it delivers. The Renault Megane Coupé-Cabriolet also benefits extensively from Renault’s acclaimed expertise in the fields of active and passive safety. For more information contact Auto Sales Limited – Kind’s, Mosta Road Lija, or visit www.autosales.com.mt
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Real estate
Duplex Real Estate Branding CEO Keith Pillow explains how the HSBC Malta Property Expo showcases and contributes to a healthy property market. Photo by Christian Sant Fournier. market situation but also to enable the participants to explore ways to think outside the box. The results of the workshops will be brought together by EMCS into a document to be presented to Government during a press conference on Sunday, March 20, the last day of the Malta Property Expo. The report will chart the way forward for the real estate market, having brought together input from all the major stakeholders. M: How is the Expo promoted abroad?
Money: What are the main improvements and additions at this year’s HSBC Malta Property Expo? Keith Pillow: With two very successful events behind us it is very difficult to exceed the level achieved so far, but as we did in previous years we carried out a survey with both visitors and exhibitors to identify improvement opportunities. This year we have increased our marketing budgets and have ensured that the communication message reaches a wider audience. We have also made some changes to the layout allowing all those exhibiting to have equal exposure and allowing an easy flow throughout the 6,000 sqm at MFCC. The HSBC Malta Property Expo is the only property exhibition that brings together everything related to the real estate market in Malta and Gozo under one roof. The type of exhibitors at the Expo range from real estate agents, developers, interior designers and banks to branded developments, finishing and furniture companies and more. M: What is the main function of the Real Estate Forum and how does it help improve the property market? KP: The Real Estate Forum that is going to be held at the Expo in collaboration with EMCS aims to set the framework for the development of the real estate market in Malta and Gozo and the potential strategy that needs to be adopted to build on the successes obtained so far. A number of top-level local and international speakers will be invited to address the forum to appraise the current
KP: Apart from adverts on a number of international property magazines and websites, we have asked for the assistance of Malta Tourism Authority and Malta Enterprise. MTA have invited foreign journalists from their various offices abroad to promote Malta as a destination and we are encouraging them to visit the Malta Property Expo 2011 in conjunction with their visit to the island. Malta Enterprise has lent its support through the promotion of the Expo among its various communication media and through its contacts around the world. M: How is the local real estate industry developing and would you consider the local real estate industry to be oversupplied? KP: The property market in Malta is still sustainable and considered to be a sound investment. Although it is said that we have an oversupply, with a stock of 50,000 vacant properties, the truth is that given the size of the island, the basic principles of economics apply. It is now a fact that not all vacant properties in Malta are sellable: some are held as investments and are not for sale, some are not attractive to any buyers, some are holiday homes and others are overpriced. The good quality and market priced properties are still selling. Having said that, I think that if we can improve the standard and the infrastructure of the island, Malta will attract more foreign buyers. When the media reported that property prices were dropping, people postponed their purchase to wait for a good deal. This is what hit us most – people were waiting
for prices to go down, but as nobody knew when and what the lowest was, the period stretched for too long and this resulted in developers slashing prices to make ends meet. In 2010 however the market stabilised itself. Healthier developers retained prices and banks started showing new signs of confidence. Agents and most developers have confirmed that in 2010 they registered growth and property prices have started to go up again. M: Is Malta still attracting foreign buyers? KP: Malta will always have the potential to attract foreign buyers, but since the financial crisis, local companies did not focus their efforts overseas. The UK market slowed down, but since then a number of agents and developers have developed new markets like South Africa and Russia. After all the efforts, the government should have consulted the industry before taking any decisions on the permanent residency scheme. Attracting more foreign investment is a better option than to slow down growth. We simply cannot decide to stop building and renovate houses as the construction, finishing and furniture industries would collapse, leaving thousands of people jobless. M: Does the maxim that, locally, property is the best investment, still count? KP: As long as it remains cheaper for Maltese to own their own property rather than to rent, the property market will remain healthy, and as long as the local market is going strong, I think that property in Malta will remain the best investment. We will of course go through the ups and downs, but in the long term, the returns will always be positive. What’s most important, in my opinion, is that buyers purchase wisely. Therefore I suggest that anyone buying a property seeks professional advice. If you buy at the wrong price or a type of property that few want to buy, you cannot expect a return on your investment. Imagine buying a diamond from a bazaar without asking for the certificate. For more information visit www.maltapropertyexpo.com
Money / Issue 06 - 41
Family affairs Pier Luca Demajo, CEO, M Demajo Group, explains how the Group moves with the times while maintaining and cultivating its traditional family values. Photos by Christian Sant Fournier
T
he M Demajo Group is one of the most highly diversified business concerns on the island, including ventures which cover hospitality, ICT, infrastructure, energy and business to business. The Group is also a participant in various joint ventures with activities that go beyond Malta’s shores – it is particularly strong in North Africa and is generating growing activity in Europe. Corporate and family governance have allowed the Group to strengthen its position as one of Malta’s leading privately owned commercial entities. The M Demajo Group has second to fourth generation Demajo family members on its Board. At 45 years of age, Pier Luca Demajo is a third generation Demajo family member. He has studied in Malta, UK, Switzerland and Italy and is a business management graduate. As the third generation of a family business, you have experienced succession planning first hand. How has the Group managed to handle
the critical issue of succession planning, especially when considering that, according to research, only about 30 per cent of family businesses manage to make it to the second generation?
I strongly believe that the 30 per cent of family businesses that successfully survive to the second generation (and in our case to the third and fourth) do that only because they have understood that a family business is, in the eyes of the market, no different from any other commercial entity. Although every business has its own peculiarities, in general customers look for quality, value for money, stability and a skill set among other business factors. Succession planning therefore has to ensure that at any one time the business has the best personnel for the job, and therefore the choice of candidates cannot be limited to family members. As a Group, you are constantly diversifying your portfolio. How do you manage such a successful diversification while maintaining focus on all the Group’s concerns?
Our diversification has been a great asset to us over our growing years. It did not start off as a wellthought strategy, but more as a consequence of being many family members, all with individual skills, operating in a market which offered diverse opportunities. We perfected this into a core strategy of our Group in the late 1990s and this continues today. Our set-up allows, and even encourages, diversification to take place, through a strong centralised group services function which manages all back office activities for the Group, allowing our subsidiaries to focus on their core business. Each subsidiary has its own board and under the framework of corporate governance we make sure that the composition of each board integrates a mix between executive and non executive directors, as well as family and non family directors. Thanks to the strong subsidiary boards we maintain a good focus on each activity while corporate matters are then handled by the CEO’s office and Holdings Board. In recent years, the Group has also widened its commercial interests through
joint venture initiatives. What opportunities does this business model offer? The Group is well aware of its expertise and its set-up, providing an accessible platform for new business ventures, be they internally driven or created in partnership. We believe in shared expertise and in sharing core attributes towards a common goal. While we have a strong sense of entrepreneurship, we equally understand that we do not have the knowledge and skill required to take advantage of all opportunities. Joint ventures are ideal growth paths allowing us new business opportunities, while sharing knowledge, skills and mitigating our risks. Manufacturing and Hospitality are two of the Group’s key interests which in recent years have suffered a downturn. Do you envisage an upturn for both areas? 2008 and 2009 were certainly challenging years for both Tourism and Manufacturing. We had to examine our operations in detail and restructure those areas where improvements
Money / Issue 06 - 43
for action, forcing us to take the more difficult decisions which inevitably tend to be postponed in good times. It also allowed us to rediscover lifestyle changing trends and to bring to the consumer an infallible mix of brands, quality, price and service. With regards to the Group’s oil, gas and energy division, are you also investing in alternative forms of energy? could be made. This was not limited only to Tourism and Manufacturing but extended itself to all our operations. Although at the time we did feel pressure in these sectors, we are today reaping the benefits from those decisions, with a marked improvement in performance. The outlook gives us further encouragement for the future. We are certainly much stronger and better organised today than at the beginning of this recession. In the past two years, consumer confidence has also taken a turn for the worse – has this had a negative effect on your Consumer Division, and what actions has the Group taken to revive consumer confidence? Our consumer division is quite diversified consisting mainly of wines, spirits, confectionery, toys and scooters. If you aggregate these consumer products, you are predominantly looking at internationally renowned brands with a strong consumer confidence, which are highly exposed in the media. We did not have any noticeable drop in sales in these categories throughout the past three years, but neither was there any proper growth. This recession served as a good call
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The Group has a keen interest in alternative energy through both TOSS Ltd., a foreign based whollyowned company which supplies equipment to the Oil and Gas sector in the North African market, and Joseph Cachia & Son Ltd, a key player in the provision of local infrastructural solutions, involved in tendering as well as trading industrial equipment. Both subsidiaries have been active in this area on a large scale. Foreign expertise has been brought in to assist local and overseas markets through the installation of air monitoring systems, as well as lighting and other kinds of infrastructural solutions, all providing an improved product with less environmental damage. Solar, eolian and other forms of renewable energy, in Malta and the Mediterranean, continue to be actively explored and will be key factors for future economic growth and competitiveness. It will therefore certainly be a growth market. Is Malta’s position between Europe and North Africa still an advantage for local businesses, or has this been made redundant by globalisation?
Apart from ensuring that all our staff is properly qualified for their job, we use education and sponsorships to retain our staff and create a career path for them I believe that the physical proximity of Malta to mainland Europe and North Africa is still an advantage, as it facilitates trade and travel. However this is becoming less of a competitive advantage due to globalisation. Malta’s strength though lies more in its mixed culture and in its long trade history with North African countries. This is something that has given Malta a great advantage and which can continue to give us benefits notwithstanding globalisation. What role does learning play in the Group? Learning is definitely an important asset within the M Demajo Group. Apart from ensuring that all our staff is properly qualified for their job, we use education and sponsorships to retain our staff and create a career path for them. We do this as we recognise that our organisation is only as good as the people who work in it – it is the people who make the difference. For us education is therefore a key driver for structured growth, enabling us to retain and enhance a professional workforce. The Group has just celebrated its 100th year anniversary – what have been the Group’s proudest achievements?
While we celebrate financial success, I do not quantify our achievements solely in financial terms. It is not only about the individual success of a particular business, or about having achieved good returns on our investments. We celebrate 100 years of successful operations also as a family which has led a business through good times and bad, and has remained united and true to its values. This, by far, has been our proudest achievement. What are the Group’s plans for the immediate and near future? We are still navigating through difficult times, as we see more European economies facing difficulties. It is therefore important for us to always keep a close eye on our current operations and ensure that we constantly perfect them in every possible way. At the same time there has to be growth, and as we have been doing over the past few years, we will continue to seek international growth through our fully owned businesses as well as joint ventures. As customary during recovery periods, there are many opportunities for growth and this is the time to identify the most suitable and lucrative ones.
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The architect’s plans For architecture, an open mind is better than an open cheque, architect Godwin Vella tells Kris Micallef. The word ‘architecture’ is usually used to refer to a building style or to the building itself. However I prefer to think of architecture in the wider context of design. For example, take the 03 design of a chair – there are obviously a number of basic principles that are needed to specify the design of a chair, such as stability and comfort. Different designers will produce different shapes of chairs from these same basic set of principles. These principles can be defined as the ‘architecture’ of the chair. This approach is important to an architect as one can think of architecture not just as a physical object but as a way of doing something, an efficient solution to a problem. Around 2,000 years ago Vitruvius, the Roman writer and architect, defined good architecture as that building that satisfies the three conditions of firmness, commodity and delight. This I think is still true even though much has changed since then. There are of course different ways of achieving these requirements and that is the joy of architecture. Different cultures and different individuals have historically found an amazing variety of solutions to the problem of shelter in a vast array of materials, shapes and
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colours. And I am sure that this creativity will continue in the future especially with new technology. However ultimately the success or otherwise of what we do, will be judged solely by these Vitruvian criteria. I am very interested in how the different tools of design such as materials, scale and colour can affect the sensory experience of a building’s user. Most people can understand quite easily how, for instance, the planning of a house affects the lifestyle of its resident, but equally, similar emotions may be manipulated by the use of natural light or a particular texture. The inspiration for these ideas can be obtained from simple observation of daily life, such as the way a shadow falls across a wall or the grain of a piece of wood. The best part of project work is certainly on site, while one is constructing and finishing the real thing. This is where your ideas are either realised as imagined or are dismally dashed to disappointment. In the latter case one might then have some room for manoeuvre by tweaking the design a bit but you have to act quickly and decisively. Still, the old adage of learning from your mistakes is perhaps most true for designers, as you can only hone your skills by trying and experimenting with real objects.
Money / Issue 06 - 47
Different cultures and different individuals have historically found an amazing variety of solutions to the problem of shelter in a vast array of materials, shapes and colours.
There are too many sources of inspiration to mention. However, lately I have been reacquainting myself with the works of two great Modernist architects, Peter Zumthor and Giancarlo de Carlo. While not widely known outside architectural circles, in their different ways they posses unique qualities in their interpretation of materials in architecture. I am also fascinated by the vernacular architecture of various cultures around the world and how they achieve so much with so little. Green architecture will be an important aspect in the works of future architects. As building materials and building knowhow improves to take in this new responsibility, so will architecture change to accommodate these new demands. Technology will also have a greater part to play in new buildings. We are already seeing the diffusion of intelligent technologies such as intelligent lighting in domestic spaces, although it is a bit disconcerting to note that sometimes the lighting is more intelligent than its user. Many projects remain on paper but not everything is lost. The experience gained in designing something will always come in handy next time round. The same solutions or ideas will be re-explored and re-cycled, maybe in a different guise, but a lot of ground work would have been done in these unrealised projects. I guess that is one of the benefits of experience. I am currently working on a mixed-use building in Paceville. It is quite challenging to incorporate different uses such as residential apartments, commercial spaces and offices together in one building and accommodating the conflicting demands of each category. For an architect, having an open cheque is not such a good idea as it does tend to lead to fatuous excess with little merit. A recent example is the various construction works in Dubai City where the equivalent of an open cheque mentality has achieved so little in artistic terms. I think that a client with an open mind is far more beneficial to a project.
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The dynamic Volvo S60 at its best The all-new Volvo S60 has been sculpted to move the buyer physically and emotionally. It is the most dynamic car model Volvo has ever showcased and its Pedestrian Detection with full auto break is a ground breaking safety feature. The all-new S60 is sportier than any previous Volvo, but is still an unmistakeable representative of Scandinavian design at its best. The all new S60 is available at the Gasan Showroom in Mriehel.
Keep Chic 24/7 with Debenhams Photography: Tonio Lombardi / Stylist: Kira Drury / www.debenhams.com.mt
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FOLLOW US ON
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Photography: Kris Micallef, www.krismicallef.com Creative Director: Luke Engerer / Hair: Michelle Galea, Roots Hair Salon / Model: Matthew French Connection top - €71.00 Tommy Hilfiger trousers - €125.00 Top Man scarf - €44.00 Opposite Top Man t-shirt - €30.00 Red Herring @ Debenhams shorts - €34.00 Tommy Hilfiger jacket - €320.00 Top Man hat - €18.00 Pikolinos @ Ecco shoes - €99.90
Esprit trousers - €69.95 Mexx shirt - €42.95 Piazza Italia cardigan - €16.99 Top Man glasses - €7.00 Bow tie - stylist’s own Centre Maine @ Debenhams shirt - €31.00 Tommy Hilfiger cardigan - €140.00 Polo Ralph Lauren jeans - €154.00 Pikolinos @ Ecco shoes - €99.90 Bow tie - stylist’s own Opposite Top Man jeans - €60.00 Top Man t-shirt - €26.00 Polo Ralph Lauren jacket - €144.00 Pikolinos @ Ecco shoes - €99.90
Mexx top - €99.95 Top Man trousers - €44.00 French Connection jacket - €193.00 Pikolinos @ Ecco shoes - €99.90 Centre Top Man shorts - €40.00 Mexx top - €42.95 Mexx scarf - €32.95 Piazza Italia shoes - €29.99 Opposite Top Man t-shirt - €20.00 Top Man sunglasses - €20.00 Piazza Italia jeans - €34.99 Piazza Italia scarf - €12.99 Polo Ralph Lauren hat - €42.00 Tommy Hilfiger cardigan - €130.00 Pikolinos @ Ecco shoes - €99.90
Preppy perfect
This teen-inspired trend keeps popping up on the catwalk - from Paris to Milan and London to New York. Get college-cool in stripes, bright colours and clean-cuts. Photography: Tonio Lombardi / Stylist: Kira Drury
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Money / Issue 06 - 59
Nice to eat you
By Mark Zerafa from Zeri’s restaurant, Portomaso Marina. Photos by Christian Sant Fournier
LOBSTER AND BROAD BEAN RISOTTO Serves 4 You need 400 gr Arborio or Carnaroli rice 1 onion finely chopped 2 cloves garlic crushed 200 gr fresh local broad beans peeled from both skins 1 ltr lobster stock 2 x 500 gr fresh Canadian lobster 100 ml white wine 50 gr mascarpone cheese 50 gr parmesan cheese 150 gr mushrooms
Method In a sautĂŠ pan, fry the onions and garlic in a little olive oil until translucent. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking for a couple of minutes. Add the rice and cook for 30 seconds, before adding the wine. Meanwhile, cook the lobster in boiling water for six to seven minutes and refresh in ice water. Stir the rice continuously, adding the stock until nearly cooked. Remove the lobsters from the shell, allowing half a lobster for each person. Add the mascarpone, parmesan, broad beans and some of the lobster, letting it simmer for a further couple of minutes. Season to taste and serve.
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PAN SEARED MONKFISH ON A BED OF ROASTED VEGETABLES FINISHED WITH BASIL PESTO Serves 4 You need 800 gr monkfish 1 red pepper 1 yellow pepper 1 aubergine 2 marrows 12 cherry tomatoes 4 asparagus tips
1 clove garlic 50 ml white wine Fresh basil 25 gr parmesan 25 gr pine nuts 150 ml olive oil
Method Sear the monkfish with some olive oil until golden brown. Continue cooking the fish in the oven, together with white wine and seasoning for about eight to 10 minutes at 180° C. In the meantime, roast the diced peppers, aubergine, marrows and tomatoes, placing them in a hot pan with olive oil. Toss when given enough colour and season. For the basil pesto, blend together the basil, olive oil, pine nuts, parmesan and seasoning. Add olive oil according to the consistency you desire. Pan fry the prawns with some garlic and white wine. To plate, place the monkfish on top of the roasted vegetables, topping the fish with the prawns. Garnish with the asparagus tips. Drizzle the pesto around the plate and enjoy.
PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE Serves 4
Method
You need
Line a 13”x9”x2” pan with foil. Place one cup peanut butter chips in a medium bowl and set aside.
2 cups peanut butter chips ½ cup butter ½ cup cocoa 1 teaspoon vanilla
4½ cups sugar 7 oz marshmallow cream 1½ cups evaporated milk
Melt ¼ cup butter and set aside to cool. In second medium bowl, blend the melted butter, cocoa, and vanilla until smooth and add one cup peanut butter chips. Combine the sugar, marshmallow cream, evaporated milk, and ¼ cup butter in saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat. Bring to a rolling boil and stir constantly for five minutes. Remove from heat and immediately add half the hot mixture to the peanut butter chips. Pour the remaining half into the cocoa mixture and stir to blend. Beat the peanut butter mixture until the chips are melted. Immediately spread evenly in the prepared pan. Beat the cocoa mixture until the chips are melted and the mixture begins to thicken. Spread evenly over the peanut butter layer once it is firm enough to hold the chocolate layer. Allow the fudge to cool completely in fridge. Put the fudge on a flat cutting surface and cut into pieces
VANILLA CHEESECAKE Serves 4 You need For the topping
For the cheesecake
4 digestive biscuits 3 tbs caster sugar 30 gr unsalted butter
200 gr cream cheese 3 tbs icing sugar ¼ lemon, juice only 1 vanilla pod 300 ml double cream Fresh mint to garnish
Method For the topping, grind the biscuits in a food processor. Melt the sugar in a heavy-base non-stick pan until it begins to caramelise. Then carefully add the butter, shaking the pan to mix the caramel with the butter as it melts. Add the crushed biscuits and toss to coat in the caramel. Tip onto plate, chill for five minutes until firm, then bash into rough crumbs. For the cheesecake, put the cream cheese in a large bowl. Add the seeds from the vanilla pod and icing sugar and beat until smooth, then add the lemon. In another bowl, lightly whip the cream to soft peaks, then fold into the cream cheese mixture. Spoon the cream cheese mixture into the chef’s ring and carefully remove the ring, using a blowtorch to loosen if necessary. Spoon the crumb mix on top of the cheesecake. Garnish with fresh mint.
Money / Issue 06 - 61
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Food
Too many cooks will not spoil the broth Food workshops turn stale working relationships into a recipe for success, says Mona Farrugia
Y
ou may simmer the impression that London is the hub of business eating and that lunches and dinners are just tasty backdrops for some serious wheeling and dealing. Yet last September, Cooking with Monisha’s Food Walks of Southall were named among the Five Top Food Experiences of London. That shows how eating is not enough these days – people have a genuine curiosity about their food and want to go backstage in the kitchen. Monisha Bharadwaj has been selling this concept to
business people for quite a while now. A food writer with many bestselling books under her belt, she offers bespoke classes, chef training and the hottest thing in the culinary and business worlds for the past five years: teambuilding exercises. Now for those managers who are, let us say, slightly oldfashioned in their approach to management, getting their hands dirty with bean flour and making a batch of poppadoms right next to their reports, rather than lording it over the kitchen as they would in an office, may be a little difficult to deal with.
I have also been organising similar workshops for the past two years, and one thing I’ve learnt is that nothing breaks down the barriers between colleagues like a soufflé that doesn’t rise. It is also interesting to watch how people who are used to being in positions of power spend the first half hour asserting themselves in a kitchen, only to find that the person they least expected to turns out to be the most creative, the calmest, and the best team-player. Everyone has their style of cooking and everybody likes to learn from other people’s style. Especially because they have to tackle a cuisine they are not familiar, they are all happy to take a back seat and learn. Cookery team-building exercises take staff out of the formal environment and straight into a kitchen without passing the go of hotel conference rooms. Monisha has trained the best of them: Waitrose, The Actuarial Profession, DHL, Accenture, Novartis and Pfizer have all been on her brilliant courses and her walks around Southall, London, where she regularly shows attendees how to buy authentic Indian ingredients and turn them into simple but delicious dishes.
Money / Issue 06 - 63
Food
“Cooking is something that brings people together. You have to talk to the people you’re working with. You have to work together. My students have to take decisions, go out together, shop together, and compete. It is a very intimate environment to work in. The cooking is always hands on – they feel, touch and create a meal that all are happy with and will eat.” An hour away from London by train, Tine Roche at the Cambridge Cookery School is also breaking down the corporate barriers with a knife and some judiciously chosen ingredients. “I hail from Scandinavia, so some of our teaching is influenced by my own background – clean flavours, simple but top quality ingredients, wild food such as mushrooms, berries and game. We also teach real bread making using wild yeast and sourdough.” How do you entertain and engage a senior group of professionals who have experienced just about every type of corporate entertainment around? This was the question facing Tim Jones, the Senior Business Development Manager of the Co-operative Bank in Cambridge. “I wanted to create a day that my clients and prospective clients would remember, that would be really good fun and actually enable people on the day to get to know each other and interact – this is something that doesn’t always happen on run-of-the-mill golf days, lunches or sporting functions.”
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The Co-operative Bank provided a brief to Cambridge Cookery School that simply requested a day that would be exciting yet with a relaxed atmosphere and with a definite, but light hearted, competitive edge to it. The event would be for 12 people, a mix of clients and prospects, and all senior management. The day got off to a great start at 10.30 in the morning with a glass of pink Prosecco – in line with the Italian theme – as well as coffee, tea and freshly baked pastries. Participants were then given chef’s jackets and aprons and divided into three teams – the Dumplings, the Donuts and the Big Macs. “Tim was keen to have a definite competitive edge, which always ups the ante a bit,” says Tine. “They were raring to go and loved the fact that they would really be assessed. “We handed out detailed recipes and a time plan for the day and explained that they would be competing for both group and individual prizes, based on organisational skills, teamwork, attention to detail, presentation, and flavour – all the key attributes of a good chef.”
“They clearly enjoyed making food from scratch that they had perhaps not tried to cook before, such as homemade pasta and a really superb wild mushroom sauce.” At lunchtime, the teams sat down around a large communal table to eat the lunch they had prepared accompanied by some delicious wines from Noel Young wines. Each team sampled food cooked by a competing team and were given score-cards to score each other with. “By the time we sat down to eat everyone had completely left the office behind and were all having a great time and getting on famously – more so than any other corporate event I have ever attended. “ says Tim Jones. “The prize giving was a particular highlight, and even though it was all a bit of fun the winners had a certain glow of pride about them. We will definitely do this again, either for client entertainment or team building within the organisation.” Feedback from participants was extremely positive and well above the norm for corporate entertainment.
The menu that the teams had to produce was by no means easy – it had an Italian theme and included making homemade pasta, roasting guinea fowl and baking cantuccini biscuits.
“This was a really valuable experience. It had all the elements a corporate day needs – it was fun, informative, social and was also professionally run. Now I also know how to make my own cantucci, which is just fantastic.” says Lawrence Bailey, of Price Bailey.
“The teams really embraced the competitive spirit and bonded well to produce fantastic food,” says Tine Roche.
Mona Farrugia edits and writes for food, travel and review website www.planetmona.com.
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Encouraging further education The Get Qualified scheme helps generate new opportunities, says Chris Galea, Malta Enterprise.
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nvesting in one’s education is becoming ever more important, as the increased knowledge can secure better jobs and consequently also better income, while at the same time enabling people lead a better life by applying that knowledge in their everyday life. To assist students and individuals who want to further their studies and improve their qualifications, Malta Enterprise runs a scheme whereby as much as 80 per cent of the eligible costs on courses undertaken within certain areas of expertise are given back as a tax credit. These tax credits can be used by the students upon being awarded the approved qualification or certification, effectively reducing the amount they owe in taxes. Any amounts which are not used can be carried forward for up to 10 years. Courses which are eligible for assistance cover a wide spectrum of sectors, with the common factor being that the sectors in question are registering considerable growth in Malta and have good potential to generate new opportunities. In this manner, the assistance also seeks to help in addressing the requirement for skilled and qualified personnel by the local industry. Reflecting the current trends in the local economy, the sectors covered by the Get Qualified scheme include the aviation industry, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, economics and statistics, financial services (including banking and accountancy), crafts and creative industries (including audiovisual, design and media), information and communication technologies, business process outsourcing, call centres and shared services (qualifications in foreign languages other than English), and industrial electromechanical engineering. However, the list of approved qualifications shall be updated periodically to include other qualifications according to the needs of the industry. Local education service providers, including training institutions and local representatives of foreign universities, need to submit an expression of interest to provide a list of qualifications that may be included in the Get Qualified scheme. These will then be reviewed to ensure they fit within the scheme’s criteria before being approved for eligibility. Students following approved qualifications will be able to apply for the tax credit through the service provider.
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The Get Qualified scheme builds on the success of previous schemes through which €10.6 million were granted in tax credits to 2,688 applicants. The expression of interest, which is currently ongoing, was launched in November 2010 and is registering a good interest from the education and training institutions. In those cases where the courses are not offered locally, either directly or through the representation of a foreign training or education institution, students can submit an application themselves to undertake the specific course they are interested in. The application, which can be downloaded from www.maltaenterprise.com/ getqualified, will similarly be evaluated to ensure it fits within the scheme’s criteria and would eventually be approved or otherwise for eligibility. Expenses eligible for assistance under the Get Qualified scheme include registration fees, fees paid to the university, institution or other recognised training or educational entity, as well as examination fees. The tax credits are, however, capped depending on the level of qualification or certification being obtained, ranging from certificates, diploma, degree or post-graduate degrees and doctorates.
All qualifications must be recognised by the Malta Qualifications Council to be equivalent to level 4 or higher. For studies in financial and insurance services or computing and information technology, the courses must be recognised by the Malta Financial Services Authority and the Malta Information Technology Agency respectively as a course required by the industry. The Get Qualified scheme builds on the success of previous schemes through which €10.6 million were granted in tax credits to 2,688 applicants since the inception of the Professional Capacity Building and myPotential schemes. Having been expanded to cover a wider range of qualifications, under the revised scheme over €2.1 million were given last year alone, when more than 600 applications were approved. Further information on the Get Qualified scheme, the official Incentive Guidelines, applications for students and the expression of interest for local educational service providers can be obtained from www.maltaenterprise. com/getqualified or by calling Malta Enterprise on Tel: 2542 0000.
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