MBB Projects

Supporting businesses with green initiatives

The aspect of going green has increasingly become a priority for most companies, not simply to improve their corporate social responsibility, but also to remain relevant in the future business environment. With that said, the MBB has been all the more determined to promote ‘green business’ through the following projects.

LIFE FOSTER

In February 2019, the MBB announced its participation in the EU funded LIFE FOSTER project, targeting food waste reduction in the food services sector. This project brings together several partners from Malta, Italy, France, and Spain with the objective of developing an educational model for chefs and kitchen staff to help them reduce food waste in their kitchens. This model was developed by the project’s scientific partner, the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo (Italy) and has now been gradually integrated into courses offered in participating Vocational Education and Training centres.

In Malta’s case, MBB is working closely with the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS), also partners in the LIFE FOSTER project, and have trained multiple lecturers so far. Aside from the educational approach, the project has also reached out to professionals already working in restaurants and hotels through seminars and webinars, reaching around 100 professionals directly through these events.

In the first half of 2021, MBB and ITS designed a series of online training webinars targeting chefs, to serve as a more practical demonstration on how restaurants can assess the sources of food waste in their kitchens and appropriately address them. This training will be offered in the second half of this year.

Visit www.lifefoster.eu to find out more.

For more information, contact Senior Executive Gabriel Cassar on gcassar@mbb.org.mt

Business Against Food Waste

While restaurants can go a long way to reduce waste in their own kitchens, a significant amount of food waste in restaurants is generated by the consumer. In this respect, the MBB launched an awareness-raising Business Against Food Waste campaign about food waste in October 2019, targeting businesses and their employees.

This is being led by the MBB, in collaboration with ITS and the HSBC Malta CSR Institute, and supported by Wasteserv, the Malta Tourism Authority and the Ministry for Tourism. A series of seminars and webinars were held in 2020, featuring speakers with different expertise in areas such as composting, sustainable seafood and waste separation. These sessions have reached over 300 participants, with further sessions to be organised in 2021.

For more information, contact Senior Executive, Gabriel Cassar on gcassar@mbb.org.mt

Turkey-EU Business Dialogue

The MBB is supporting the Turkish Chambers through the allocation of an expert to help develop an energy efficiency outreach for Turkey. The outreach consists of creating an energy efficiency toolkit: a set of hands-on technical tools for consultants, and management tools for coordinators within the Turkish Chambers, delivering training to 30+ Turkish Chamber representatives on the use of the toolkit, support in using the toolkit with circa 250 Turkish businesses, and the preparation of a report including policy recommendations.

The toolkit will stem from the methodology tested under the EU Funded Support and Training for an Excellent Energy Efficiency Performance (STEEEP) project. The objective is to develop a range of checklists and tools which will allow the Chambers’ members to reduce their energy consumption and increase awareness of energy efficiency. The MBB is represented by Geoffrey Saliba, working with Sonja Stanberger from Energieinstitut der Wirtschaft and Javier Cervera from the Valencia Chamber of Commerce.

The Turkey-EU Business Dialogue (TEBD) is a project co-funded by the European Union under its IPA II programme with Turkey. TEBD is managed by EUROCHAMBRES, through a grant contract with CFCU, in close cooperation with TOBB, as the end beneficiary institution of the project. The TEBD activities are implemented through the European and Turkish Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

For more information, contact Energy Efficiency Advisor, Geoffrey Saliba on gsaliba@mbb.org.mt

Promoting soft skills development

Amidst all of the changes that the world has experienced over the last months, renewed focus is being placed on the development of appropriate soft skills, especially amongst young people seeking to enter the labour market. Soft skill proficiency, which includes but is not limited to communication, teamwork and listening skills, are sought by employers more than ever before. MBB has therefore strived to build on this renewed focus by fostering soft skills development in its EU-funded projects.

INCOME

As an Erasmus+ Knowledge Alliances Project, INCOME Tourism has, since 2018, brought together 13 partner organisations based in Croatia, Germany, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands to develop and incorporate soft skills into higher education curricula and to strongly cooperate with businesses, ensuring that learning opportunities in the ‘real’ world are provided to tourism graduates.

Over the first half of the project’s implementation, the partners successfully structured a cooperative learning model, founded upon months of research and consultation with the three main beneficiary groups (students, academics, and in-company tutors) in all partner countries.

Following the implementation of preparatory workshops and the formulation of learning trios (one student, one academic and one incompany tutor per trio) in each country, the model’s pilot activity kicked off in November 2019. Halfway through the pilot activity – in March 2020 – the learning trios were supposed to be brought together in Ravensburg, Germany to directly learn from the dual German model and network with fellow students, academics and in-company tutors, thus maximising the learning exchange. With the outbreak of COVID-19 in Europe, however, the INCOME Team was left with no choice but to shift its learning programme to one of a virtual nature, for the safety and well-being of all partners and participants.

A webinar series entitled Skills for Today and Tomorrow: Tourism Education, Employability and Industry-University Cooperation ran between the end of March and May 2021, to wrap up project activities and simultaneously contribute to the discussion on the challenges and opportunities that the tourism sector is presently facing. In times of rapid change, professionals with the right set of skills stand to thrive, thereby increasing the relevance of Industry-University cooperation initiatives.

Visit www.income-tourism-project.eu to find out more.

LEADER

Since October 2019, the MBB has been collaborating with six partner organisations based in Denmark, Romania, Spain, and the Netherlands on the implementation of LEADER. This is an Erasmus+ project aiming to support students in Vocational Education and Training (VET) to develop appropriate soft skills, allowing them to take control of their careers.

Soft skills refer to the competencies needed to communicate, cooperate and work productively. In most competitive job markets, employers do not only look for technical ability and specialist knowledge. Instead, they seek candidates who can become leaders, and leadership itself depends on both technical and soft skills. Exposing students and young employees to a comprehensive skill set thus increases their chances of professional success.

Training in soft skills is, however, far from straightforward, as these competencies tend to be complex and vary from one situation to another. This is where the trainee’s motivation becomes an increasingly important factor, coupled with the employed training method and delivery.

Keeping all of this in mind, LEADER partners are currently finalising the development of an innovative serious game – which has already been tested by over 60 trainees from across Europe – serving the purpose of demonstrating how specific soft skills apply in different work situations. This game will be made available alongside a Toolbox for Teachers and Trainers, complementing more traditional forms of education through the inclusion of 50 practical ‘classroom’ activities that can be applied to both the classroom context and to workbased training, and can be adapted to different age groups and educational topics. All of these resources will not only make training fun and engaging, but will also provide a flexible learning experience, depending on the trainees’ strengths and weaknesses.

In June 2021, a three-day digital learning activity was held for a selected number of teachers and trainers based in the partner countries. Its aim was not simply to raise awareness about the importance of soft skills, but also to provide the opportunity for teachers and trainers to be the first to test the developed LEADER e-learning platform and serious game, and subsequently provide feedback for final improvement.

Visit www.leadertheproject.com to find out more.

For more information, contact Project Manager, Marija Elena Borg on mborg@mbb.org.mt

Fostering digital and financial literacy

In an age when technology is reshaping our lifestyles, both financial and digital skills are essential to help individuals progress and prosper on a personal and a professional level. For this reason, the MBB has sought to boost financial and digital literacy through the following European projects.

DIFME

DIFME, standing for Digital Internationalisation and Financial Literacy for Micro Entrepreneurs, is an Erasmus+ Knowledge Alliances Project that brings together universities and businesses from Malta, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, and the Netherlands. Led by the Malta Business Bureau, the project aims to identify the existing skills gaps in the financial and digital literacy of microentrepreneurs, and to subsequently develop online training and resources to address these gaps and enable entrepreneurs to expand their business locally and internationally.

Following several consultation sessions with microentrepreneurs, the project partners have now finalised an online, on-demand training source that meets entrepreneur needs, and offers an easier understanding of financial literacy as well as digital internationalisation skills. The training is available in English, Italian, Greek, Bulgarian and Dutch. A series of online piloting sessions and thematic workshops were scheduled in the beginning of 2021 targeting micro entrepreneurs. Participants were given access to the e-learning platform and valuable information sources.

Access to the learning platform and signposts to other valuable information sources will be made available through an online SME Hub which serves as an open repository of solutions oriented to startup entrepreneurs and experienced entrepreneurs, helping them seize new business opportunities. The intention is not to re-invent the wheel but to facilitate access to relevant information on a national and European level.

Visit www.difme.eu to find out more.

For more information, contact Project Manager Marika Huber on mhuber@mbb.org.mt

INVEST+

In September 2019, MBB together with the HSBC Malta Foundation launched INVEST+, a project seeking to improve the levels of financial literacy in Malta through mentoring sessions and workshops on finance, business planning, accounting, savings and investment. The objective has never been to turn participants into financial experts, but to give them an understanding of crucial concepts, therefore allowing them to become financially independent on a personal and a professional level.

Since the project’s launch and prior to March 2020, the INVEST+ team organised multiple mentoring sessions led by knowledgeable and experienced HSBC employees. All sessions – which specifically enabled the participation of small groups of people to ensure that individual attention could be provided – were well-received by participants coming from all walks of life (i.e., students, entrepreneurs, employees, and society at large).

With the outbreak of COVID-19, the INVEST+ team felt that it was its duty to revise the project’s work programme, not just to abide by the restrictions in place, but also to explore other opportunities and reach out to participants via different means. Virtual workshops and campaigns were primarily implemented, followed by a mini web-series that was released online in an episodic form in April 2021 and had a total of 30,000+ views to date.

With a duration of five to eight minutes per episode, the web-series looks into the following topics: 1. How to create a Business Plan in 12 Steps 2. How to differentiate between a Balance Sheet, an Income Statement, and a Cash Flow Statement 3. How to build a Savings Plan 4. How to distinguish between Stocks and Bonds

The web-series can be viewed on the Malta Business Bureau’s YouTube channel.

For more information, contact Project Manager, Marija Elena Borg on mborg@mbb.org.mt

Supporting and educating on niche markets

A niche market is a fraction of a broader market that can be determined by its own specific needs and interests, distinguishing it from the market at large. Whilst it does not necessarily mean that a niche market is a small market, it is true that it does involve specific target audiences with a specialised offering. In this regard, MBB has been working hard to educate itself on and support businesses operating in certain niche markets, such as brewers producing organic and craft beer.

TAPROOM

In January 2021, the Malta Business Bureau, in collaboration with four other partner organisations based in Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany and Italy, launched TAPROOM – a project co-funded by the EU’s Erasmus+ programme.

The project’s ultimate aim is to develop a multidisciplinary, interactive and comprehensive training programme in the production and marketing of organic and craft beer. It goes a step further to ensure that more is done in terms of promoting beer as part of the intangible cultural heritage of the European Union.

Over the last few months, project partners have continued researching and building upon the knowledge they already possess on the needs and demands of TAPROOM’s target audience. Desk research is being complemented by means of a survey that has been disseminated across all partner countries, as well as the implementation of national focus groups with key stakeholders in each participating country. Malta’s focus group was held virtually in April, and saw the participation of local organic and craft beer producers, trainers, experts and retailers. Their underlying collective message revolved around the need for increased education on the production and marketing of organic and craft beer, primarily amongst consumers, followed by aspiring brewers. The more correct knowledge is disseminated, the better the chances for an increased appreciation of the organic and craft beer culture.

Final research results will be fed into a comprehensive European report that will form the foundation of the TAPROOM Learning Model. Partners will then set out to work on the compilation of TAPROOM’s training content.

Additional information will be provided shortly on the project’s website.

For more information, contact Project Manager, Marija Elena Borg on mborg@mbb.org.mt