The Malta Communications Authority, in collaboration with the Malta Employers’ Association and the GRTU have launched a course entitled FastTrak, aimed at helping small businesses with increasing their online presence.

Through a survey it was found that roughly 70 per cent of people residing in Malta luck up information about the product they are planning on buying beforehand. It therefore stands to reason that any businesses who do not have an online presence are limiting themselves.

Courses, which are free of charge, will begin during the last two weeks of October, and take a special focus on the use of social media. Lessons will include practical work. The short course will entail about three lessons spanning 1.5 hours with a short recess in the middle.

Parliamentary secretary for the digital economy Silvio Schembri described how this course is an important tool for small businesses. He said that it is understandable for small businesses not to invest in training and learning about having a strong digital presence, and therefore through the government absorbing such a cost this will hopefully encourage more business owners and stop them from getting left behind.

“In the present digital society, social media facilitates closer proximity between buyer and seller. In fact, a number of micro-business owners are now interacting with their clients through Facebook. However, there still remains room for improvement in order to enhance competitiveness between businesses. Thus, laying the ground rules on how to deliver the right message to the right customers though the right channels, indeed, paves the way to prosperity,” Schembri said.

In a joint statement, it was said that “These sessions will aim to guide those operating in the retail industry on how to boost their business and create an effective online presence through social media channels”.

FastTrak is aimed at complementing other projects embarked upon by the MCA in line with the National eCommerce Strategy produced in 2014.

In a press conference, it was also revealed that following the FastTrak course, another course will then be launched with a focus on generating an online presence specifically for mobile phones.

In order to take part in the FastTrak course, one must enter into the MCA’s website, www.mca.org.mt, and complete the FastTrak application form.