CareMalta, which this year is celebrating its 25th anniversary, has just launched an ambitious service excellence training programme for all its employees entitled, I Care. Developed together with the company's training partners, Think Talent, I Care has the aim of taking the quality of service offered by the company to the next level.

A one-hour lavish event, hosted by actor and presenter Malcolm Galea, was repeated three times in one day to reach over 1,000 employers. The launch included special messages by former international footballer Carmel Busuttil, TV personality Claire Agius and Her Excellency the President of Maltese, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca who spoke about professionalism, engagement and compassion, the three pillars of the I Care programme.

The event started off with a video clip about eight residents who are currently residing in a CareMalta home to make the point that the resident must be the focus of the service that is provided by those who work with the company.

A live chat with a number of so-called "influencers", who will be entrusted with promoting the values of I Care at their place of work, was also included. Ninety influencers have already been identified and trained by Think Talent.

Senior services manager Paul Pace spoke about the background to this programme as well as about the principles on which it is based.

In her message on this occasion, CareMalta's CEO Natalie Briffa Farrugia pointed out that  I Care is not a set of instructions, policies or precedures. "We want I Care to become our common language. The language with which each one of us speaks, whatever one's job and irrespective of the circumstances and situations one finds oneself in." She also stated that  I Care was built on 25 years' experience of caring for the elderly. It is not meant to be some kind of memento of the past but a key to the future. "We want to make ourselves future-proof in a changing world with a changing set of values," she continued.

At the end of the event, which also included live music by The Residents, each participant was asked to leave his or her fingerprint on a large white board as a symbol of commitment to the principles of I Care.