Last Friday, MCAST held its first European Social Fund (ESF) graduation ceremony., with a total of 299 people – 241 women and 58 men – receiving certificates.

These ESF foundation and re-skilling courses are aimed at people aged 26 or older who wish to return to work or who are interested in further developing and upgrading their skills. The projects, amounting to e966,286, were part-financed by the EU through the Structural Funds Programme for Malta 2004-2006: European Social Fund (ESF). Certificates were issued for the following courses.

ESF 11 – Preservation of Traditional Maltese Crafts

This foundation course was aimed at those wishing to begin training in pottery or filigree work. It provided candidates with entrepreneurial skills to encourage self-employment within the traditional crafts sector. A total of 39 students graduated.

ESF 12 – Reskilling and Retraining of Workers in the Mechanical Engineering Industry

This was aimed at mature people with a mechanical engineering background wishing to upgrade their skills in machine engineering materials using CNCs equipment. The course leads to an internationally recognised qualification issued by the Engineering Marine Training Authority, UK. Three students graduated.

ESF 13 – Reskilling and Retraining of Workers in the Electronics Engineering Industry

This was designed for those with an electrical engineering background wishing to obtain an internationally recognised vocational qualification at Level 2. A total of 14 students graduated.

ESF 14 – Employability Skills for Women Returning to the Workforce

This programme was targeted at women who are interested in returning to the workforce and who wished to obtain an internationally recognised certificate in ICT and basic customer service. There was a total of 70 graduates.

ESF 15 – Reskilling and Retraining of Workers in the Building and Construction Industry

This training programme offered insight into the building and construction industry with special emphasis on scaffolding and rigging. There were 15 graduates.

ESF 16 – Foundation Training Course – Care for the Elderly

A total of 158 graduates.

A principal benefit of these courses is that adults were provided with the opportunity to upgrade or further develop both knowledge and skills that are appropriate for the labour market. As they were part-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF), MCAST was able to offer the courses free-of-charge. Furthermore, for the majority of courses, participants were given the opportunity to achieve an internationally recognised qualification.

In all the courses, emphasis was given to entrepreneurial skills, while additional support was given in numeracy, literacy and IT skills where needed.