Bank of Valletta has taken a number of initiatives directed at supporting the educational development of students who are following courses at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST).
The bank’s training and consultancy unit recently organised a one-day seminar at the Institute of Business and Commerce of MCAST. This was attended by around 40 first-year students who are following a full-time course leading to a certificate in administrative and secretarial studies. The main objective of this seminar was to highlight the services offered by local financial institutions to the business community, both in the local and foreign trade environment.
“Special focus was given to practical, real life situations, with a view to helping the students create a link between the theory that they have been studying and the issues that they will be facing once they venture out into the business field,” said Patrick Steve Scerri, specialist trainer in the area of Banking Services at BOV’s training and development centre, who delivered the sessions.
Another initiative taken by BOV involved a visit by a different group of students to BOV Centre in Santa Venera. The students had the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the Bank’s IT platform and services and also with the operations of the BOV Customer Service Centre. Head of Multi-Channel Banking Julian Curmi gave an overview of how, over the past 20 years, manual banking processes had been replaced by automated systems. He also outlined the various IT-based products and services offered by BOV, including the widely used 24x7 suite of services featuring, among others, BOV’s internet banking, phone banking and mobile banking services.
Mr Curmi said that Bank of Valletta is delighted to take this type of initiative that supports students in their academic studies by adding a practical dimension to theory.
“Through these seminars, we aim to provide the students with an introduction to a number of applications, IT platforms and services that in turn help provide a better, more efficient service to our
customers,” he concluded.