The annual Student Placement Programme has been recently launched to place students following ICT vocational and academic studies with all employers who can offer a meaningful ICT work experience. The programme was launched by the Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA) in collaboration with the Parliamentary Secretariat for Competitiveness and Economic Growth.
Students are valued as a principal source of future talent that will help Maltese businesses grow. Inaugurating the Programme for 2013 with a good representation of the wider industry, MITA officials and the Honorable Parliamentary Secretary Dr Edward Zammit Lewis announced that Government has significantly improved the Programme and its attractiveness to employers, by once again co-financing the students’ salary costs together with the introduction of additional value-add services.
The co-financing will be 50 per cent of the students’ wage (5.51€/hour) for employers hailing from the private sector and 100 per cent for the public sector entities. The value-add services feature external independent coaches, structured competencies plan and direct support to students and employers for the benefit of both.
Commenting on the scheme, the Honorable Dr Zammit Lewis said, “The Student Placement Programme pairs students with employers for a temporary valuable work experience that leaves a lasting positive impact on the students’ employability. During the summer, students gain experiential knowledge, contribute tangibly to the economy and network with ICT practitioners and professionals whilst exploring future career possibilities.”
This link-up between employers from all sectors and the post-secondary and higher education sector is aimed to encourage and boost students’ confidence, employability and work-readiness by immersing them in the real world of work. The Student Placement Programme will run for a 12-week period between July – September 2013. Students will work 30 hours per week and are typically assigned work in three areas, including business analysis, networks and software/applications development whilst also improving their technical competences and soft skills. Employers are not restricted in the projects or activities that they propose to the students for the placement, as long as they provide a meaningful ICT-related experience.
MITA will work with the companies and the education sector to facilitate a win-win scheme where the students learn from and network with experienced professionals at the top of their field and employers build a pipeline of potential future employee candidates.
MITA is currently accepting applications from both employers and students wishing to participate in the Programme. Student applications are accepted until Sunday 16th June 2013. The Agency will then seek to match the demand for placements against the supply of students on the basis of the employers’ requirements. Employers are in charge of the recruitment process and can then conduct interviews with the students and select the students they wish to engage.
Over the past years, hundreds of employers and students have benefited from active participation in the Student Placement Programme. MITA’s Executive Chairman, Tony Sultana said that “The Programme has been an opportunity for some students to find their full time occupation following an impressive performance during the summer stint. MITA received positive feedback even from the participating employers, and this year in addition to the co-sponsorship of the wage costs we strengthened further the Programme with external Coaches who will coach students to develop their competences through a structured Placement Plan.”
To find out more and check out the resources available for both the employers and students, visit www.mita.gov.mt/spp