It is that time of year when the Malta College of Arts, Science & Technology (MCAST) is giving the final touches to the launch of its forthcoming part-time courses prospectus which will open to the general public as from 25 August  2014. The College, which has approximately 6,500 regular full-time students to its credit, also caters for a large number of part-time students which on average total 4,200 per year, with applicants' ages ranging from 16 through to 84.

As the 186,000 copies of the free prospectus are prepared for distribution, the College looks to introducing a record number of part-time courses totalling 265 in all, this September. The aim behind this increase is to continue assisting people in expanding their skills even more widely, according to their natural inclinations and dispositions. Ing. Louis Aquilina, who directs the Partnership Office at MCAST, expands on the topic of vocational education and training. "Contrary to other institutions, MCAST offers training at Levels 1 - 6 and whilst there are fewer courses at the higher levels, these are steadily being increased. Most of the courses offered by us range between Levels 1 - 4. But we are presently introducing more courses at Level 5, so that we shall now offer a total of 11 Level 5 Higher National Diploma (HND) courses on a part-time basis, ranging for the duration of three to five years."

Part-time courses are held from any one of the 10 different institutes found in Malta or from the Gozo Campus which is based in new facilities which will soon be opened in Ghajnsielem. The new courses will cover topics linked to construction, building services, engineering, masonry, heritage skills, restoration of wood artefacts, financial services, health & social care management and photography. A very new course leads to a Diploma in Water Technology and Operations. "This is one of those unique courses tailor-made by MCAST to fit in with the current requirements of local industry. We developed this course in collaboration with the Water Services Corporation, teaming together to tap further into our national specialisation in water technology. Due to our limited water resources, we have always as a country researched this topic with great attention, and our knowledge in this field is also being tapped by foreign companies abroad. Our College provides an effective gateway to industry and in this regard we have over 500 lecturers who have been trained in varied industries thanks to careful gap analysis carried out with regularity. In this way we train personnel in specific spheres so as to enable further and varied provision of training. One such course which is also being introduced this year is a course in fibre optics, a very intensive and industry targeted package of learning."

Adults and young learners who decide to proceed with further learning during evenings or on Saturday mornings,  can  spend as little as Euro15 for a course. Course fees are directly equivalent to the nature of the course, the duration of the course, its level, and the amount of equipment usage involved.  To facilitate things, MCAST offers students the possibility to pay high-end fees in instalments. Moreover certain courses may qualify for the Get Qualified Scheme which is a Malta Enterprise scheme that allows up to 70% tax rebate applicable on course fees for courses from Level 5 upwards. Students also benefit from several additional resources, including detailed class notes and free use of the MCAST libraries.

Interested persons can apply as from August 25 until September 12 online via www.mcast.edu.mt/shortcourses ; by posting their application form retrieved from the free prospectus booklet distributed to all homes; or by going directly to apply at MCAST Main Campus, Paola during the same period. For more updates visit the MCAST  Facebook page Facebook.com/mcastparttimecourses