On Monday I was invited by the management of the Institute for Tourism Studies (ITS) to attend the graduation ceremony of a group of lecturers who concluded successfully the Masters in Hospitality Management by Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences.

This was a journey, which started a number of years ago when the MUT and the ITS management were discussing the vision of the institute during negotiations of a new collective agreement. Central to this vision was the need for ITS to re-train lecturers and to enable existing lecturers to obtain qualifications up to MQF level 7. I would like to thank Kevin Bonello, who was the MUT president at the time, and who together with the ITS management devised a model which enabled the support of ITS in training and re-training of lecturers. Specialised courses were not available locally and though this was a stumbling block at the time was soon overcome by the ITS through the successful collaboration with Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences.

While the structure, which has been introduced, enabled lecturers to pursue their studies, the MUT and the ITS management had a major challenge during negotiations of the last collective agreement. We wanted to establish the parity of esteem between lecturers of vocational subjects and lecturers of academic subjects. The difference between the conditions of work and salaries of the respective lecturers at national level was considerable, clearly not recognising vocational expertise and qualifications. It was a principle which had to be established at national level. We have managed to achieve it, even though we had to resort to industrial action in another vocational institution and we had to overcome a long-standing dispute, industrial action and a mandate in court. However, during the conflicting period we have always seen the support of the management of ITS and our differences were always solved through discussions and not through confrontation. The signing of the new collective agreement in 2018, and which is still in force, led to the parity of esteem in terms of financials and conditions of work, recognising the expertise and qualifications of all lecturers and bringing to an end the disparity between vocational and academic streams.

I would like to thank Pierre Fenech, CEO, and his team for inviting me to share some thoughts during the graduation ceremony. This is certainly an achievement for the respective lecturers, for the institution, and also for the MUT, which was once again the catalyst to enable educators and the respective institution to address their needs. I would also like to congratulate the lecturers for their hard work during the course and for the successful completion of their studies.

The success of ITS is the provision of a quality education to students by experienced, qualified and dedicated lecturers led by an outstanding management team. The MUT is part of the success story of ITS and we are very proud to see it growing and spread its wings.

Marco Bonnici is MUT president