Students Gain Work Experience while Briefly Working in Malta

Imagine being placed on a Mediterranean island for work placement and experience opportunities? Well, several British students from Motherwell College have been fortunate enough to experience working in Malta as part of their work experience placements, and they were not the only ones impressed.

Work Experience Abroad

The students are part of a working abroad programme. They specialised in HNC beauty and care. Their studies clearly prepared them because many of the employers in the Malta hotel industry were extremely impressed with the results and they offered the students permanent positions. Working in Malta is a dream for many, but most of the pupils decided to return to their college and complete their studies. Perhaps once they’ve graduated, and older, they can consider dealing with Malta lawyers about living and working on the island. It’s a paradise with a rich cultural history, and it is considered to be an excellent place for employment; well above its European counterparts.

Malta School of Flying Adds to its Fleet

Malta has been in the news a lot lately. It’s been promoted to the top trade destination at a business forum held in Germany. Recently trade relations between Europe and Malta have served to make it one of the top countries for investment. Malta School of Flying has also just received an injection that allowed it to purchase a new plane for its growing fleet.

Malta School of Flying

The new plane acquired by the flying school will afford students the opportunity to get their commercial pilot’s licences. The plane will be used to instrument rating training and aerial work for Malta Wings, which is the sister company to the school of flying. Minister of Small Business, Jason Azzopardi, has confirmed that money was injected to upgrade an aircraft to the current level and a hanger is being built to accommodate the new plane. Assisted by a finance package that is privy to tax in Malta, the money has been a savvy investment into the economic growth of Malta.

Malta Business Dominates at Libya Build 2012

Thanks to the efforts of Malta Enterprise, 20 businesses were able to participate at this year’s Libya Build in Tripoli. The event gave companies in the construction industry the chance to showcase their products and services. Running over five days, from the 20^th to the 24^th of May, all Malta business attendees had many opportunities to network with Libyan industry experts.

Malta’s intensive business directory at the showcase did not go unnoticed. After facilitating the proceedings at the opening ceremony, the Libyan Economy Minister, Ahmed Al-Koushli, approached the Malta pavilion where he then met the Malta Enterprise representative. The meeting marked the potential of the trade opportunities that business in Malta has come to represent.

The expo commemorated its 8^th international building and construction exhibition by welcoming 632 multi-sized companies to participate in rebuilding Libya. Operating in an array of services, including lifts, electromechanical systems, construction materials etc, the presence of 20 Malta businesses was further solidified by several meetings promoting the many benefits that a corporate alliance with the island has to offer, including permanent residence Malta.

Regus Business Confidence Index 2012 Reports Higher Revenues and Profits

In the latest Regus Business Confidence Index 2012, over 16,000 business managers and owners from all around the globe were interviewed to determine the state of business in reference to profit trends, revenue and expected growth. Since the last edition in September 2011, business confidence seems to be stabilising since the economic downturn, indicating that reforms or economic measures put in place are proving to be effective. Surprisingly, those countries worst hit by the downturn showed the best improvement in business confidence.

If one considers that the average benchmark set by the business confidence survey is 100 Index points, Malta did well to achieve 113 points, which is a massive 15 points more than the September 2011 score. This shows a reverse in the negative trend recorded between March and September 2011 recorded by the Regus Business Confidence Index. Companies as diverse as Malta gaming to communications enjoyed a revenue growth of 57% compared to 40% half a year ago. Profit growth also increased by 17%. According to the Regus Business Confidence Index, Malta companies successfully identified more sales to through third parties, a shorter supply chain and a higher use of pay-as-you-go-business services. This effective cost cutting measures assisted sustainable growth.

A New President for Malta Business Bureau

As business in Malta comes off the back of a successful year, the Malta Business Bureau has announced a new president in Mr George Vella. Mr. Vella has an extensive history with private sector operations and has 17 years experience in strategic and project management, as well as corporate and project finance and research and development. He is a Director at Grant Thornton, Malta in charge of their Business Advisory arm.

After graduating in 1995, Mr Vella joined PwC and worked in the assurance and advisory arms of the firm. The started out with the business in Malta, but later seconded to their office in the West Midlands, UK where he specialised in risk management.

Europe Retail Sales Decrease but Malta Enjoys Steady Growth

The official statistical office for the European Union has recently released a report detailing the retail trade in the region. Overall, Europe retail sales have decreased by 0.1% in the euro area and 0.4% in the twenty seven European member states from January to February 2012. It’s a very different picture compared to retail sales in January, which saw a rise of 1.1% and 0.9% respectively. However, this can be expected as January is traditionally a busy season for shopping, particularly in the United Kingdom and in holiday destinations, as holiday makers and business travellers from Malta lawyers to financial advisors travel and spend all across Europe.

Although this decrease is not massive when looking at percentages, the drop amounts to a significant financial loss. Furthermore, the downward direction of Europe retail sales is developing into a trend if one looks at annual figures. Compared to February 2011, the retail sale index decreased by 2.1% and 1.1% in the euro zone and member states. If these stats are broken down further, ‘food, drinks and tobacco’ experienced a slight increase while the non-food sector decreased.

Business in Malta: It’s a Lifestyle

As people get older they revisit their reasons for doing what they do with their lives. Their careers are often the core focus of these moments of introspection and often these moments lead to life-changing decisions. Very often these decisions entail moving the family and opening a business in Malta, or on Portugal, the Seychelles, or some remote country where Mother Nature still helms the reins.

After visiting Malta it’s easy to understand why many tourists have returned to open a Malta company of their own, and make this beautiful island, with its friendly locals, their permanent home. Everything about Malta, Comino and Gozo are centred on festivals and history. As one of the most historical islands in the world, Malta boasts temples, artefacts and preserved sites that date back to 3600BC. The sheer volumes of history are so big that the people who were born, and move to Malta basically live within some, and amongst many other historical structures that have wonderful stories to tell.