89 awarded a certificate in Information Systems for Small Businesses

During a certificate presentation ceremony held last Friday, 89 individuals were awarded a certificate after successfully completing training in information systems for small businesses. This free training is being offered as part of the EPITOME project, a project co-financed by the European Social Fund and National Funds (Co-financing rate: 85% EU funds; 15% National Funds).

Through this course SMEs, micro-enterprises and the self-employed can benefit from tailor-made training in a number of ICT applications that will assist them in becoming more efficient in their day-to-day operations and ultimately increase their competitiveness.

In his opening address, Ing. Philip Micallef, Executive Chairman of the Malta Communications Authority stressed the importance of ICT skills in today’s business environment stating that ‘the availability and accessibility of technology and its various applications cannot be considered a success if this is not coupled with an investment into ensuring that businesses have the necessary skills to exploit the benefits of ICT.’ ‘Not only does ICT help businesses become more efficient but it also opens up a number of opportunities to expand one’s business, tap into other markets and provides additional communication channels with one’s customers,’ he continued.

Ing. Micallef also noted the feedback received and the eagerness demonstrated by participants in implementing the knowledge obtained from the training and commented on how such positive feedback is encouraging, particularly because the course is now open for applications for the second intake.

This is what participants had to say about the training.

‘I run a family business – a Pharmacy in fact. I thoroughly enjoyed this course and the topics covered were very good, useful and relevant to the business, especially the subject of Powerpoint presentations.’ Anthony Depasquale, Qormi.

‘We run a small company and are involved in the import of a number of pet care related products. The course was extremely useful. Thanks to the training I am now conducting cash flow analysis using office applications as opposed to the more laborious manual process I used before.’ Anna Vella, Zejtun.

‘I work in the hospitality industry. This course has helped me a great deal in using office applications for accounting and stock control. Today I can appreciate the full potential of such tools.’ Spiridiona Camilleri, Gozo.

The deadline for applications for the second intake has been extended to Friday, 26th October 2012. Interested applicants are encouraged to visit www.mca.org.mt/epitome or to call on 2209 9229 for further information.