65 students successfully awarded for completion of ICT training

The Foundation for IT Accessibility (FITA) held its annual ICT Training Certification Ceremony on 23 July during which 65 students with intellectual and/or communication difficulties were awarded with a certificate of attendance after successfully finishing one of the ICT training courses organised by the Foundation.

Matthew Gatt, CEO of MITA also representing Dr Godwin Grima as Chairman of FITA, congratulated FITA and all its partner organisations on the growing number of students attending these courses.

FITA ICT training course sessions were held between October 2011 and July 2012 at the Maltese College for Arts Science and Technology (MCAST) ICT Institute, St. Theresa School Girls College, Access at Birgu and Santa Marta day centre in Gozo.

The course held in Gozo was organised with the help of the Santa Marta day centre which provided the premises and the Ministry for Gozo who funded the training services. FITA coordinated the courses together with the Gozo Association of Persons with Disability.

Courses held in Malta continue to be organised in collaboration with MCAST, the Directorate for Life Long Learning, and the ACCESS Centre in Birgu.

Education Minister Dolores Cristina encouraged all participants to progress with their studies saying that lifelong learning is more important than ever.

The Minister also announced that in the coming weeks, the Directorate for Life Long Learning will be launching even more new training opportunities.

A total of 83 students applied for FITA courses, and 65 certificates of attendance were awarded in total.

Another certificate presentation activity will shortly be held in Gozo for 16 students sat for the ECDL examination so far this year and all of them passed, some with full marks.

Mario Pace, Acting Director at the MCAST ICT Institute said that students were now more familiar with ICT and having learnt more about the possibilities provided by ICT, were interested in furthering their studies through MCAST.

CEO of FITA Stanley Debono explained how the Foundation is not only delivering targeted ICT training for persons with an intellectual impairment, geared towards recognised certification standards, but in the process it is also actively empowering disabled employees by providing them with the necessary skills and experiences to contribute to the goals of the organisation.

Leone Sciberras, services clerk at FITA said that persons with disabilities face barriers of all types. “However, technology is helping to remove many obstacles. By using ICT for common tasks such as reading and writing documents, communicating with others, and searching for information on the Internet, employees or students with different disabilities are increasingly able to handle a wider array of activities and work independently.”

Applications for future FITA courses commencing in October are already open. For more information, contact FITA on 2599 2343 or [email protected] or visit www.fitamalta.eu