HSBC Malta’s offer is valid until 31 October and is available to those students — full-time enrolling or attending secondary schools, MCAST, sixth form, university or any other established post-secondary and tertiary education institution to — who route their stipend through an HSBC Malta account.

As a novelty this year, students can also use the bank’s new online account opening process, which the branch says simplifies and quickens procedures.

“After a long year of study and exams, students just want to wind down, so we launched this new account opening process to make it quicker and easier for them to open their account and continue to enjoy their summer,” said Gregory Inglott, Deputy Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management.

Having a bank account is a requirement for the majority of students in order for them to receive their stipend, HSBC Malta notes. Students opening a student account with HSBC will benefit from free internet banking, free mobile banking, a free Visa International debit card and discounted fees on withdrawals from non-HSBC ATMs, the press statement says.

“For most students stepping into the world of higher education, the opening of a bank account is often their first experience with a financial institution. That is the reason why we want to engage with them at this point so they can start to develop good personal finance habits and have the right ideas about saving for the future,” added Mr Inglott.

HSBC Malta recently launched a new personal internet banking service, which upgrade happens in phases to help clients familiarise with the new functions. Additionally, HSBC Malta has recently seen some appointments to its managerial team; John Bonello was appointed as the new chairman, Michel Cordina was named as Executive Director, and Joyce Grech was appointed Head of Commercial Banking and Gerard Walsh as the bank’s new Chief Risk Officer.

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Focusing only on post-secondary level, the number of students enrolled in sixth forms and other institutions dropped by a year on year 7% to 10,194 during the academic year 2016-2017.

The largest proportion (88.8%) was aged between 15 and 19. Foreign students enrolled amounted to 667, accounting for 6.5% of the total.

The vast majority of enrolments (88.6%) was in institutions controlled by the government. Those enrolled in vocational institutions accounted for 47.2% of total students at this level.

The most popular field of study among vocational students was “Services” (18.9%), closely followed by “Engineering, manufacturing and construction” (18.1%) and “Information and Communication Technologies” (15.5%). Courses followed within “Services” included tourism-related courses.

Tertiary-level sees growth

Based on students enrolled in tertiary-level courses, the total number during the academic year 2016-2017 was 14,425, showing an increase of 4.8% compared to the previous academic year, as the NSO press statement figures show.

Female students were in the majority (55.9%), while almost three-quarters of the total student population at this level (73.5%) were studying on a full-time basis.

Nevertheless, part-time enrolments showed an increase of 14.3% over 2015-2016. The largest proportion of tertiary students (57.9%) was engaged in courses at the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) level 6 – Bachelor’s or equivalent. This proportion was followed by enrolments at ISCED level 7 (Master’s or equivalent), with a percentage of 29.4%.

Most tertiary students (46.7%) were aged between 20 and 24, followed by those under 20 years (21.6%). Moreover, female students outnumbered their male counterparts at almost all ISCED levels of tertiary education.

At the same time, foreign students totalled 1,204, accounting for 8.3% of tertiary level enrolments, showing an increase of 16.7% over the previous academic year.

Furthermore, at the tertiary level, the most popular fields of study emerged as “Business, administration and law” with 3,857 students and “Health and welfare” (2,802). In total, these two fields of study accounted for around 46% of tertiary-level enrolments in 2016-2017.

The full report including charts and visual representation of data is available for download at the website of NSO.

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“It is hoped that these publications encourage teachers to engage their students in more outdoor activities which will help them to appreciate our national heritage and all forms of wildlife” said Andrew Beane, the CEO of HSBC Malta.

“Spending time in nature is invaluable for our health and wellbeing and for encouraging us to be more environmentally friendly. This publication provides the opportunity to learn about the amazing wildlife we have living on our doorstep and to inspire teachers and children to enjoy being outdoors and learning with a different perspective. We would like to thank Mr Jason Aloisio and HSBC for their work in making this happen,” said Sarah Brady, the Education Manager at BirdLife Malta.

The booklet, which is the second publication in the collaboration between HSBC Malta and the UNESCO Maltese National Commission, was funded through the HSBC Water Programme-Catch the Drop campaign. The theme of this year’s World Environment Day is “Air Pollution” under which HSBC is encouraging its supporters to recycle waste into energy.

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Beyond the Advanced Diploma in Fashion and Retail training offered by the MCAST Institute of Creative Arts, the educational institution believes formal education stands on weak legs related to retail careers. Nevertheless, the retail industry is one of the leading employers in Malta, MCAST notes.

In the framework of the recently signed cooperation, the two bodies will provide students with theoretical and practical training. Hudson Group employees will support the development of the current curriculum and will run lectures and workshops for the MCAST students in some retail-related fields, the press statement says. Apprenticeship possibilities will be offered for students on an annual basis, to expand their knowledge by providing work experience.

“The retail industry offers many interesting career opportunities with many exciting roles in areas such as brand management, retail store management, visual merchandising, planning and buying, and marketing among others. Being a major player in the retail and distribution industry in Malta and the Mediterranean region, we feel we are an ideal partner to support MCAST in its mission to bridge the skills gap and prepare their students for employment in the industry” says Alfie Borg, Hudson Group CEO.

Hudson Group is an international retailer and distributor primarily involved in the sport and fashion wear sectors, headquartered in Malta, present through offices in Italy, Spain, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. “Though Hudson Holdings was founded in 2006, the group’s roots reach as far back as 1987 when the first pair of Nike was sold in Malta,” Hudson says.

In Malta, Hudson Group represents sports brands such as Nike, Converse, Timberland, Crocs, Eastpak, New Era plus franchisees of GoSport from France. They own franchise concepts, such as Urban Jungle and House of Sport, across Malta, as well as operate the stores of New Look, River Island, United Colors of Benetton, 3INA and Kiabi. Internationally, the group currently has a direct retail presence in European and African countries as well as a distribution base covering over 30 territories.

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