When one 15-year-old, fresh from his O levels, turned up at the Central Mediterranean Business School, he arrived with a vision for his life’s work.

“He wanted to be a barber but, asked if he wanted to work in a barber’s shop, he was clear he wanted to open a chain,” recalls Kristina Galea Borg, principal of Malta’s new alternative to traditional sixth form.

“He was looking for something different that would give him more business acumen. And he is exactly why we exist.”

From October, the Central Mediterranean Business School at the Brewhouse in Mrieħel will teach teenagers public speaking, critical thinking and entrepreneurship – skills its CEO says are missing in the working world.

“The idea is to churn out employees who will speak up in a meeting and contribute, and we believe these life skills will help,” said Morgan Parnis.

It is his solution to a problem that is often raised by employers – skills shortages – and his attempt to change an education system that is pumping out early school leavers.

There is, however, one major issue: its courses aren’t yet recognised as entry qualifications by the University of Malta.

So far, the advanced diplomas in business management, computer science and accounting and finance on offer at CMBS are not accepted entry qualifications at the University of Malta should students want to further their studies. But Parnis is confident they will be approved by next year’s student intake.

“The programme we created would be approved by many international universities, but it may not be directly aligned with the entry criteria of the UoM,” he said.

Following a recent, positive meeting with the dean of the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy, where he explained the “innovative” programme, Parnis said he was hopeful CMBS students would also have the option to attend the UoM, apart from other international tertiary-level institutions.

“We are the first to do this and it can be used as a benchmark to see whether this type of qualification can also meet entry criteria into university,” Parnis said. “I have invited the university to study what we do and vet us.”

10 students in its first year

The new sixth form is targeting 10 students this scholastic year, with no more than half being international to ensure the original idea of feeding the gaps in the industry would be retained.

Opening to international students, who travel to study, meant their Maltese counterparts could be exposed to “high quality”, elevating both the offering and their experience, Parnis maintained.

“We are not after a market of volume, but just after a niche, going up to a maximum of 45 students in the coming two to three years,” he projected.

“We need to change how people study. It will take a long time to change the system in place, so we intend to be innovators in starting to address the change and breaking the mould,” Parnis continued.

“We cannot change public schools, or the philosophy around A levels. But rather than just saying the existing system is wrong, we are focusing on one we have seen working in many countries and put into practice.”

Not the typical tick-box work placement

Work-based learning components are embedded in the school’s system, which does not just revolve around studying, the school principal explained.

One of the reasons for opening a sixth form was based on the realisation that “we have to start capturing students at an even earlier stage”, Galea Borg said.

We should give the opportunity to some of the underdogs to outperform others

The relationship with one of the Big 4 accountancy firms will start at sixth form, and the companies test the students before they sponsor them.

CMBS moved to “this eco-system” – the Brewhouse – because of the many employers around it, and as part of their studies, students will do a work programme that is “not your classical tick-box exercise”, she said.

Specific academic milestones must be reached by the students at the workplace as part of their education and mechanisms are in place for the organisation to assess performance accordingly.

“This is a thought-out placement with companies that want to be part of it and get the right of first refusal on employment,” she said.

“Our model is based on bringing what industry needs. We want to be sure employers find the students employable. So, we are constantly speaking to them to make sure what they are doing at the workplace is connected to the curriculum.”

If the students make an impact in these organisations, come the holidays, they have the opportunity to put in extra hours of paid work, Galea Borg said.

CMBS has been operating for over 10 years, offering undergraduate and postgraduate programmes that are focused on professionals in industry, and is now launching campuses in Germany and Toronto, following the UAE.

Describing the student profile of the new sixth form, which spans 15 straight months, continuing throughout the holidays, Galea Borg said: “Coming here means knowing I want to be an accountant. I know I want to work in business, or I know I have a passion for IT.

“I am not choosing accounts because my father is an accountant but because I have a propensity towards that subject.”

Validated by the regulator, the Malta Further & Higher Education Authority, CMBS’s entry requirements are three O levels, two of which are Maths and English.

But grades are important as it is an intensive programme and the cohort must be strong to avoid lowering the quality of the output, Galea Borg said.

“They need to be good students because our objective is that they are accepted by many other international universities.

“But we should also give the opportunity to some of the underdogs to outperform others. It has happened in the past.

“Maybe we are fitting in to fulfil the potential of people that could have been failed by the normal system, although there are checks and balances in place to ensure they have the academic ability to reach the standards and succeed.

“We exist to show there are other ways to create exceptional students.”

Referring to the fact that a fifth of students failed their core O-level subjects, Parnis said this was indicative of the need to do things differently.

Malta also consistently has among the highest levels in the EU of early school-leavers, meaning those who drop out of further education or training after secondary education or less.

He pointed out how “for the amount of money that has been injected into the education system, the results are not very good.

“It tells us we need more systems that do not repeat the status quo and do not allow for much innovation.

“We are not saying that ours is better, but that there is more than one way… If everyone is following the path of least resistance, then we are stuck repeating past mistakes,” Parnis insisted.