Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1008890
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 JULY 2018 NEWS Celtic, founded in 1887, played its first game in 1888 to raise funds for the relief of the poor Irish migrants gathered in the East End of Glasgow, where they faced resentment and discrimi- nation. Football, and victory on the field especially, gave back an element of pride and joy to these communities. Saleh understands this. "Every Palestinian feels close to the Scottish public but espe- cially Celtic. We feel they stood up for us and we appreciate it very much. Every Palestinian on social media thanked Celtic, they say what their fans had done for us. It's a great team and we wish them every success." For the past three seasons Saleh has been a mainstay of the Ahli Al-Khaleel side that has dominated the Palestine Cup, winning it three straight seasons between 2015 and 2017. He previously played for Rafah, the border town between Gaza and Egypt, and also in Qatar. But his move to Floriana is a historic first for the proud na- tional team of Palestine, the first ever Palestinian footballer born in the occupied Gaza strip, to play in a European football league. "Mohamed Saleh will be an ambassador for our players and open the doors to clubs in Eu- rope," agent Hussein Sarhan said in a Facebook post. The centre-bank was originally touted for a move to the Indian league, which forms part of the Asian confederation where the Palestinian national team plays its qualifiers for the World Cup. Other players called up to the Palestinian national team tend to be foreign-born, such as Hosam Aiesh, who was slated to leave Östersunds for Swan- sea City or QPR in the UK; or even those from the early 20th century migration to Chile. De- portivo Palestino (sporting Pal- estine) was founded in 1920 by Palestinian immigrants, today believed to be the largest Pales- tinian community outside of the Arab world at some 500,000. "It has always been my dream to play in Europe," Saleh says. "My hope is that this is the route to international recognition. And I wish for more Palestin- ian players to come to Europe to play." BANK of Valletta director James Grech has submit- ted his nomination to be a Labour candidate for the European Parliament elec- tions. Grech was appointed to the board of Bank of Val- letta after being elected by shareholders in 2014, and consecutively to date. He had previously been ap- pointed worker-director at BOV between 2004 and 2008, when the position was abolished. In his application to PL secretary Lydia Abela, Grech described himself as a point of reference for em- ployees and shareholders in the bank. Grech has also occupied various posts in the bank. He currently serves as ex- ecutive head of the foreign bank relationships depart- ment, and serves as a mem- ber of the European Banking Federation Correspondent Banking Task Force, as well as chairman of the board of trustees of the BOV Em- ployees' Foundation. Grech's career started as a management accountant before joining BOV in 1998 where he occupied senior managerial positions at var- ious branches and depart- ments. He holds a Master's in business administration and has lectured on finan- cial services at MCAST and corporate governance at the University of Malta. "My candidature will be focused on pushing forward Malta's national interest on such matters as financial services and regulation, the environment and its chal- lenges and renewable en- ergy, the pharmaceutical in- dustry and labour relations," Grech told MaltaToday. "I intend to defend Malta from all the mud-slinging the country has had to face and ensure Malta has the same rights as all the other EU member states." BOV man for Labour MEP candidature Banking veteran James Grech presented his candidature on Friday Jobsplus permit no 219/2018 Malta Air Traffic Services Ltd (MATS), the Air Navigation Service Provider for Malta, invites applications from interested individuals to fill the post of Air Traffic Control Officer Trainees with the Company. Academic Qualifications Applications will be considered from individuals who satisfy the following minimum academic qualifications: • A Matriculation certificate awarded of grade C or higher, or, • 2 A levels and 4 intermediates at grade C or higher, or, • A Higher National Diploma (MQF 5) awarded. Age For licensing purposes applicants for the post of ATCO must be at least 21 years of age by June 2019. Assessment test Applicants who fulfill the academic criteria must attend for an assessment test. This test will be based on the First European ATCO Selection Test (FEAST). Candidates sitting for this assessment will be deemed successful if they obtain an average stanine level 5 or higher and grades of not lower than 4 in any one test. Language proficiency Applicants must attain at least a level 4 in Maltese and English language proficiency as dictated by CAD –TM (the regulator) leading to the qualification of ATCO 1 Medical Fitness Applicants must be medically fit in accordance with regulatory requirements for duty as air traffic controller (Medical Class 3). Medical examinations will be carried out by a medical officer who is duly qualified to certify air traffic controllers. The result of the medical examination conducted by the said medical officer will be final. Interview Successful candidates will proceed for an interview with an interviewing board of selection appointed by the Company. Candidates must succeed in every part of this selection process as any part is considered as a pass/fail module, Probation and Training Applicants who are selected will be engaged by MATS on a definite contract of 15 months during which they will be required to attend and successfully complete the BASIC course and the Rating course. Both courses may be held in Malta or abroad at a training institution selected by MATS. Candidates who quit any one of the courses will be liable to pay MATS the costs incurred for the course. On successful completion of the Basic and Rating course, candidates will undergo a period of on-the-job training, followed by a Competency Check for the issue of an Air Traffic Control Officer licence. Candidates who are successful in all the phases mentioned above including the Competency Check, will be awarded an indefinite contract and promoted to an Air Traffic Control Officer. Those satisfying the experience and qualification criteria, and who are interested in filling these posts, are to send their application together with their updated curriculum vitae (in pdf format) via email to our H.R. section on vacancies@maltats.com by not later than Sunday the 19th of August 2018. Whilst thanking all interested applicants for the interest shown in this call and our Company, kindly note that this is an extension of the previous call for applications issued earlier this year. Interested parties are invited to visit our careers section on http://maltats.com for a more detailed description of this vacancy.