Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1389773
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 JULY 2021 14 COMMERCIAL THROUGHOUT these 30 years the Malta Information Technology Agency has been a catalyst of change. A small limited liability company was tasked with bringing public service reform and became the leading agency tasked with handling some of the largest ICT infrastructure projects and services of the country. This could not have happened with- out effective HR strategies. These policies, addressing employee training, talent acquisition, retention and wellbeing, had to be constantly re- visited to keep pace with the changing remit. MITA's best practices resulted in it receiving the prestigious award of In- vestors in People accreditation. It was a remarkable achievement for the Agency. Establishing a strong IT operations, development and services arm Back in the nineties, when MSU Ltd was established, local ICT expertise and competences were scarce. Foreign ICT experts were engaged to inspire a young workforce to build a career in ICT. The establishment of the Information Systems Division (ISD) brought togeth- er these consultants, aspiring technol- ogists and workers from the former Government Computer Centre to forge what was then state of art technology platforms and practices. Employees were trained on these new technologies and practices. Most continued to work within the or- ganisation or became industry leaders and entrepreneurs in the ICT industry. Establishing a strong workforce Remuneration and retention of highly skilled and in demand employees be- came an HR challenge. This issue became demanding as more and more local and foreign companies chose to invest in information tech- nology, and new ICT niche companies emerged. Gaming was one of these industries and, as it grew, ICT skills became in- creasingly in demand and salaries soared. The Agency continued building on adopted best practices of engaging and training fresh ICT graduates and in- vesting in them before they left their studies. Across the three decades, internal and external initiatives were undertaken to sustain and nurture workers in the ICT sector. A Performance Orientation Pro- gramme was developed to provide in- centives to employees to attain per- formance targets or goals. Extensive training was given to new recruits and a new training arm was established with- in MITTS Ltd in 1996. In the latter part of the nineties, un- dergraduates were sponsored to work with MITA in summer and winter and in 2008 a new Summer Student Place- ment Programme (SPP) was established for those students pursuing an ICT ca- reer. In recent years, the Agency reached out to Government CIOs, training in- stitutions and ICT companies to invest in student exposure and engagements. An internal Career Progression Framework was launched in 2014 to of- HR within a changing organisation