Seasoned English as a First Language (EFL) specialist Catherine Mifsud has highlighted the importance of her background in management within English language schools for her new experience as Head of School and Business Developer at Institute of Financial Services Malta (ifs Malta).

This comes after she announced the news of her new roles on Tuesday.

Following this, WhosWho.mt reached out to Ms Mifsud to discuss her dual role at the institution.

She said that both roles represent a “challenge”. While the Head of School one is “more administrative and focuses on the governance and qualitative aspects of ifs Malta’s service offering”, as Business Developer she will be tasked with meeting new and existing clients, building healthy business relationships, and “designing new courses according to the exigencies of the ever-changing financial services sector”. This comes as part of ifs Malta’s commitment to “serve the financial and banking industry at the best of its capabilities”, something that it has been doing for “over 60 years”, and she intends to “keep the momentum going on strong”.

“The great news here is that I am backed up by a formidable team that is committed 100 per cent,” thus making her transition run smoothly, she added.

This is because her new job does not only represent a change in employer, but also a complete shift in industry. While she has over 20 years of experience in EFL teaching at various educational institutions to later managing departments, including at English Language Skill Assessment and EIE Educational Group, Ms Mifsud felt that everyone needs a change “from time to time”.

“It’s good to change and challenge oneself, set new goals and do one’s best to meet them,” she explained.

When asked whether her experience in EFL will be useful in her new roles, Ms Mifsud said that her most recent position in the EFL industry was over seven years as Director of Studies, a role that has “many similarities with the Head of School role at ifs Malta”, with the difference that the latter is on a “larger scale”.

“I am very well conversant with most governance procedures thanks to my experience in the EFL industry. Besides the hard skills, I must say that soft skills, the ability to deal and interact with people in different circumstances and being able to think outside the box will surely come in handy,” Ms Mifsud concluded.

She holds a Master of Business Administration in Business Administration and Management and a Bachelor of Communications (Hons) in Communication and Media Studies, both from University of Malta, as well as a Level 7 Diploma in Teaching English as a Second Language and a Certificate in English Language Teaching for Adults from Trinity College Cambridge and University of Cambridge respectively.

Established in 1961, ifs Malta is an independent school with the aim of “actively supporting banking and finance practitioners and students through the provision of related academic qualifications and experiential training”. It is an approved training partner with a number of renowned international banking and financial training services providers and a member of the European Banking and Financial Services Association.