Doing your BTS CI work placement in Malta is an excellent idea for improving your English, but it’s not the only one! Malta is a land of encounters, both in terms of its history and its current economic development: by choosing Malta as your destination, you’ll be meeting people from all over the world during your work placement abroad. What’s more, Malta offers you a pretty cool setting for your work placement in Europe: you don’t have to sweat out a visa, it’s relatively warm – so much so that most of the houses have no heating, or just one in the living room – the people are friendly, it’s a party, and in terms of culture, there’s plenty to enjoy! Malta being an island, there are a lot of imports: even energy is imported into the country. What are the good reasons for doing your BTS CI work placement in Malta?
Malta, a sunny, English-speaking island
Malta is a small island just below Sicily, home to communities from all over the world. Although the Maltese dialect is still widely spoken, particularly by the older generation, English is the country’s official language, and all communications are in English. But that’s not all. In fact, Malta is a bit like the crossroads of Europe; in addition to its tax advantages, which make it the destination for all the European online gaming platforms and shipowners from all over the world, Malta also welcomes a huge student population all year round, with young people coming from Europe as well as South America and Asia to perfect their English in the sun. What’s more, the country is a land of immigration for Italians and French: it’s not unusual to hear these languages in the streets! So Malta is an ideal destination to start learning English, or perfect it, in the sun and not too far from home: there are direct flights every day, and several times a day, to Paris, and no other French airport has several direct flights a week, like Nantes, Marseille or Lyon.
An island on a human scale!
Malta is 246 km² and 27 kilometres long: it’s hard to get lost! The entire bus network is centred around Valletta and its great fountain. And if you get lost, you can always take a BOLT or an UBER, which are really cheap! I wouldn’t recommend using taxis: they raise the price according to the customer, so clearly if you’re not from around here, you’re pretty sure you’re going to get ripped off. The towns are well connected to each other, and even the two islands of the archipelago are accessible several times a day, and from several points on the island. The only drawback is that the bus network isn’t terribly efficient, or even a bit of a pain in the arse: timetables are never respected, and there’s a lot of road traffic on the island. But here’s a little tip: use Google Map. The Tallinja mobile app isn’t very efficient, so it’s better to use Maps. Sometimes you want to take the nearest stop, but the journey will be much longer than if you went to another stop 10 minutes further on. So it’s best to be well informed.
Your BTS CI work placement in Malta
You’ll need to check with your school first. With the recent reform, you have more opportunities to do your work placement abroad, and the conditions are much lighter and more in tune with the times; however, some schools are still very strict. For example, you need to know whether you have to do your BTS CI placement abroad in a company that deals exclusively in import/export of products, or whether you can do it in the export of services as well. What’s more, you can also open up your work placement in Malta to a marketing/communication dimension with the establishments that apply the reform. To do this properly, we strongly advise you to discuss it with your school and your referent teacher, and to take into account your level of English: the better your level, the more important the tasks you are given can be. If you don’t, you’ll soon get bored and be disappointed with your work experience abroad. Because if the assignments are too difficult for your level of English, you’ll be put off, and make yourself sweat, or even worse: get expelled. It’s important to know your level of English before you go; if you want, you can take a free online test: the European Union has funded a platform that allows you to assess your language level and translate it into a European level (A0 to C2); this allows you to be transparent, and to get off to a good start with the company.
And Malta, for a BTS CI work placement, has a lot to offer: the island relies heavily on exports. It’s small, and… it’s an island, so not everything can be produced in the country: a lot of companies import products to process them and/or sell them to individuals or companies. Yes, this aspect also needs to be stressed: for your BTS CI work placement, you need to know whether you’ll be working on a B-to-B (business-to-business) or B-to-C (business-to-consumer) basis: this will enable you to focus your research on specific types of company, and to have clear assignments that correspond perfectly to the expectations of your school. We’re used to BTS CI placements in Malta, so don’t hesitate to ask us for advice during your telephone interview with International Horizons. The team will be delighted to help you.
The island’s very friendly side
As well as the sun, you can have a great time in Malta – especially if you’re under 25! Everything is adapted to young people, and everything is done to make them feel at ease. Going out is not expensive, and everything is in one place: Paceville. You’re bound to go there: it’s where all the young people meet up in the evening to go to the bar or the nightclub, to have fun at the weekend and to meet new people. From Colombia, Lebanon, Argentina, China, France and Italy, people from all over the world come to Malta to improve their English and bask in the sun.
Malta is all about warmth and good living! It’s relatively warm and pleasant all year round. And while you’re doing your BTS CI work placement abroad, the sun’s going to be out in full force, so don’t be shy about wearing sun cream and a cap. And I’m not joking: every year, many of you call us to the emergency room because you’ve got sunstroke, or some of you have been hospitalised for dehydration. But, when you come from mainland France, unless you’re already well coloured and spend your time on the terrace in Cassis, you’ve got to know that it’s going to be tough, don’t you? Protect yourself from the sun, or you’ll spend a week in bed, and it’s a shame to go to the other end of Europe to spend a week in bed.
Malta is also about culture: the fourth largest dome in Europe in Mosta and its legendary bomb in the middle of the church, Rabat, its medieval city and the filming of the incredible Games of Thrones (Ned, we love you ?), Gozo and its incredible blue lagoon, the great religious processions (a must, whether you’re religious or not, it’s for the culture that you have to go! ), Valletta the capital and its nightlife, street concerts, the three medieval cities steeped in history, the Templars, the great wars of religion… In short, there’s plenty to pique your cultural interest in Malta.
Now you know more about your future BTS CI work placement in Malta! If you’re interested in doing an internship abroad, don’t hesitate to contact us 😉 International Horizons will find you an internship abroad as quickly as possible. It’s very important to know what your teacher expects of your placement in Malta, and to comply with them, for two good reasons: you’ll be doing your oral exam on this placement abroad, so if you want your diploma it’s better, and you won’t be sweating it out studying for glory! You can also read about our experience in Malta to get an idea, or read testimonials like that of François, who went on an internship in Malta with International Horizons.
For more general questions, visit the International Horizons Internships Abroad FAQ.