Meet The Maltese Man Helping Local Youths Learn The Magical Ways Of Craftsmanship

Malta has seen a huge drop in manual labourers and craftsmanship in the past few years. But one local school is not letting it go without a proper, awesome fight.

Safi’s Engineering Craft & Art, a local school for students who are interested in crafts and traditional skills, opened its doors last January.

This school only houses up to 18 students at the moment, but it’s already making a difference to those children’s lives; and Brian Bugeja’s the man at the heart of it all.

It has always been Bugeja’s dream to pass down his knowledge in manual labour to others. His past experiences include working in shipbuilding for the last 10 years, and prior to that he studied manual work in Manchester.

“It’s difficult to find craftsmen nowadays in Malta,” he said. “Ever since the craft school was closed down, opportunities for students to learn have lessened drastically.”

Brian thinks that most people just need a bit of a push to hone their skills and abilities. “I think that it’s important for children to learn both academic and manual skills,” he said. “Some students however get frustrated in certain environments because they really want to work with their hands and it’s not always possible to do so.”

Craftsmanship has long been a passion for Brian Bugeja

He insists that other academical subjects are also very important to learn these skills. Such subjects include technical design and design theories.

“My students first come in to learn the basics,” Bugeja told Lovin Malta. “They learn all about safety, tools and proper clothing to work in. We move on to precision measurements, vernier scales and micrometres.”

Students who attend Brian’s school are even credited with the MQF Level 3 certificate in their field. “It’s really impressive how hungry children are to learn,” he said. “You can really see their enthusiasm in learning and developing their talents, it amazes me.” In Brian’s eyes, this is clearly an investment in our youths and their future.

What do you think of Brian’s initiative? Leave us a comment below

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