The Institute of English Language Studies (IELS), which runs two schools in Malta, another one in Gozo and a three-star hotel, said that it has invested €3 million over the past two years to upgrade its main school in Sliema and the Day’s Inn Hotel to maintain the high standards it is renowned for to benefit students, employees and continuous growth over the coming years.

The refurbished main school in Sliema was inaugurated by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who was accompanied by Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis, and was welcomed by the shareholders, directors and staff of IELS.

IELS was founded almost 30 years ago as a joint venture between FTI Group and Mizzi Organisation.

FTI Group is a leading player in the travel industry in Germany and in other countries in Europe, bringing to Malta over 75,000 passengers yearly and selling services in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and UK, among others. FTI employs close to 5,000 employees worldwide, of which 370 are employed in Malta.

The Mizzi Organisation is a group of companies spanning a broad portfolio of business interests and industry sectors, including retail, automotive, tourism, manufacturing, real estate and mechanical and engineering contracting, employing over 1,000 employees locally.

IELS also forms part of LAL Language Centres, a prestigious international group of language schools having a portfolio of schools in the UK, US and South Africa.

IELS said “as one of the first English language schools and among the largest in Malta, since 1985 IELS has contributed to the development of the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) industry locally and introduced various new academic programmes over the years.”

IELS employs a dedicated and professional leisure and welfare team which organises various cultural and social activities and ensures that the safety and wellbeing of the students is always a high priority. In all, IELS employs over 150 members of staff.

“Careful thought and planning went into the refurbishment and attention to detail was given to the innovative and unique design, while keeping the customers’ and employees’ needs in mind,” said IELS General Manager Alex Lanczet.

The fresh design provides spacious recreational areas, which are bright, safe and functional. The facilities have been upgraded and offer students fast free wireless connectivity throughout, access to an online self-study portal, as well as interactive state-of-the-art teaching equipment to enable students to learn more effectively. The school also has a media hall, a conference room, indoor and outdoor leisure areas and will shortly be opening a bookshop and lending library.

In addition, the impact on the environment has been a vital consideration throughout the project to ensure that the new infrastructure is substantially more efficient, helping reduce the facilities’ carbon footprint.

According to national statistics, 2013 attracted close to 75,000 foreign students which amounted to almost 234,000 student weeks, generating €64 million in direct revenue into the EFL industry.

“Since its inception, IELS has welcomed over 200,000 students from all over the world and last year alone received students from over 30 different nationalities. These include students from mainstream European markets as well as other markets such as Brazil, Korea, Japan, Turkey and Colombia,” said IELS General Manager Alex Lanczet.

The three IELS schools in Malta and Gozo consist of over 150 classrooms which can accommodate over 1,500 students of all ages daily. The facilities are open all year round.

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