Oral history of the Malta Dockyard: Geoffrey Azzopardi

Education-Apprenticeship process 

(00:30) Prior joining the Dockyard, he started a course at the Technical Institute and then all his classmates including him were encouraged to enter as mechanical fitter apprentices at the Drydocks. They all joined and since their course was related to their trade, they were accepted as full-time students. In summer they did their work practice as apprenticeship. After four years Azzopardi managed to obtain the Ordinary and Higher Technician Diploma. 

Education-Employment pathways / local and foreign training opportunities 

(03:30) After the Diploma he worked as a fitter afloat. Then he and two others, went to talk to the Human Resources, who encouraged them to continue studying a degree at the University. They studied the subject of Systems of Knowledge and entered University. He states that during the course, when it came to practice, they used to practically teach all the other students. In 1997 he graduated and at the same time there was a vacant post at the foundry (funderija), and he was offered to join the foundry, where he learned the trade of the founder and that of the patternmaker. 

(09:45) Azzopardi mentions that one good client that they had that used the foundry was EneMalta. This was because the foundry was the last one in Malta that produced cast iron (hadid fondut).

(11:30) Azzopardi also mentions that many cast items, such as certain items that can be found at the Freedom Day Monument, were done in the Malta Drydocks Foundry. Then after some years he was entrusted with management of joiner’s department. He was also involved in the management of the machine shop, and it was a challenge for him as he did not have direct experience on heavy machinery. Then he was also offered the role of a deputy engineering manager. Again, it was a responsible and a challenge for him but he still accepted the offer. The engineering division consisted of a lot of departments including the machine shop, the fitters afloat and the electrical work department, amongst others. 

(16:30) Eventually, around 2007, Charlie Abdilla moved to the Super Yachts Section, and he, Azzopardi was promoted to an engineering manager. Although the job had a lot of responsibility, he was happy working with the management team. Unfortunately, this was short lived when the decision was taken to close the shipyard in 2008 and finally closed in 2010.

Life after the Dockyard-Finding a new job 

(19:30) After the shipyard was taken over by Palumbo, he was offered to work with the new owners, however he was not convinced that he would fit in the new organisation. Eventually he joined Manoel Island, which also was under new management.

(21:15) He has good memories of work carried out at the Malta Drydocks before closure. He particularly remembers the casting and machining of the large pump casing for EneMalta. The work process was something unbelievable, involving the pattern-work and the moulding and pouring of the cast iron, until the final casting and its machining.

Looking back-Skills gained 

(29:30) He remembers the last years before the decision to close down were filled with changes, involving various management systems and personnel. There was a time when the yard was divided in two separate sections, one for Shiprepair and another one for Enterprises, with two British executives. Eventually this did not work and both sections were re-merged under one executive.