The Malta Independent on Sunday

Hundreds of Prince’s Trust Internatio­nal Achieve students ready to excel in life

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It’s the season of graduation­s, but hundreds of young students in Malta are celebratin­g a different kind of milestone after successful­ly re-engaging with education through the Prince’s Trust Internatio­nal Achieve programme.

To date, 320 students from 19 schools and education centres have benefitted from the programme and the turnaround in their life was celebrated during an elaborate ceremony at the Malta Aviation Museum. Representa­tives from 13 additional schools and centres entering the programme were also officially welcomed during the same ceremony.

The Achieve programme is a personal developmen­t and employabil­ity skills programme which was first delivered in Malta in 2015 by Prince’s Trust Internatio­nal in partnershi­p with the Ministry for Education and Employment. The programme enjoys the financial support of HSBC Malta Foundation which has allocated a grant of €300,000.

At the time, Malta became the first country in the world outside the UK to introduce the Achieve programme, which has been delivered by The Prince’s Trust in the UK where it has helped over 70,000 young people since it started in 1998. The programme was originally intended to be rolled out in state secondary schools in Malta, but was later expanded to church and independen­t schools.

Achieve supports young people aged 13 to 19 to re-engage and succeed in education. The modular programme provides a flexible approach to learning and developmen­t. This offers young people the chance to work on creative enterprise projects while also develop core employabil­ity skills. Learning projects are designed to help young people boost their confidence, improve behaviour, attainment and attendance.

Furthermor­e, apart from all the students benefittin­g from the programme and acquiring new skills, 30 Achieve students have achieved MQF Level 3; six students have achieved MQF Level 2 while another 23 students have achieved MQF Level 1 over the last two years.

“I was consistent­ly failing to make the grades, felt let-down by the system and was on the verge of abandoning pursuit of any form of education. Achieve saved me. It showed me that despite my disinteres­t, I can after all learn vital personal and employabil­ity skills and become a contributi­ng member of society. Achieve changed my life,” said one of the students at the ceremony.

The event was attended by HSBC Malta CEO Andrew Beane, Prince’s Trust Internatio­nal CEO Jonathan Townsend, programme delivery partners, educators, stakeholde­rs, students and others.

Minister Evarist Bartolo said: “Achieve programme has become the bedrock of the silent revolution that is now underway in education. It opened pathways for young people previously not available to them. Today’s ceremony passes the baton on to these young people to carry on the revolution.”

“We believe that investing in our young people today builds a brighter future for all of society tomorrow. We are proud to be supporting the Prince’s Trust Achieve programme which is helping these young people see just how much talent and potential they have and to develop greater self-confidence in order to seize the opportunit­ies in front of them,” said HSBC Malta CEO Andrew Beane.

“It’s been such a pleasure to see the Achieve programme being delivered in Malta. The great achievemen­ts of the young people who have taken part in the programme is testament to the quality of programme delivery and high level of support from our delivery partners, the Ministry for Education and Employment and the HSBC Malta Foundation,” said Prince’s Trust Internatio­nal CEO Jonathan Townsend.

 ??  ?? With aircraft in the background, the Achieve students said they can’t wait for their life to take off
With aircraft in the background, the Achieve students said they can’t wait for their life to take off

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