Programme Spotlight: Skills for School in Ghana
Across classrooms in the Greater Accra Region, young students are discovering new confidence, strengthening essential life skills and building brighter paths for their futures. The Skills for School Programme, launched in 2020 and delivered by dedicated teachers in partnership with Junior Achievement Ghana (JA Ghana), provides targeted support for students aged 11–18 who are at risk of underachieving or dropping out of school altogether. Based on selected modules of the Achieve programme, it has already reached more than 2,800 young people across 18 schools.
In 2024, JA Ghana conducted a comparative impact analysis with over 200 students across four schools. Students with similar starting points were placed into participation and control groups and completed self-assessments 15 weeks apart.
The results proof the programme’s effectiveness: participants showed significant improvements across all six core skill areas (communication, confidence, managing feelings, reliability, teamwork and goal setting). The most notable gains were in teamwork and managing feelings, with average scores rising by 35%. By contrast, students outside the programme saw only marginal improvements in a few areas and even slight declines in managing feelings and goal setting.
The photo essay below brings these findings to life. Through the stories of six students, captured alongside insights from the teachers who guide them, the essay offers an authentic glimpse into how Skills for School is shaping the personal and academic journeys of young people. Their experiences reflect the challenges they face, the resilience they’re developing, and the future they are beginning to imagine for themselves.
We invite you to explore the photo essay and meet the students whose stories remind us why building core skills and offering young people the chance to thrive matters.
