Skills for School (Achieve) Ghana
Achieve
Prince’s Trust International, in partnership with Junior Achievement Africa, are working across 15 Junior High Schools in Accra, Ghana to deliver an adapted, Skills for School focused, Achieve Programme. We’ve been partnering since 2019 and have delivered several pilot iterations and full cohorts supporting over 800 young people.
Founded in 1919, Junior Achievement Worldwide is a global organisation working to inspire and prepare young people to success in the global economy. Since its inception, JA programmes have impacted more than 125 million young people around the world.
Junior Achievement Africa was established in 1979 and now work across 15 countries, collectively reaching more than 240,000 youth each year. Their programmes are focused on experiential learning in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship. They create pathways for employability, job creation and financial success, to prepare young people for the world of work.
The Achieve Programme offers an alternative approach to learning for young people, enabling them to develop their skills and confidence through relevant, engaging and informal learning, in a non-traditional education setting.
Prince’s Trust International works with teachers and volunteers from 15 Junior High Schools in Accra to train them to become Achieve Advisors within their schools and enable them to deliver the ‘Skills for School’ modules. These modules focus on key personal development skills including communication, confidence and working with others, to support young people to better engage with their education and achieve better life outcomes.
Programme Impact
One of the real strengths has been giving the teachers more time to work with a much smaller group of students, who have then had the opportunity and time to develop these key personal development skills. Teachers, parents, school principals and students themselves are seeing positive changes as a result of the programme. One teacher reported:
“The impact has been tremendous. Because of the practicality of the sessions, introverted students are now able to stand before their class to lead presentations and contribute actively to class discussions. It is exciting to see how their confidence level has improved.”
In addition to the positive impact the programme is having on the young people, teachers have identified how the programme has positively impacted on their relationship with their students, their teaching style outside of the programme and in some case on them as individuals:
“As a teacher, this programme has allowed me to study my students critically. I have also grown closer to some of them and enabled me to identify their peculiar challenges as well as support them”
The long-term aim of this programme is for these students to develop the skills they need to better engage with their education, be better prepared for life after school and to help foster a culture of peer-to-peer learning throughout the schools.
“Achieve! – Impact!” “Achieve!” – Yes, we can!” “Achieve! – Power to change!”*
*(Programme slogan devised by teachers and students)
Meet Dorcas, who took part in the Skills for School programme
Dorcas (15) is a prefect at her school in Accra, Ghana, chosen as a leader by her classmates. She speaks confidently and articulately about the qualities she thinks a good leader needs: strong communication and teamwork skills to influence and persuade, and reliability to build trust.
But before she did the Skills for School programme, Dorcas would never have dreamed of putting herself forward for a leadership role. Too timid to speak in public or to join in with group activities, Dorcas used to sit quietly on the sidelines. If she was asked to speak or sing in front of others, in school or in her church, she would be struck down by stage-fright – and then by shame. But now she’s found her voice.