The HSBC Malta Foundation is supporting the Ministry for Education (MFED) in its 2021 call for schools and education centres to benefit from funds in relation to the Prince’s Trust International Achieve Programme, which assists young people in our community who are at risk of underachieving or dropping out from formal education.
Under the 2021 Achieve Programme, financial support is being made available for secondary schools, education centres and middle schools, who can use the funds to buy resources and deliver projects. Applicants must be approved and registered to deliver the Achieve Programme.
Caroline Buhagiar Klass, Head of Human Resources and Corporate Sustainability at HSBC Malta, said: “The HSBC Malta Foundation has committed more than €60,000 in the past three years to supporting the Prince’s Trust International Achieve Programme in Malta and Gozo, and the foundation has invested another €35,000 per year into the delivery of the programme. Thanks also to the dedication and professionalism of our educators; the programme has been a great success. We are optimistic that in 2021 the programme can once again have a positive effect on the lives of the young people facing various challenges.”
“Over 1,000 young people have benefitted from the Prince’s Trust International Achieve Programme throughout the last six years, achieving qualifications and gaining and enhancing various skills amongst which teamwork, leadership, enterprise, presentation and digital skills. This has helped young people to continue their post-secondary education and to be better prepared for the world of employment,” stated Maureen Amoroso, PTI Achieve Education Officer within the Ministry for Education.
Trina Somerville, Programmes Manager, Europe and MENA, said: “We are enormously grateful for the ongoing partnership with HSBC Malta in supporting our Achieve programme which is delivered through the Ministry of Education. The programme has had a huge impact on many young people over the last six years, helping them to gain more confidence, re-engage with education and develop key life skills to support them on their journey from education to employment. We look forward to our continued work together.”
Since 2018, the HSBC Malta Foundation has supported more than 50 schools and centres with funding in relation to Prince’s Trust International Achieve Programme projects and resources. The funding has helped to purchase digital photography equipment, create informal education settings, organise Christmas cooking sessions, purchase gardening supplies, embellish a kitchen garden, refurbish a gym, organise extracurricular physical activities, establish small enterprises, create a roof garden and organise team building and healthy lifestyle activities.
Among the local achievements was the selection of Katriel Zahra, a student from St Margaret College Secondary School Cospicua, as the Regional Winner for Europe at the 2021 Prince’s Trust Global Awards. The panel of judges reviewing all the nominations named Katriel’s nomination as a shining example of the Achieve Programme’s main aim of enabling young persons to build important employability skills through a less formal way of delivery. They also commended the opportunities the programme offers young people to develop interpersonal skills, teamwork skills and an awareness of enterprise and employment which helps them prepare for the world of work and break down barriers to progression.