Specialised Curriculum Delivering ‘Passport to Success’ for At-Risk Youth

The ‘Passport to Success’ (PTS) specialised curriculum utilised by the MultiCare Youth Foundation (MYF) is yielding significant dividends in reforming at-risk youth under the European Union Bridge Project.

The MYF, a local non-governmental organisation (NGO), is the only licenced administrator of the international curriculum in Jamaica and the Caribbean.

Speaking during a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’ at the Agency’s Head Office in Kingston on March 14, MYF Executive Director, Alicia Glasgow Gentles, explained that the curriculum is quite effective.

“It’s actually a curriculum developed by the International Youth Foundation (IYF). It’s been used in over 80 countries worldwide and it really is very adaptable and comprehensive. It [comprises] about 110 modules.

“Each module is about an hour long and it really deals with four different units that treat with, for example, healthy behaviours. There is also employability because, a lot of the times, we use this curriculum to help young people prepare for the workplace,” she added.

Director of Projects and Strategic Management at the MYF, Mitzian Turner, explained that under the Bridge Project, the PTS curriculum is combined with additional support to reform the youth.

“We impart life skills training to our participants; we also provide them with vocational skills training. We have partnerships with Heart/NSTA Trust in the delivery and assessment of this. They are able to garner skills that will then translate into internship and help[them to] access further education,” Mrs. Turner said.

Mrs. Glasgow Gentles indicated that soft skills, which are often taken for granted, also form part of the PTS curriculum.

“There are just personal competencies… that we often take for granted [such as] punctuality, communication skills, having respect for self and others, managing your emotions, conflict resolution… a number of different personal and professional competencies that we impart through these one-hour modules,” she outlined.

The modules are delivered by MYF trainers who are trained by IYF master trainers.

There is a network of over 200 trained and certified PTS life skills trainers in Jamaica who support the MYF’s work.

Mrs. Glasgow Gentles informed that the Foundation has a network of partners islandwide which they are able to leverage and rely on when they undertake new projects.

This, she pointed out, allows the organisation to provide the necessary services to the programme’s young participants.

The EU-funded Bridge Project, being implemented by MYF, is a 30-month initiative targetting at-risk youth between 15 and 29 years in five communities across four parishes.