During a ceremony at Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, Minister for Education and Employment Owen Bonnici and Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Sport and Voluntary Organisations Clifton Grima, distributed certificates to students concluding the various stages of the Youth.inc. programme.
Youth.inc is an educational programme for youths between the ages of 16 and 21 who wish to continue building upon their educational experience and widen their knowledge, values and skills to either start working or obtain the necessary qualifications to further their studies.
“It is beautiful to see us together for this joyous ceremony. Through this event we are sending a message of encouragement to all those young people who may have doubted their educational experience”, Bonnici said.
“Thanks to this program they have continued to improve and develop their life skills as well as their abilities. I would like to conclude by congratulating all those who have successfully completed this course as well as encourage all those who have just started this educational journey. I thank all those who are involved in this process of providing help in the education sector to our children and future generations."
Parliamentary Secretary Clifton Grima stated that through this programme students can be successful if they are motivated to participate in an applied and practical learning environment. Teachers in this programme do not use a traditional teaching method, and this programme requires students’ commitment to expand their knowledge out of the classroom environment, develop necessary skills for work and develop new relationships.
Youth.inc is led by Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, and is structured to cater for youths’ needs, and to continue strengthening the complementary role of both formal and informal teaching. Youth.inc is divided into two levels according to the Maltese Qualification Framework.
The programme is aimed at offering help for youths to obtain essential and sectoral skills, whilst strengthening their knowledge at different levels. Youth.Inc is offered as a full-time programme at Levels 1, 2, and 3 at the Aġenzija Żgħażagħ complex in Santa Venera.
91 young people participated in the Youth.inc programme in three different levels. What makes this programme different from others is that it offers a unique opportunity of non-formal education by youth workers through applying the philosophy of ‘learning by doing’.