The document summarizes the Passport To Success (PTS) life skills program run by International Youth Foundation in Senegal. PTS equips vulnerable youth ages 12-21 with skills to stay in school, get an education, and be employment ready through a curriculum of 75 interactive lessons over 6-8 weeks. The curriculum covers personal competencies, problem solving, health behaviors, work habits, entrepreneurship, service learning, and closure. Evaluations show at least 30 lessons are needed to ensure behavior change in key life skills. PTS has been implemented in schools, vocational institutes, non-profits, and other youth serving organizations in Senegal and 20 other countries.
2. Summary of my presentation
Present evidence validating Marika's
findings from an NGO perspective and
IYF's two projects in Senegal:
• capabilities approach - strengthening
youth capabilities through life skills trg.
• Youth voices should inform
educational planning, and should
present a multidimensional
perspective
3. IYF Definition of Life Skills or "soft
skills":
Abilities for adaptive and positive
behavior that enable individuals to
deal effectively with the demands
and challenges of work and
everyday life
4. What is the Passport To Success ®
(PTS) program?
• The PTS program equips young people, ages 12 to 21, with a
range of skills that help them stay in school and acquire the
education, professional skills, employment readiness and
confidence they need to succeed in life and in the workplace.
• PTS targets vulnerable youth who are in school but at risk of
dropping out, as well as those that are out of school, out of
work, or working in dangerous environments.
• A key measure of success is the extent to which youth are
either in school or employed six months after participating
• PTS has been introduced in 20 countries and has been
translated and adapted into 17 languages. 62,000 youth
5. Where do we intervene?
PTS has been successfully tested, both as a stand
alone and integrated model, in a variety of venues,
including:
– Public/private primary and secondary schools,
both in and out-of-school programs
– Vocational technical institutes
– Youth-serving non-profit organizations
– Teacher training colleges
– Orphanages
7. PTS Curriculum Structure
• Experiential, interactive pedagogical methods
• 75 One-Hour Lessons divided into 7 Units
– Personal Competencies (20)
– Problem Solving and Managing Conflict (4)
– Healthy Behaviors (7)
– Effective Work Habits (22)
– Entrepreneurship (10)
– Service Learning (10)
– Closure (1)
• Leader’s Guide and Student Handbook
8. Program Duration
• Evaluations of PTS programs have shown that at
least 30 lessons should be delivered to ensure
comprehensive behavior change in key life skills
competencies
• Recommend no more than 3 hours per day, with no
more than 12 life skills lessons per week
• On average, partners select 40-50 lessons per
training course, corresponding to a total of 6-8 weeks
of training. School-based programs typically occur
over a semester or year.
9. Summary of life skills lessons
•responsibility and respect (self and others)
•Listening and communication skills (written and oral)
•Self-confidence, self-esteem, assertiveness
•Conflict and stress management
•Problem solving
•Reproductive health, family planning, STI/HIV
•gender roles and stereotypes, GBV
•employability skills (interviewing, resume preparation, workplace
protocol, business etiquette, being a team member)
•Goal setting and career planning
•Community service, service learning projects (eg: Rehabilitation of
School well and classroom; blood drive, recycling campaign;
cleaning up parks and SAFE SPACES for youth)
