Erika, a well-mannered and introverted 20-year-old girl, has always dream of becoming a teacher. However, she struggled at an early age, coping with family and financial
circumstances and not being able to complete her Secondary school education.
She took on several low-wage job positions such as a retail assistant to support herself and her family. Despite coming from a low-income and single-parent background, her life
challenges never discouraged her from finding ways to achieve her childhood dream. When she first heard of this programme, she knew it was a second chance for her to
pursue her aspiration.
“Youth FORTE has benefited me so much and given me a second opportunity in life to pursue my dream. I truly hope the programme will benefit other youths out there like
myself.” - Erika
Indeed, Youth FORTE has changed Erika’s life although it was a tumultuous journey for her during the training. Her own self-doubts and low esteem were often stalling her
progress. Yet, Erika gained valuable and insightful life skills through the Socio-Emotional Learning and Employability Skills training segments of the programme. The sessions were useful as she learnt to better manage her emotions and be more confident of herself. With positive encouragement from social workers in SHINE and other youths involved in the programme, Erika completed the entire programme successfully with a full-time job offered by the industry partner with whom she was attached.
Today, Erika is a trained full-time enrichment teacher, with School of Concept. She is more confident and motivated in upgrading herself further and believes in giving back to society by getting herself involved as alumni of Youth FORTE. We believe that she will continue to shine brightly through her future endeavour and achieve more with her determination.
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