Prince’s Trust International partners with Royal Saint Lucia Police Force and the Sandals Foundation to help young people build key life skills.

Young people in Saint Lucia are benefiting from a new partnership between the local police force and Prince’s Trust International; a charity founded by His Majesty King Charles III to tackle youth unemployment.

Saint Lucians aged 16 to 35 have recently taken part in Team: A Prince’s Trust programme which helps young people who are not in education, employment, or training to develop their employability and life skills.

The pilot in Vieux Fort follows the success of Team in Barbados which has been delivered by Barbados Police Service since 2019. Members of the Barbados Police Service visited Saint Lucia to share their experience and learnings.
(Sandals Foundation)- Young people from Saint Lucia have taken part in The Prince’s Trust Team programme, delivered for the first time by the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force. Two courses, each running over twelve-weeks, saw participants complete community projects, work placements and classroom-based learning sessions which are designed to improve their life skills and encourage them to think positively and pro-actively about their futures.

Activities included completing a first-aid course; tree-planting; beach clean-up; IT training and sessions on budgeting, CV writing and interview techniques. Participants also took part in a residential programme with Saint Lucia Fire Service and work placements with local employers which led all nine (9) young people being offered a permanent job following the programme.

Prince’s Trust International started its work across the Caribbean in 2016 and alongside the work in Saint Lucia delivers youth programming in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. The charity has supported thousands of young people to build key skills for work, secure employment and launch their own business.

With the support of key partners such as the Sandals Foundation and Kestrel Liners, the specialist Caribbean logistics company, the charity aims to expand the programme’s reach so that more young people in Barbados and Saint Lucia can benefit.

Stephen Victorin, Superintendent, Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) said: “The best result when measuring police success, is the ability to prevent crime/ disorder. This collaboration among the Prince’s Trust International, the Sandals Foundation International and the Royal St Lucia Police Force presents an ideal opportunity to achieve such success. The ethos of the Team Programme is to develop at risk youth into confident, independent contributors to the prosperity of their communities. Thirteen young persons, in July 2023, successfully completed the Team Programme diverting them from the undesired attractions.The RSLPF emphatically thank The Barbados Police Service for the mentorship toward completion of the Team Programme.”

Will Straw, Chief Executive of Prince’s Trust International said: “The Team programme has helped scores of young people to build key life skills to support their journey to work. In Saint Lucia, we saw an opportunity to replicate the success of our ongoing partnership with the Police Force in Barbados. I am delighted that, with renewed funding from the Sandals Foundation, we’re able to continue to build this programme.”

Karen Zacca, Director of Operations at the Sandals Foundation, said: “Young people are the lifeblood of our communities and the future on our nations. They have so much potential and so many dreams with only the space to safely nurture their desires. We are honoured to partner with PTI on this programme, providing positive mentorship and workforce skills that will empower them to take action and inspire hope.”

Lesley Saunderson, Resident British Commissioner to Saint Lucia, said, “The British High Commission is delighted to be part of the journey with PTI and partners in Saint Lucia, and witness their hugely positive impact on the youth and their families. We know the communities that the young people hailed from and cannot fail to be humbled by the way they invested themselves in the Team programme and are starting a fresh chapter in their lives.”