Junior Achievement of the Cayman Islands offers three programmes each year to give students life skills, help them focus and empower them to own their economic success.
“At Junior Achievement, we have long recognised that the earlier we engage students, the better, so it is important that we begin with middle school,” said JA President Paul Byles. “Our programmes focus on emphasising the importance of education and then providing students with the tools and encouragement necessary to pursue their chosen career.”
In the middle school, Economics for Success is taught in the classroom to show students the benefit of staying in school and to help them explore personal finance and career options based on their skills, interests and values. Business Ethics is taught in high school to foster ethical decision-making as the students prepare to enter the work force and take part in the global market.
After-school programme
After school, Junior Achievement offers the JA Company Programme, which provides engaging, academically challenging and experimental learning sessions in economics.
JA Administrator Teresa Foster said the Company Programme is the culmination of Junior Achievement’s work with the students.
“The courses we teach in the schools set the stage for the students to find their way in the work world when they graduate,” she said. “It is all about helping them to finish their education and choose a career path. The Company Programme enables the students to take what they learned and apply it to a real-life situation. The experience they gain running a company with their JA mentors can prove invaluable to their eventual career success.”
Under the Company Programme, a group of students meets each week with a sponsor company which guides them through forming a company, raising capital by issuing shares, formulating a product idea, creating marketing strategies, creating the product and selling that product to consumers.
At the end of the 18-week programme, the group then liquidates the company and produces an annual report. The process by which these groups of students learn cannot be taught in the classroom, organisers say. This is a hands-on, mentoring process that brings business executives and students together to share ideas and experiences, and fosters relationships that last long after the programme ends.
Mariah Tibbetts, who recently participated in Junior Achievement, described her experience: “Junior Achievement is one of the best activities a young person can get involved in. It truly prepares you for the business world in the best way possible. Because of Junior Achievement, I know our generation will produce some of the leading business professionals.”
Junior Achievement will be visiting all of the high schools to recruit students for this year’s Company Programme. Parents are asked to encourage their teenagers to look into this informative, educational and fun programme which will provide them with additional tools for their overall success in life.
For more information, please call 949-4306.
junior achievement
Junior Achievement of the Cayman Islands is a not-for-profit charitable organization which strives to provide students in the Cayman Islands with a fundamental understanding of the free enterprise system.
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