Overview
JA Canada (Junior Achievement Canada) inspires young people to realize their potential and make a positive impact in their communities. Through their network of local offices, they collaborate with educators, volunteers, and organizations across Canada to deliver hands-on, immersive, and digital learning experiences to young people. JA commits to ensuring accessibility and inclusivity through programs that help youth build transferable skills in work readiness, financial health, and entrepreneurship. Success starts here.
JA programs inspire students to understand their potential, set life goals and succeed at school and in business. We accomplish this by partnering with teachers and dedicated volunteers who bring the “real world” into the classroom. Their programs are based on three pillars:
- Financial Literacy: JA empowers students to make smart, lifelong financial choices. Through our financial literacy programs, students learn how to create and manage wealth. They develop skills in areas such as budgeting, investing, and creating financial plans.
- Work Readiness: Achievers are more likely to stay in school and earn more than students who don’t participate in our programs. Their work readiness programs give students invaluable career-building skills to use throughout their lives. Students learn how to communicate, network, interview for jobs and collaborate with diverse groups of people to achieve common goals.
- Entrepreneurship: JA inspires youth to start their own businesses, create jobs and contribute to the Canadian economy. In our entrepreneurship programs, students gain first-hand experience in running a successful business. They learn how to create business plans, innovate, manage teams, and take a new product to market.
Through the delivery of experiential learning in these areas, JA helps students shape their futures and achieve success. Volunteers from the local business community work in collaboration with classroom teachers. They use a variety of learning methods– including hands-on activities, classroom discussions and e-learning. They also share their personal experiences to help learners see how these lessons apply to the real world. This engages students, so they can retain and use the knowledge long after the program ends. Learners leave programs feeling inspired, ready to make a positive difference in their communities and confident in their abilities.
JA New Brunswick established in 1984 supports both official languages and reaches youth in communities across the province. For more details regarding JA in New Brunswick such as program availability, registration information and ways to get involved, please visit www.janewbrunswick.ca.
Objectives
- To support educators and learners to explore financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship.
- To provide experiential learning opportunities in the area of business education.
Instructions
Educators and schools can access this free resource to enhance work that is already happening in the classroom environment and can use the tools and programs to inspire learners to create their own businesses and develop an entrepreneurial spirit.
There is a national website https://jacanada.org/ as well as a New Brunswick site www.janewbrunswick.ca.
Some examples of specific programs offered include:
- Economics for Success: Inspiring students in grades 8-10 to stay in school, students take a closer look at the advantages of continued education, as well as learn what’s needed to succeed in today’s workforce. Payroll deductions and taxes help students understand how their work helps pay for public infrastructure and services.
- Personal Finance: Personal Finance is a program designed for grade 9-12 students. The program teaches students personal money management skills including the key elements of personal finance such as spending wisely, budgeting, saving, investing, and using credit.
- Investment Strategies Program: JA’s Investment Strategies program (ISP) teaches students in grades 8-11 how to save and invest for the future. The program includes both interactive classroom lessons and an online stock market simulation, Invest JA, where students manage their own simulated stock portfolio. The simulation is linked to live data from North American stock markets and is an exciting, risk-free way for students to apply the investing principles they learn in the program.
- Be Entrepreneurial: JA’s Be Entrepreneurial program inspires grade 9-12 students to imagine a business venture while still in school. Volunteers from the local business community partner with classroom teachers to ignite students’ entrepreneurial spirit and help them create business plans.
- Entrepreneurial Trades: Supporting High School Students who are exploring a career in skilled trades! Students will encounter multiple learning mediums that will assist them in understanding, analyzing, evaluating and applying financial and business skills essential for a successful trades career.
Some tools for students include:
Keep Your Balance App – This Economics for Success interactive tool for students allows them to understand how the financial and environmental decisions they make can impact their life.
Bizcraft: 50% of businesses fail within the first year. Do you have the skills to craft a successful business? Test your passion, perseverance, and preparedness in Bizcraft.
Key Highlights
- Includes interactive games and tools for students.
- A well-respected national organization with a specific New Brunswick site supported by the Government of New Brunswick.
- A free resource for schools.
- Available in French.