Empowering Future Professionals: JA’s Work-Readiness Learning Experiences Around the World
This is the first in a three-part series about JA’s three pillars: work readiness, financial health, and entrepreneurship.
July 15, 2024
When Tonatiuh Gomez attended a JA México FIE Entrepreneurship camp during high school, he had no idea it would change his life. His unique journey from high-energy student to principal dancer with the San Diego Ballet Company is a testament to the transformative power of JA's work-readiness experiences. Our volunteer- and teacher-led experiences teach critical work skills that prepare young people for various paths—college, trade school, or the workforce—in any field, including professional fine arts.
For Tona, the impact of JA's work-readiness experiences was profound. At the JA México FIE camp, as Tona found himself among peers with passion and vision, he realized he could achieve something significant. Through JA, Tona learned to harness his energy and channel it into ballet. The work readiness skills he acquired prepared him for the professional side of fine arts and helped him develop emotional maturity, leadership, and humility, which he considers essential for a principal dancer.
JA's work-readiness learning experiences are designed to be adaptable to different cultures and needs. Whether job shadowing skilled mentors, testing their skills through digital experiences, or developing solutions during business challenges, JA students are preparing for the future of work. JA’s work readiness learning experiences emphasize critical thinking and problem-solving skills, encouraging students to think critically, analyze situations, and find creative solutions. They practice effective communication through business plans, interviews, and presentations. They learning to work in teams, both leading and supporting. And they learn work ethic and professionalism, including workplace expectations and appropriate behavior.
JA teachers and volunteers from the business sector deliver work-readiness learning experiences around the world in all six JA regions. Each learning experience is tailored to a JA location’s particular culture or needs, ensuring students feel understood and catered to. They come away with stronger skills and more knowledge about what they can expect when they enter the workforce. Consider the following examples (although not an exhaustive list) of work-readiness experiences available in all six regions.
JA Africa
At the regional level, JA Africa offers the FIELD Global Immersion Experience through the Harvard Business School. The course was designed to strengthen and develop students’ ability to manage and operate effectively in a variety of business contexts by partnering with local companies. Students pitch their ideas the corporation’s leadership team, conduct field research with consumers , and present their final recommendations. This immersive experience enables students to tackle the challenge of introducing a new product, service, or customer experience for their partner company. In addition to delivering value in an unfamiliar context, students develop skills in contextual intelligence and team effectiveness. Learn more.
In collaboration with the ExxonMobil Foundation, JA Africa launched the ExxonMobil STEM Africa initiative, promoting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers to nearly middle and high school students across Nigeria, Namibia, Angola, and Mozambique. The initiative teaches new approaches to addressing STEM-related challenges through in-person innovation camps. Learn more.
JA Nigeria offers JA Career Success, in partnership with KPMG Nigeria. The seven-week program empowers senior secondary school students with the skills to be employable in high-growth industries. The curriculum also teaches work-readiness skills that help students harness decision-making skills for their futures and emphasizes critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity, along with vital soft skills, STEM education, personal branding, and practical job-seeking tools such as resume writing, interviewing, and digital profile building. Learn more.
JA Eswatini partners with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy and the World Bank for STEM Job Shadow. Recently, eight energy companies in Eswatini invited JA students to shadow workers, allowing them to observe and ask questions about both daily operations and the challenges faced by the companies and employees. Learn more.
JA Ghana, the Project Management Institute (PMI) Africa, and the All-Africa Students Union (AASU) offer JA Job Shadow to students in Accra, giving students an inside look at various professions and learning directly from the professionals they shadow. Through JA Job Shadow, students experience job responsibilities, tasks, and workplace culture. Learn more.
JA Americas
In partnership with Disney, JA Americas offers Plan Your Future for young people in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. Over three weeks, participants ages 16–21 work through different modules in the JA Virtual Campus to develop their interests and skills, design their CVs, and implement a job search plan. They also participate in educational activities and interactions with special guests who work in jobs that interest students. Learn more.
HP Life and JA Americas offer an innovation challenge for students in three major cities: São Paulo, Brazil; Guadalajara, Mexico; and Lima, Peru. HP Life volunteers lead students through a challenge to create a product or service that satisfies the growing demand for programming and IT skills in Latin America, aiming to make the content and related professions more accessible and attractive to the public. Learn more.
JA students attend an innovation camp sponsored by HP Life and JA Americas.
JA Asia Pacific
In the JA Asia Pacific region, JA Philippines partners with the Chartered Association of Marketing and Business Professionals and the University of Santo Tomas (UST) to offer students the Registered Marketing Professional (RMP) Certification Exam. The RMP exam measures the skills of graduating college students in marketing and business administration, equipping them with a competitive edge in the industry. In 2023, the program boasted a 64.5% pass rate on the exam, exceeding the average pass rate by more than 10%. Learn more.
JA Korea partners with Starbucks in its Community Store initiative, which donates a portion of proceeds from eight stores in Korea and creates pathways to opportunities for youth. The collaboration also benefits young people in high schools, vocational schools, and community colleges through skill-building programs, lectures, and experiential learning programs, including resume photo shoots, personal assessments, barista job counseling, and mock interviews. Learn more.
JA Korea students and Starbucks celebrate the opening of Starbucks Jongno R, the company’s eighth community store.
JA Europe
In collaboration with the Erasmus+ Forward Looking Program and 14 other partners, JA Europe launched EMPASS: the Employment Skills Pass. This innovative initiative aims to equip young people with the tools and qualifications necessary to thrive in today’s dynamic job market. JA Europe is leading a consortium of 14 partners in charge of creating the new microcredential, empowering young Europeans to develop and validate essential employability skills, and, at the same time, addressing the evolving demands of employers across Europe. Building on the success of the Entrepreneurial Skills Pass (ESP), this new microcredential empowers young Europeans to develop and validate essential employability skills and, at the same time, address the evolving demands of employers across Europe. Learn more.
The Re-Power Your Future initiative from JA Europe and UniCredit Foundation equips vulnerable youth with the skillset and mindset to build thriving communities, with early interventions to reduce school dropouts and to support their transitions from learning to earning. In addition, it fosters integration and social cohesion among young people. The initiative runs in ten European countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. Learn more.
INJAZ Al-Arab/JA MENA
INJAZ Al-Arab and Investcorp recently celebrated their ten-year strategic partnership to help youth in the MENA region realize their potential and excel in a global economy. Watch students’ reactions to a recent work-readiness session with Investcorp.
INJAZ Kuwait organizes the INJAZ Internship Fair, a two-day event featuring diverse companies that provide internships to university students in Kuwait. With over 100 positions available, the students applying for these opportunities can engage in interviews on the spot and receive acceptance letters within 72 hours. The fair encourages students to take the initiative in their chosen profession early on, to help them gain work experience and enhance their CVs for the future. Participating companies benefit by identifying and harnessing new talent to scout when students have graduated and are ready to apply for full-time positions.
After a successful pilot phase, INJAZ Qatar launched the Life Skills Project for elementary students at Qatar’s public schools in collaboration with and under the supervision of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. The Life Skills for Elementary Students Project consists of five programs delivered to students from grades 1 to 6, spread over two academic terms, reaching more than 60,000 students annually. The project is sponsored by ExxonMobil Qatar in collaboration with Google. INJAZ Qatar trains all teachers and supervises the delivery of this work-readiness learning experience in schools.
Companies like Al Mulla Group offered vocational training to students at INJAZ Kuwait’s Internship Fair in February 2024.
Junior Achievement USA
Junior Achievement USA helps streamline the transition from education to employment by partnering with schools and community organizations to help students connect what they learn in school to real-world jobs and careers. Through hands-on experiences and mentorship opportunities, JA guides students in identifying their strengths and interests, exploring career options, and setting achievable goals.
Elementary school
JA Community Coders (grades 1–3) enables early elementary school students to understand the importance of digital skills and jobs in the community.
JA BizTown (grades 4–6) combines in-class learning with a day-long visit to a simulated town. This popular learning experience allows elementary school students to operate banks, manage restaurants, write checks, and vote for mayor. Students can connect the dots between what they learn in school and the real world.
Junior Achievement of Georgia’s JA BizTown facility includes well-known US brands like Home Depot, Chick-fil-A, and Wells Fargo.
Middle school (grades 6–8)
JA Economics for Success introduces students to work- and career readiness and personal finance concepts.
High school (grades 9–12)
JA Business Communications is a teacher-led course that equips high school students with the communication skills necessary to succeed in business.
JA Career Success is an engaging and comprehensive learning experience that introduces high school students to the workplace. Students participate in realistic work experiences in multiple departments of a fictional company, Orbit Boom. The learning experience teaches soft skills and business best practices in the context of scenarios and assignments.
JA Introduction to Business and Technology 1 is a teacher-led course that introduces high school students to the basic skills necessary to succeed in business. Themes include teamwork, innovation, decision-making, and ethics.
All education levels (grades K–12)
At a JA Career Exploration Fair, students learn about various career options across multiple career clusters.
The JA Career Speakers Series invites a volunteer guest speaker to the classroom to share information about his or her career, work, and education experience.
Explore more JA USA work-readiness programs.
Interested in learning more about work-readiness learning experiences available in your area? Find your local office at jaworldwide.org/locations.