Junior Achievement hints at future careers

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This article was published 23/03/2022 (1538 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

High school is a busy and pivotal time in anyone’s life.

Students toil through 30 credits in a variety of disciplines that hopefully point them towards career paths.

Many also choose extracurricular activities that often make all the difference in answering the quintessential high school query: “What should I do after high school?”

Such an activity is Junior Achievement’s (JA) Company Program, operating at Windsor Park Collegiate and Nelson McIntyre Collegiate with support from teachers and community volunteers.

The 15 NMC students and 10 WPC students know they are in a life-changing experience — one the regular curriculum simply cannot provide.

The Company Program is a comprehensive experience designed specifically for high school youth to feel what it’s like to run a real business.

The two student teams are challenged to ideate a product or service, launch it, and run the startup business for about five to six months.

They sell shares to investors, organize into departments, solve a problem for a target market, create and sell a product or service, maintain a website and social media channels, keep detailed financials and write a business plan.

Company president Justin Patrocinio at WPC leads Revive Manitoba, a company that features ‘journey jars’ full of wildflower papers rolled into mini-adventure scrolls with positive messages about re-engaging life after a dreary pandemic. The finer points of the product can be viewed at www. revivemanitoba.myshopify.com/

Justin lauds his JA experience as “the most beneficial extracurricular activity that I have been a part of… the skills are transferable into any profession.”

Rachel McEwan is president of NMC’s company, which is called Sprout. They hand-craft repurposed wood into propagation products designed to add a little green to any décor. View it at www.sproutja.myshopify.com/

Rachel values the career insights within the project, “the chance to see firsthand what a career in sales, team management, human resources, finance, and leadership can look like.”

Both companies believe in giving back to the community with Sprout donating a portion of sales to The Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba, Revive to The Dream Factory.

JA Company Program manager Liz Hildebrand has seen a positive return from last year’s COVID-19-induced virtual program with “few connections and low productivity” to this year’s in-person format and “students thriving.”

JA provides an edge for students who have it on their resumés, according to Greg Leipsic, president and CEO at JA Manitoba.

“Employers tell JA they are more likely to hire a student who has gone through our program.”

Both Rachel and Justin will attend university next year and consider the possibility of starting a business in the future. Due to their JA experience, they have a good picture of what it can look like.

Check out @SproutyourSpirit’ and @revivemanitoba.ja on Instagram for more information about these creative student-generated products.