Barclays and junior achievement launch three-year, youth work-readiness and Entreprenuership initiative
£1.5 million programme to teach entrepreneurship and business skills to students in 11 countries in first year
Junior Achievement Worldwide (JA) and Barclays Bank announced the launch of the “You can b” programme in 11 countries, including the United Arab Emirates. “You can b” is a three-year initiative to develop entrepreneurship and work-readiness amongst students and prepare them for today’s work environment.
“You can b” was formally launched during an event held at Barclays Emerging Markets headquarters in Dubai. The initiative was unveiled by Ahmed Khizer Khan, Chief Executive of Barclays Emerging Markets; Sean C. Rush, JA Worldwide President and Chief Executive Officer; Jack E. Kosakowski, JA Worldwide Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; and Thomas G. Dewar, JA Worldwide Senior Vice President.
“Today’s young people are tomorrow’s consumers, entrepreneurs, employees and leaders,” said Khan. “Working with young people to develop their skills and potential is important to the sustainability of any business. We are thrilled to be working with Junior Achievement, an organisation with a great track record in creating programmes tailored for young people which play a key role in helping them to realise their full potential.”
The £1.5 million initiative will support the expansion of JA’s projects in 11 countries during its first year including the UAE. The other ten countries to implement the programme in its first year are Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Russia, Egypt, and India.
Each of the 11 countries will receive over £21,000 to implement and expand the reach of JA’s programmes. The partnership will also establish new JA programmes in Pakistan, Mauritius and Seychelles in the second and third years, taking the total number of participating countries to 14. In total, the Barclays/JA Worldwide programme is expected to reach over 8,000 students.
“This significant investment from Barclays demonstrates the bank’s strong commitment to youth business education and work readiness,” Rush commented. This initiative will help foster the economic development of the participating communities, regions and countries, to help our young people compete effectively in the global economy.”
The “You can b” initiative is divided into five components. The first component – B-Inspired innovation camps – will be launched in March 2009. This initiative involves the participation of two schools from each country. The students will be presented with a business challenge at the camp and requested to collaboratively devise a solution, using the leadership, critical-thinking, and teamwork skills they have learned from JA’s entrepreneurship and work-readiness curricula.
