The future is certainly looking bright for Nicola Attard and Jean Paul Aquilina, members of this year’s winning entry of the Junior Achievement Young Enterprise company programme competition.
Set up almost 25 years ago as an NGO, JA-YE has seen many successful stories. As CEO Lorna Farrugia tells me, JA-YE is guided by one mission: “Entrepreneurial capabilities can benefit everyone and we promote employability skills and financial literacy.”
Two years ago the NGO expanded its already existing programmes into the primary and secondary education sectors with a programme called “Our Community” – this is intended for eight to 10-year-olds and helps students discover in a fun way how business and people operate within a community.
“Europe my Business” is for 10 to 12-year-olds and aims to increase the understanding of how some countries are interdependent within their business requirements, while “Enterprise in Action” is for students between 13 and 15 years old and, in eight to 10 hours, helps them understand the logistics of the free enterprise economic system and the role of business within it.
JA-YE has a number of prominent sponsors including HSBC Bank Malta plc, Atlas Insurance PCC Limited, Microsoft Malta Limited and Deloitte, with the latter offering a summer internship to a lucky few. The aim is to give students an all-round view of the business world and, in the case of older students, to help them develop soft skills such as interview techniques, customer care and market research. A business advisor is also assigned to the students, although ultimately the decisions made are the responsibility of the students themselves.
Nicola and Jean Paul, both sixth formers at De La Salle, participated in the Company Programme, which targets students between the ages of 16 and 19 and aims to bridge the gap between the theory and practice of running a business. The team came up with the ingenious idea of creating a website called Xzibit to give artists, photographers and musicians the opportunity to exhibit their work online. The response has been so positive that they plan to continue with it as a future enterprise and not just for the duration of the competition.
Jean Paul from Attard is studying Maths and Physics at A level and is planning a career in mechanical engineering. He found out about the programme during an orientation day at his school. It sparked his interest and he became involved last September.
“I learnt what it really means to run a company as well as the different roles that there are and how the structure functions,” he says.
He describes the experience that he has gained as invaluable.
“There were times when it was hard work but it has definitely paid off.”
Teammate Nicola hails from St Julian’s and is planning a career in business and finance.
“The project has really helped me understand how a small business works and the importance of teamwork,” she says.
There is also a personal element as both Jean Paul and Nicola agree that the Xzibit experience has given them great confidence in their abilities as individuals and as a team.
Project Coordinator Lara Gail Dougall is herself an alumni and has experience in offering tutoring and buddying. She explains that there are a couple of seminars held throughout this nine-month programme, after which it is up to the teams to decide how to proceed. The programme is divided into three modules with the business plan being offered as the first module – this can be taken up as a stand-alone. The programme ends with a finals awards night, which is keenly anticipated by the participants and a certificate of completion is awarded – the latter is well recognised by prospective employers.
“Managing to finish the programme while simultaneously sitting for their exams shows that these students have plenty of determination and strength of character,” says Lara. “It can be tough – in fact, out of the 21 teams that started the programme, only nine made it to the finals. This is why our certificate of completion is held in high regard. Prospective employers identify the capabilities and learning outcomes that the Young Enterprise experience offers and appreciate the drive that these students show.
“The winning team will soon be travelling to London, UK, to represent Malta in the European finals of the company programme.”
Closer to home, the team members have recently met President George Abela and have already had the opportunity to network with many people in the business community including other alumni – these experiences should serve them well in the future.
Above all else the work of JA-YE sends out a powerful message to young people by showing them that they can make a difference. After all, these aspiring entrepreneurs will not only shape the future but are destined to continue Malta’s role as a dynamic economic hub at the heart of the Mediterranean.
For more information visit www.youngenterprise.org.mt