With the support and guidance of volunteer consultants from the local business community, the JA Company Program provides basic economic education for high school students. By organizing and operating an actual business enterprise, students not only learn how businesses function, they also learn about the structure of the U.S. free enterprise system and the benefits it provides.

JA Company Program helps young people appreciate and better understand the role of business in our society.

Concepts – Business, Choices, Competition, Division of labor, Entrepreneur, Expenses, Fixed costs, Goods, Incentive, Income, Liquidation, Management, Marketing, Parliamentary procedure, Price, Productivity, Profit, Production, Research and Development, Services, Stock, Variable costs

Skills – Assembling products, Analyzing and interpreting information, Brainstorming, Consensus building, Critical reading, Gathering and organizing information, Group and self-assessment, Interpreting production inventory, Oral and written communication, Making observations, Product analysis, Public speaking, Research, Synthesizing and evaluating information, Selling, Working in groups

JA Company Program was strategically developed to align with academic content areas. The program’s focus on mathematics, reading, and writing standards ensures relevance in all classrooms affected by high-stakes testing.

JA Company Program is a series of 12 meetings and is recommended for after-school high school students. The average time for each meeting is 90 to 120 minutes. Extended learning opportunities were developed to enhance and expand core activities. JA Company Program provides interactive, take-home materials for students, including access to an online career assessment at www.ja.org. Materials are packaged in a self-contained kit that includes detailed activity plans for the volunteer and enough materials for 24 students.

All JA programs are designed to support the skills and competencies identified by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. These programs also augment school-based, work-based, and connecting activities for communities with school-to-work initiatives.

Additional information on the program can be found on JA Worldwide's website.