Vision

Junior Achievement SA invests in, involves and inspires youth for economic success in South Africa.

Mission

Junior Achievement SA educates and inspires young people to develop entrepreneurial and life skills through learning by doing, and through committed staff and volunteers, to make a positive contribution to the SA economy.

Purpose

The purpose of Junior Achievement SA is to prepare young people for life after school by raising their awareness of economic issues, teaching them entrepreneurial and life skills, providing them with an understanding of the business world and enhancing their sense of personal responsibility through practical business experience.

It has to be recognized that even under the best education system, there are learners who will not continue with further education and in the current economic environment in South Africa, appear to have little chance of obtaining work in a competitive employment market.

Both established and developing countries require a high level of entrepreneurial activity to boost economic growth. With an estimated unemployment rate among economically active youth in South Africa at 52% (CASE 2000) and with South Africa having one of the lowest levels of entrepreneurial activity among the developing countries of the world (GEM South Africa 2007), the need for the inclusion of practical entrepreneurial skills in the schooling system is critical. Our school curriculum should encourage enterprise development and include critical life skills that supplement and enhance the formal education system.

History

Founded by Horace Moses, Theodore Vail, and Sen. Murray Crane of Massachusetts, Junior Achievement started in 1919 as a collection of small, after-school business clubs for learners in Springfield, Massachusetts. Businessman Horace Moses of Strathmore Paper Company, Massachusetts realised that many of his employees had no idea about business fundamentals and economics when they entered the workplace. He designed the JA Company programme, and with his management team, took it to the schools in the workforce communities, and so JA was born.

As the rural-to-city exodus of the populace accelerated, so too did the demand for workforce preparation and entrepreneurship. Learners were taught how to think and plan for a business, acquire supplies and talent, build their own products, advertise, and sell.

Junior Achievement South Africa began in 1979 as a project of Wits Business School. Since then, it has become an independant section 21 organisation operating in all nine provinces of South Africa. To date, over 370 000 learners have graduated from Junior Achievement SA. Please navigate the panel on your left to find out more about our programmes.