Blog

Proud to promote vocational education as first choice

Caroline Jenner, CEO JA Europe

There are few people who have done as much to raise the profile of Vocational Education and Training (VET) as Marianne Thyssen, outgoing EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility. It was she who in 2014 launched the idea of a European Vocational Skills Week to heighten awareness of the value of VET and stimulate collaboration between stakeholders. Her mantra in speech after speech was that VET should not only be an equal choice, but a first choice. She is right.

Teachers and schools are the cornerstones of the JA education programmes

Sophie Norman, Head of Policy and Communications

Earlier last month, the outgoing European Commissioner for Education Tibor Navracsics convened the 2^nd European Education Summit. Attended by 160 European teachers, more than 20 European education Ministers and about 700 education experts, this second edition was dedicated to the teaching profession.

The triple promise of entrepreneurship education

Caroline Jenner, CEO JA Europe

What can develop work skills, lead to job creation, and have a deep societal impact, in one effective package?
Knowing JA Europe and its mission, it will come to you as no surprise that entrepreneurship education is a powerful tool that can deliver at multiple levels, across a variety of areas.

As employers routinely highlight a significant skills gap, from social skills to digital skills, and youth unemployment continues to skyrocket in many European countries, we want to highlight the triple promise of entrepreneurship education.

Entrepreneurship education can help to deliver a stronger Europe

Diana Filip, Deputy CEO I VP for Marketing and Development, JA Europe

What young people expect from the EU
Tomorrow, on Europe Day, EU Heads of State will renew their commitment to an EU that delivers on the issues that really matter to its citizens. The EU and its Member States are facing challenging times with rising social unrest, paired with weak economic performances. Leaders will need to prioritise to make change happen quickly, visibly and sustainably.

JA mentors are model examples from the varied world of work

Lauren Lane, a 22-year-old cloud automation engineer at Citi, is one of thousands of Junior Achievement Ireland (JAI) volunteers who mentor and help students in primary and second level schools across Ireland. Responding to demand from schools, JAI recruits, vets, trains, equips and supports volunteers from the business world to facilitate programmes spanning four themes: entrepreneurship, employability, financial literacy and the value of STEM.

The programmes are designed to complement the formal curriculum and allow students to
learn from the experiences of their volunteer. A survey of more than 700 JAI volunteers last year showed that 77 per cent felt their communication skills had improved, 59 per cent had increased their confidence, and 99 per cent would recommend a JA programme to a colleague.

Strategic thinking and progressing through their studies with an open mind is wise advice for students in 2019. Research from the World’s Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report found the workplace and many of our traditional job roles are changing drastically. Some 65 per cent of the jobs the next generation will be hired for do not even exist today. By 2025, it is predicted that six million low-qualified jobs will potentially disappear while 15 million jobs requiring high educational attainment will be created.

Lauren is delighted to be involved as Citi volunteer, having enjoyed JA programmes during every year of her primary school education.

“Completing the JA programmes helped to open my eyes to the opportunities that were out there,” said Lane. “I went on to be a female in the world of tech after studying Business and Computing at the National College of Art and Design. I decided to ‘pay it forward’ and be a volunteer because I want other students to get what I did from the JA programmes, to see all the different possibilities that are out there.

"I want to be a role model for girls in tech because you can’t be what you can’t see, and those students can see what I have accomplished and learn about how they too can achieve whatever they want.”

Reprinted from Business Post

https://www.businesspost.ie/focus-on/leading-roles-jai-mentors-model-examples-varied-world-work-437516