One company suffered at first from poor communication, “lackadaisical” workers and communication problems. Employees at another firm miscalculated the amount of inputs needed for their products, resulting in shortages and delays.
But despite the challenges, both sets of first-time entrepreneurs sold shares of stock, designed products, developed marketing and sales plans, and liquidated their firms profitably. Not bad for a group of secondary school students.
Several dozen students at St. George’s Secondary School participated in the Junior Achievement progamme over the last several months with the help of volunteers from local firms. The international programme aims to teach students the financial savvy and workplace skills they’ll need later in life, according to Chad Maduro, a director at the Virgin Islands office of Deloitte who helped restart the programme in the territory with assistance from the BVI Chamber of Commerce and Hotel Association.
“[Students] take away the core aspects of being more financially aware, more financially literate in terms of what it means to run a business and the different functions of a business,” he said.
Twenty-seven students participated in the programme and were recognised for their achievements at a graduation ceremony at the secondary school on Feb. 15.
As part of the JA “company programme” the students ran simulated businesses for several weeks with the help of volunteers from Harneys, Deloitte and Patton, Moreno & Asvat. The students formed two separate companies: Insane JA Keychains and Island Sparkle JA sold keychains and personalised charm bracelets, respectively.
At last week’s ceremony, the student presidents of both companies spoke before an audience of several dozen community members about their companies’ products and progress.
“Our product differs from our competitor’s because they are handmade,” Krisma Butcher, the president of Island Sparkle JA, told the audience. “Each bracelet was made from scratch with members of my company stringing bead after bead to have a product that is of excellent quality.”
Cromwell Smith, a businessman and talk show host who volunteered to judge the students, asked Ms. Butcher why the team suffered a materials shortage at first and how they could have prevented it.
The student explained that group members originally wanted to sell 200 charm bracelets in order to make a “huge profit” but then realised each bracelet would require more beads than they thought.
Mr. Smith also asked Insane JA Keychains President Keyonna Farrington why her company started out with “serious human resource issues” and how it tackled the challenge.
She said that at first, the students didn’t know each other well because they were from different forms.
“After a while of being around with each other more and spending a lot more time with each other, we began to work with one another and bend with everyone’s personalities,” Ms. Farrington said.
The president added that she and her team had difficulty at first deciding what product to offer to the public. They considered straw hats and T-shirts, but settled on keychains because they were “versatile” enough to appeal to tourists and residents alike, she said.
“We came to a decision to sell the keychains because they were special,” Ms. Farrington said.
The winner
After assessing both companies on the basis of profits, business acumen and problem-solving abilities, judges congratulated all of the students and announced that JA Keychains won the competition.
Mr. Maduro said he and the other volunteers hope to bring the programme to all of the territory’s schools in the future. To do that, the group will need additional volunteers and participation from the schools, he said.
In addition to the “Company Programme” for the secondary school students, volunteers also operated a JA “Our Nations” programme at Francis Lettsome Primary School for class four and five students. That initiative introduced students to the global marketplace, according to Ronsha King, who volunteered with the students.