Junior Achievement (Young Enterprise) Malta – JAYE Malta – opened a new Centre for Entrepreneurship Education at The Point in Sliema, supported by the Parliamentary Secretary for Small Businesses and Land and the HSBC Malta Foundation. The larger premises reflect the organisation’s growth and expansion mode to foster entrepreneurial education among students from primary to post-secondary age.
Apart from the offices for the management and administration of the organisation’s various programmes, the Centre is also aimed to become a hub, providing designated space for other non-profit organisations whose remit falls within the same scope of enterprise education, like Junior Chamber International (Malta).
For the past 20 years, Young Enterprise provided post-secondary students with a ‘learning-by-doing’ experience, encouraging groups of students to set up a mini-enterprise under controlled conditions over a full academic year. This programme allowed more than 4,000 achievers the opportunity to develop skills that helped them make the correct choices for careers or business ventures.
As from last year, JAYE Malta started extending its programmes to primary and secondary schools. So far, 16 primary and five secondary schools in Malta and Gozo benefited from this expansion, and more schools are being approached to be included in the programme.
“Moving into spacious premises at such an important address is another success milestone for our junior achievers organisation. We continue to grow to involve as many students as possible and raise in them the awareness of the opportunities that exist out there and the will to become Malta’s future entrepreneurs. Hotelier Winston Zahra Jr and scientist Dr Nicholas Sammut are among the many participants of Young Enterprise Malta, either as consultants or past achievers and fine examples of where this kind of background can lead students to,” said Lorna Farrugia, CEO of JAYE Malta.
“As a Group, HSBC is a firm believer in what JAYE stands for and the valuable work it is engaged in. To confirm this, HSBC has been the main sponsor of JAYE Malta since the bank came to Malta 12 years ago, supporting the organisation financially and providing expert staff for mentoring, advice and hands-on teaching to encourage growth and excellence in entrepreneurship education,” said new HSBC Malta CEO designate Mark Watkinson.
Parliamentary Secretary for Small Businesses and Land Jason Azzopardi said, “Fostering young entrepreneurs from an early age and the sustainable use of public property are two important values being promoted by the government,” adding that these offices in the Tigné complex in Sliema offer 280 square meters of space to Young Enterprise free of charge.
Dr Azzopardi noted that the official opening of this Centre brings together these two important values, thereby affirming the government’s commitment to see that its real estate is put to the best possible use in a sustainable manner and that it generates benefits to society. Situated in a central and prestigious area, this building will be dedicated to the noble cause of educating young people in the entrepreneurial sector: an objective that the government believes in and supports concretely.
JAYE Malta, formerly known as Young Enterprise, was founded in 1988 with the objective to enhance and nourish experiences of students in the practicalities of the business world. Its focus is on bridging the gap between the theoretical and practical implications of business.