Company Programme

This Company Programme meets the needs of young students leaving Secondary High School and approaching the working world. Teachers' sharing goals and its integration within the curricular programme are the most interesting features.

Having been involved for some years in the Company Programme as a link teacher, I can attest to the benefits gained by students taking part. In terms of the curriculum, this programme lends itself to Business Studies. The students can apply their theory based understanding and gain a working knowledge of the realityof working in/running a business. In terms of self enhancement, the students develop a range of personal and practical skills - all of which are valued by (potential) employers.

We used to hear about entrepreneurship in the business world. The message that I would like to leave is that the Company Program is an opportunity to realize a more entrepreneurial attitude towards life. I wish that my students realize that having or not a business we can have an entrepreneurial attitude in various situations of our lives. As students or professionals. Employers or employees. Creative people, full of initiative, self-motivated, with a thirst for learning and willing to do anything to achieve their dreams, but who are employed, activists of social causes, executives, students with no intention of starting a business can be very enterprising people. The matter is, in business, entrepreneurial attitudes lead more easily to success. With this program I’m helping my students to gain enterprising skills and attitudes and behaviours as creative thinking and problem solving. With this kind of challenge my students develop communication and presentation skills, confidence and a can-do attitude. At the same time the students learn how to work together setting goals and time management.

My experience with the Company Programme as someone who works in JA Serbia and monitors implementation of the programme in the field is that teachers and students find it as a best way of learning about entrepreneurship and gaininig entrepreneurial skills. This programme is from its essence totally about bridging the gap between the educational system and the reality of the business world.

This is a very interesting method. It is good test and challenge for the students to show their entrepreneurial abilities, team working skills and creativity. This method can give a good understanding of the student’s characteristics and potential. It can give important notification of whether the student is more of entrepreneurial type or employee.

The Company Programme proves to be a very useful working tool, especially for students since it helps them to be prepared to access the labor market. In a world increasingly competitive, students must demonstrate personal and academic skills (such as showing teamwork capacity, meetting strict deadlines, communicating, leading) that this programme allows them to develop.

Since we startet the entrepreneurship education programme in our school, we have used company programme as a working tool the second year (17-18 years old students). I find it very useful in many ways: the students develop entrepreneurial skills (creativity, innovation, collaboration, problem solving, risk taking, self confidence etc.), they are prepared for working in "real life" enterprises, and the students find it both useful and meaningful and put a lot of effort into it. In a country (Norway) where the government and school leaders largely focuses on the curriculum and reaching goals, it is also good to see that the students reach their curriculum goals through practical learning.

I think that's the best tool we have as they create a real company. They improve lots of skills they will need in real life!!

Our students’ potential for performance in entrepreneurship is immense because it requires a lot of creativity, and imagination pushes logical thinking to construct. With this capital of creativity of our students we started out the YES project. During the classes dedicated to the project, our students have understood that playing the game of “business environment” is the bridge between theory and practice, between school and career. I hope that working at the company will ease for them the process of important decision-making regarding their professional future, now that they are in their last year of high school; and to decide whether they will be entrepreneurs, managers or employees.

Great programme! Very useful for young people! I hope that more schools and teachers will guide students to participate in the Company Programme