Young Enterprise Program Fostering Experience in Youths to Be the Asset of Our Nation

Junior Achievement (JA) Malaysia celebrated the journey of over 450 students from 19 schools who participated in the 2022 Young Enterprise (YE) Program in the Central Region at its Annual Showcase. The 9-month long program gave participants the chance to learn what it takes to run a business from inception, through product development activities, research, and brainstorming, developing a business plan, gathering resources, designing as well as manufacturing and marketing their own products. Students were also provided an online E-Commerce selling experience with JA Malaysia’s very own JAM Mall as well as a traditional brick and mortar retail experience with the YE Sales Fair which took place at Paradigm Mall Kelana Jaya in October. In addition to this, the YE programme places a strong emphasis on accountability as students were required to provide several reports, including an Annual Report, CSR, and Share Value Growth reports, as well as disclose earnings to investors. At the YE Annual Showcase it was announced that Dynamic Enterprise from SMK Seafield emerged as the Best Enterprise and will be representing Malaysia in the Regional Company of the Year Program organized by JA Asia Pacific. YB Hannah Yeoh, Minister of Youth and Sports, attended the ceremony and expressed her happiness towards the commitment of participants in this program. She added that the government views young people as the future of the nation and is delighted to know that there are so many corporations out there that are putting in the efforts to ensure local youth are given the chance to gain the skills and practical experience to succeed in a global economy. She also said at the event that, “Experience gained during your Youth plays a pivotal role in your future. Experiential programs such as the YE program will give you the soft skills that is so highly valued in the workplace today. The future of the world is in the hands of the youth and Youths in Malaysia are our nation’s biggest asset”. Gopi Ganesalingam, Chairman of JA Malaysia, commented, “We are greatly encouraged to see the Achievers from the YE Program so motivated and driven in their pursuit of learning and developing business skills. The YE Program has helped foster entrepreneurship among youth in their formative years and this will equip them with the skills necessary for employment in the rapidly changing business world filled with challenges. As no country or region can rely solely on foreign direct investment to create employment for its people, it is of the utmost importance for us to encourage Malaysian youths to possess these entrepreneurial skills and in turn help the youths of today be job creators instead of job seekers.”