On Friday 7th July 2020, Junior Achievement Mascareignes celebrated 10 years since its inception. The Mauritian branch of JA Worldwide was officially launched on July 7, 2010 and has since impacted over 95,000 Mauritian youth with skills to prepare them for the future workforce.
Since its inception, the organization has partnered with the Mauritius Institute of Development and Training (MITD) to implement JA programs for their trainees. MITD in 2018 incorporated the JA Africa ITS TYME (Immersion Training Strategy Targeting Young Marginalized Entrepreneurs) program in its curriculum to provide life skills and business education to marginalized youth. JA Mascareignes, in 2014, announced a partnership with the Mauritian Ministry of Education to implement JA Programs in Primary Schools and Secondary Schools, teaching lessons on financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship. The organization also partners with other NGOs in the youth development sector to implement programs for Tertiary institutions.
Youth on the Rodrigues Island, the outer island of the Republic of Mauritius, have also benefited from JA Programs. The JA Mini Company program was implemented on the island in 2016, as well as an Entrepreneurship Camp in 2019, in partnership with the Commission for Training and Human Resources of Rodrigues, and work readiness programs such as the JA Success Skills program.
JA Mascareignes has transitioned to digital programming in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and has launched the ‘Online Work Readiness Program.’ The program is an adaptation of the JA Career Success program and incorporates online communication platforms with Kahoot and Google Slides. 150 young people have signed up for the program. JA Mascareignes has had success with digital programs in the past having implemented Social Media Challenges, which are one-day events ran on Facebook. The organization is currently working on digitalizing its other programs.
Michele Lionnet, who has been the Executive Director of Junior Achievement Mascareignes since its start, lauded the achievements of the organization. She said, “When we began our operations in 2010, Financial Literacy, Entrepreneurship and Work-Readiness were not present in the schools. JA Mascareignes was a pioneer in those fields. We are glad to see that 10 years later, more than 95,000 young Mauritians have been empowered by JA in Mauritius.”
JA Mascareignes extends its appreciation to all the sponsors and partners who have supported their programs in the past 10 years. Their support has been crucial to JA Mascareignes’ mission to empower Mauritian youth as they transition from the classroom to the World of Work. JA Mascareignes will continue to play a key role in supporting youth to become responsible citizens and actors in the growth and development of the country.
