1. Welcome to the JA Company Program
2. Introduction to entrepreneurship
3. Know-how and skills
4. Teams and teamwork
5. A responsible company
6. From an idea to a business idea
7. From an idea to a business concept
8. Starting a JA company
9. Business environment
10. Planning your finances
11. Marketing
12. Sales and customer service
13. Financial reporting
14. Taxation
15. “Uskalla Yrittää”
16. Winding up the JA company

The JA Company Program and its materials are available in Finnish, Swedish and English.

The program is free of charge but requires registration by both teachers and students.

After the registration, the students are covered by the insurance offered by the program, for example.

In the program, the teacher is the facilitator of learning, a coach and a mentor. The teacher does not need to be an expert in entrepreneurship or business operations. In practice, any teacher can implement the program as part of their teaching.

• A JA company does not have a specific company type or Business ID.
• JA companies are not registered with the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH).
• The operations of a JA company are not considered to be self-employment.
• If a JA company sells products/services during the program, this is regarded as the student’s personal income-earning activity.

• The JA company is not liable to pay value added tax if the company’s turnover is less than EUR 15,000 (companies that started on and after 1 January 2021; for companies that started their operations earlier, the limit is EUR 10,000). If this limit is about to be exceeded, the turnover-generating operations of the JA company must be discontinued. The business operations can be continued through an actual company that should be established or through the educational institution’s student cooperative.
• The JA company in itself does not pay taxes, but the profits generated by the company are distributed to the shareholders of the JA company at the end of the activities. The distributed profit is taxable income for the shareholders and must be reported as other income in the personal tax return.

JA Finland association has consulted the Finnish Tax Administration for guidelines concerning JA companies. Read the Tax Administration’s guidelines on the taxation and activities of JA companies here (in Finnish).

Active citizenship, entrepreneurship and working life

In the program, students establish a JA company (Junior Achievement company) using real money and are responsible for its operations. The programme provides diverse opportunities to learn about different sectors and their experts.

Sustainable way of life and global responsibility 

The companies established in the program must be responsible, and students are encouraged to think about the key responsibility matters in their company. Students are encouraged to generate business ideas that promote a sustainable way of life.

Cultural awareness and internationality 

The program offers an opportunity to engage in international cooperation with students participating in the program in different countries. The course attendees can market the products of one another and meet each other, among other things. The international nature of the JA Company Program concept can also be realized with partner schools, provided that the partner school uses the same model (the program is used in 38 countries in Europe and in 100 countries worldwide).

Technology and society 

The program reports and presentations are prepared and international cooperation is carried out electronically. There is no textbook in the course, and the study materials are electronic. The assignments in the course are completed and handed in electronically.

The program can be incorporated in various subjects. In the program, students apply theoretical knowledge and their competence to practice.

Contents 

The JA Company Program involves establishing a JA company individually or in a group for a semester or an academic year. The business idea is formed on the basis of the students’ own interests.

The student gets to practice entrepreneurship ranging from a product idea to establishing a company and performing actual sales work. This gives them an opportunity to test the profitability of their own ideas without risks. At the same time, they will learn networking and the ground rules of working life and make money – for real!

During the year, JA Finland association will organize national JA company competitions for the young entrepreneurs.

The program involves a registration fee of EUR 25. The fee includes insurance, the study materials and the national competitions during the academic year.

Goals 

The goals of the program are to strengthen teamwork, interaction and self-management skills and to understand the importance of networking in the future. The learning by doing approach enables the upper secondary school student to obtain an excellent knowledge of and skills in working life and an understanding of financial management. Meaningful activities will build self-confidence and support career planning.

The program can be used as a tool in several parts of a degree. The program can be used for completing optional and shared vocational units.

The operations of the JA company are extensive and cover several subjects. The teacher can define focus areas for the JA companies through their own actions.

A training agreement workplace must be one that meets the requirements set in the Act on Vocational Education and Training (532/2017) concerning a workplace authorised to provide on-the-job training. Unfortunately, it is not possible to give a more specific answer to this question. The act does not comment on the forms of business, but the requirements for a JA company are the same as those for other workplaces (section 72). If the requirements are met, a training agreement can be entered into.

According to the act, the training workplace shall have sufficient production and service operations, the necessary tools and equipment, and personnel that is qualified in terms of vocational skills, training and work experience. In addition, a responsible workplace instructor should be appointed at the training workplace who is sufficiently qualified in terms of vocational skills, training or work experience.

The training organizer shall assess the requirements. The training organizer’s learning environment is not considered to be a workplace even if corresponding tasks were performed there. In addition, the educational institution’s teacher who works as an instructor is not a member of the workplace personnel. It should also be kept in mind that when the training organizer outlines what constitutes sufficient production and service operations, this policy will be applied to all students equally.

Riikka Vacker (opetusneuvos, Finnish National Agency for Education). 4 April 2018