Commit to Change
The world's local bank- Global – HSBC Financial Literacy Programme
- USA – Foundation for Teaching Economics
- Hong Kong – HSBC Living Finance
- UK – UNIAID
- UK – Tuska and Pepi
- Global – Junior Achievement/Young Enterprise
- Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh and Vietnam – HSBC Young Entrepreneur Awards
- UK – Made in Brunel
- Hong Kong – Social Entrepreneurship Programme
- USA – Islamic Finance Project
- UK – Management Academy Programme
- UK – What Money Means
Global – Junior Achievement/Young Enterprise
Junior Achievement/Young Enterprise (JA/YE) is a worldwide organisation that offers young people the opportunity to learn about how to handle finances, how to deal with the economy, and even how to run their own business. What's unique about the JA/YE programmes is that young people learn by doing – hands-on projects in the real world.
HSBC supports JA/YE in a number of countries and in some cases has done so for many years. The organisation is known by either name, depending on the country.
HSBC mainly supports the JA/YE Company Programme and, while the Company Programme is facilitated in different ways in different countries, it allows students to set up and run their own companies during one school year. They are guided by a teacher and a volunteer business adviser, but the ideas, work load, and even profits belong solely to the students.
In addition to learning about running a business, students gain enormously in skills such as teamwork and confidence and may enter local, regional and national competitions where they have to present their business - successes and failures - to a panel of judges and selective audiences. This brings added meaning to the experience while giving students a chance to practice their public speaking skills and increase self-confidence. One student took away the following valuable lesson from his JA experience:
'I learned that being successful means different things to each one of us and that to accomplish it, you have to set goals.'
*Karl, Dowdell Middle Magnet School, USA
*Names have been changed to ensure privacy
JA/YE has evolved greatly from its beginnings in the United States in 1916. The various programmes now operate in nearly 100 countries and reach seven million students (aged 5-25) every year. HSBC began its involvement with JA/YE in the United States in 1942 and now supports the organisation in several countries.
UK
Young Enterprise was founded in the UK in 1962 based on the Junior Achievement model and HSBC has been supporting YE in the UK for more than 25 years. About 45,000 students take part in the Company/Team Programme every year and around 400 HSBC staff members volunteer to be business advisers or local board members. Being a business adviser to a YE company not only helps the students run their company as well as possible, it also offers the adviser a great learning experience. In addition, HSBC supports the Innovation Awards - the UK national final of the Company of the Year Competition - at which the top teams from the 12 UK regions compete for the UK title and the right to represent the UK in the European final.
Read about the 2007 HSBC Young Enterprise Innovation Awards
The HSBC Young Enterprise Innovation Awards
The HSBC Young Enterprise Innovation Awards were held on 16 and 17 July in The Savoy hotel, London. These awards see the UK’s 12 regional winning teams compete against each other to be awarded team of the year for the UK and earn the right to represent the UK in the European finals.
This year’s competition saw some truly innovative business ideas and, coupled with the enthusiasm and effort of the students involved, an extremely exciting finals event.
All of the companies displayed an unprecedented use of technology, awareness of environmental issues and appreciation for corporate responsibility. As Dennis Turner, HSBC Bank’s Chief Economist and Chair of the HSBC Young Enterprise Innovation Awards judging panel, said in his comments on the companies and students, it was a truly fabulous representation of the UK education system and the wonderful things which it can accomplish.
First place
Force-7 from Hymers College, representing the Yorkshire and Humber region. Specialising in youth communications, Force-7 helped its business customers to engage with younger clients using a variety of techniques. Force-7 was awarded a trophy, a cheque for US$2,000 and an all-expenses paid trip to the eighteenth JA-YE European Company Competition in Berlin from 26-29 July. To learn more about Force-7, click here.
Second place
Cockroach from Writhlington Business and Enterprise School from the South West area. Marketing the unique product of palm tree seed kits, the youngest finalists, Cockroach, showed lots of initiative and has teamed up with national retailers to sell their product. Awarded a trophy and a US$1,500 cheque, read more about Cockroach on their website.
Third place
Vitae from Ysgol Tre-Gib in Wales created a healthy-eating card game, combining smart business sense with an awareness of local and national issues. Vitae also got a trophy and a cheque for US$1,000. Read more about them on their website.
Other finalists
Puffa Productions, Ashfield Girls’ High School, Northern Ireland – children’s book and interactive CD.
Iceni, Woodbridge School, East of England – polka dot brooms; terracotta pots; jewellery; t-shirts.
Shottery Traders, Stratford-upon-Avon Grammar School for Girls, West Midlands – eco-friendly bags.
Vivell, The Tiffin Girls’ School, London – The Puccup – a recyclable paper cup.
Fitzharrys Enterprises, Fitzharrys School, South East – multi-language CD postcard.
Lets Go UK, Longslade Community College, East Midlands – handcrafted greeting cards; leaflet design, print and delivery service.
Pinstripes & Pearls, Albyn School, Scotland – a range of gift boxes and packs of gift ideas.
Making Waves, Netherhall School, North West – merchandise on a local theme.
Panda Productions, St Benet Biscop Catholic High School, North East – educational materials focused on social and emotional learning.
To find out more about YE in the UK, click here.
USA
HSBC North America started supporting Junior Achievement of Chicago in 1942 with a US$25 grant. Since then it has evolved into what JA Worldwide describes as one of their model corporate programmes. More than 2,200 HSBC staff volunteered with JA in 2006, impacting some 45,000 students in 35 states. For the past two years, HSBC North America has been the largest provider of volunteers for JA in the United States.
In addition to providing annual general funding and business advisers, HSBC North America's staff also hold a major fundraising event annually, the 'World's Largest Bowlathon'. In 2006, more than US$900,000 was raised from this for local JA offices, providing JA programmes to an additional 50,000 students.
To find out more about JA worldwide, click here.
Hong Kong
HSBC's involvement with JA in Hong Kong is much more recent - it began in 2003 with 25 participating schools. By 2006, the number of participating schools had increased to 75 and more than 200 HSBC staff are involved. In addition to staff volunteering, HSBC hosts a trade fair for the students every year in December. This gives the students an opportunity to sell to the public – more than 10,000 people attended the fair in 2006 – and practice their entrepreneurial skills.
HSBC also hosts a graduation ceremony in April at which the company of the year is chosen; prizes are also given for best presentation and CEO of the year. The winning CEO is given a chance to job-shadow a senior HSBC executive and the winner in 2006 was also introduced to the HSBC President and CEO, Asia-Pacific.
The Company Programme, co-organised by HSBC and Junior Achievement Hong Kong, was given the Outstanding Partnership Project Award at the 2007 Total Caring Awards.
For more information on JA Hong Kong, click here.
China
HSBC in China helped launch the JA Economics Programme in March 2006 and trained 66 volunteers (including 49 HSBC employees) to teach on the 12-week course. There was a focus on market economics and global business perspectives; instructors were also encouraged to share their own applied business knowledge. In addition to the benefits to the more than 600 students, the instructors also learned a lot.
'It was exciting to be a part of the JA Economics program in Beijing. Not only did I get to interact and teach the students but I was also able to share my experiences and life story with them. The students were so attentive and willing to learn. They asked the most challenging questions. I really had fun in the classes and I found volunteering extremely rewarding.'
Aubin Wang, HSBC staff member
To find out more about JA in China, click here.
Middle East
JA in the Middle East is called Injaz Al Arab and operates in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Morocco, Bahrain and Egypt. Sixteen HSBC staff helped to implement Injaz in 11 schools in Sharjah, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi, delivering the Company Course in 2006.
HSBC has worked with Injaz Al Arab to present financial and economic education classes in schools in the Middle East since 2003 and helped to implement the first programme in the United Arab Emirates in 2005. 25 staff volunteers are delivering an Injaz course in 2007.
To find out more about JA worldwide, click here.
Malta
YE has been operating in Malta since 1988, reaching around 400 students per year with the Company Programme. HSBC provides around 20 volunteer business advisers and also the chairman for the Malta organisation. YE Malta teams have won the European finals four times in their history.
To find out more about YE in Malta, click here.
