JA Company Program – General Upper Secondary School  

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, the Nuori Yrittäjyys association will organise national JA company competitions for the young entrepreneurs. 

The programme 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 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. 

The Nuori Yrittäjyys 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.