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Sikhulekelani Moyo, Business Reporter
JUNIOR Achievers Zimbabwe (JAZ) has embarked on entrepreneurship awareness and training programme targeting young people as part of efforts to enhance youth participation in mainstream economy.
The programme seeks to equip young people who are in and out of school through entrepreneurship, financial literacy and work readiness.
Under the initiative, JAZ is working with different private sector players, churches, Government and civil society to assist young people on business development issues.
“The financial institutions host students and interact with them in a form of a job shadow where young people get a chance to shadow bank employees, get a feel of what the working environment is so that they are assisted with carrier options,” said JAZ programme co-ordinator, Mr John Kennedy.
He said the job shadow model compliments the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education’s operations in line with the new curriculum.
JAZ, which has a global affiliation, has called for concerted efforts towards educating the youth about business, economics and free enterprise.
“This programme empowers young people to be financially aware and understand the importance of serving and most importantly to demystify the notion than banking is for adults only,” he said.
“The programme also provides a new dimension in how young people are going to handle money in the future through financial education by different financial institutions.”
The programme is part of the Global Money Week (GMW), an annual global awareness-raising campaign focused ensuring that young people are financially literate and gradually acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours necessary to make sound financial decisions and ultimately achieve financial well-being.
The 10th GMW runs from 21 to 27 March 2022 under the theme: “Build your future, be smart about money.”
Besides doing a job shadow service to financial institutions, Mr Kennedy said the institutions go to schools and address students on business within the school setup.
“We did our first initiative with First Capital Bank on Friday last week and Empower Bank is coming on board also to help in rolling out this initiative,” he said.
-@SikhulekelaniM1
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