Accenture: Junior Achievement Gets US$1.1M

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Accenture and Junior Achievement recently announced that Accenture has awarded Junior Achievement a grant of US$1.1 million to help the organization develop a new work readiness program that will enable high school students across the United States to gain the skills necessary to secure employment and build a career plan. During its first year of implementation, the program is expected to reach approximately 85,000 students.

“Students who participate in this program will gain vital career and life skills, including problem solving, critical thinking and conflict management,” said Michael Scimo, North American human capital and diversity lead, Accenture. “We share Junior Achievement’s commitment to educating young people and giving them the skills to connect to the workforce in a meaningful way.”

The award, which consists of cash as well as the time and skills of Accenture employees, reflects Accenture’s corporate citizenship initiative, Skills to Succeed, which will equip 250,000 people around the world by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a business. The new curriculum will combine career exploration and work readiness skills through hands-on, interactive program activities, including a new technology platform to reach students in both the classroom and remotely more effectively.