Partnership Will Help Teens Develop Career and Financial Readiness Skills
NEW YORK, Oct. 25, 2018 — Virtual Enterprises International announced today that over 15,000 high school students and teachers of the VE program will have access to QuickBooks Online thanks to a new partnership with Intuit.
VE is an in-school, global business simulation program that cultivates students’ career readiness skills and prepares them for fulfilling, financially secure futures as adults. Through the program, students create a simulated company as a class and gain an average of 180 hours of work experience by assuming the roles needed to run this company such as CEO, VP of Finance, Marketing Associate, filling roles and departments that mirror the real-world. VE is part of an international network of student-run simulated businesses in more than 40 countries, all of which transact business with each other and form one of the world’s largest virtual business communities.
Through partnerships with corporations like Intuit, VE students gain access to industry-standard business tools as well as mentorship from hundreds of industry professionals who volunteer their time to guide students as they develop business plans, marketing programs, and other strategies that stimulate business growth. At the same time, these mentors expose students to contemporary, in-demand workplace skills, allowing them to simulate the modern business world first-hand.
Since August 2018, VE teachers have had access to QuickBooks Online Accountant which helps instructors track and guide their classes’ simulated businesses while VE students have the opportunity to operate these companies using QuickBooks Online+. Through this program, students create customer accounts, record day-to-day bank transactions, produce financial statements, generate invoices, and track inventory for the simulated business they create and run from their classroom.
Additionally, each student now has the opportunity to learn Design for Delight, the company’s successful approach to “design thinking” which is a creative approach to problem solving. Design for Delight will teach students how to focus first on understanding the problem they are trying solve by developing deep customer empathy and then identify multiple ideas that can be prototyped and tested through rapid experimentation. “Innovation catalysts,” i.e. Intuit employees who are extensively trained on Design for Delight, will be available to support VE teachers and students as they learn and use the process. David Cook, a VE teacher from Cary Grove High School in Illinois assisted Intuit in the development of Design for Delight teacher resources.
“QuickBooks and Design for Delight offers our students access to market-leading tools that provide them with in-demand skills through hands-on experience in the classroom,” said Nick Chapman, president of VE. “This is an invaluable addition to our program and we thank Intuit for their genuine interest in VE and the preparation of our students.”
“Intuit’s mission is to Power Prosperity Around the World and as part of that mission we are committed to supporting the career and financial readiness of today’s students. We do this providing free access to leading real-world tools such as QuickBooks, Mint, Turbo, and Turbo Tax along with supporting educator resources,” said David Zasada, vice president of education at Intuit. “We look forward to partnering with VE to help every VE student to power their future prosperity by building critical 21st century skills.”
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Virtual Enterprises International (VE) is a national nonprofit that transforms students through authentic business experiences which prepare them for fulfilling, financially secure futures. Since its inception in 1996, VE has served over 140,000 students, including many from economically disadvantaged communities. We currently support 15,000 students across the U.S. each year and are part of a global network spanning 40 countries and 7,500 student-run businesses. Learn more about VE on our website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn pages.
Intuit’s mission is to Power Prosperity Around the World. Its global products and platforms, including TurboTax, QuickBooks, Mint and Turbo, are designed to empower consumers, self-employed, and small businesses to improve their financial lives, finding them more money with the least amount of work, while giving them complete confidence in their actions and decisions. Intuit’s innovative ecosystem of financial management solutions serves partners and 46 million customers worldwide, unleashing the power of many for the prosperity of one. For the latest news and in-depth information about Intuit and brands, visit Intuit.com and follow us on Facebook.
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