VE Junior Ventures Career Academy

The VE-JV Career Academy is a two-year program that will enable 7th and 8th graders to develop technology and entrepreneurial skills by starting and managing business ventures. The Career Academy will also engage students in fun and exciting competitions as well as after-school and summer activities that build 21st Century skills in business, communication and technology.

The VE-JV Career Academy offers a real-world context for learning about business and careers. The classroom is converted into a workplace setting that allows business thinking to flourish. Students also apply and reinforce academic concepts across many subjects.

With support from the New York Life Foundation, VEI is piloting the Virtual Enterprises Junior Ventures Career Academy in a select number of cities between 2015 and 2019. As of the 2017-18 school year the VE-JV program will serve 2,500 students across several of the nation’s largest school districts, including the New York City Public Schools, Los Angeles Unified Public School District, and Broward County School District.

Download VE-JV informational brochure

See below for information about the program, program objectives, supporting activities, and how to start a program in your school.

7th Grade Program

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The VE-JV Career Academy begins in the 7th grade with a Technology Applications and Graphic Arts class. Students work in teams to start a business and use technology to create the projects and materials needed for their new business venture. Projects are designed to develop skills in technology, communications, problem solving, and critical thinking. Students use a variety of Microsoft Office and Adobe software applications to produce accounting, financial, marketing, and presentation materials as well as other documents. The class culminates in a business pitch competition.

Summer Business Leadership Camp

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This one-week experience, hosted at a local college, will provide students with active learning opportunities. Students will be involved in team building and public-speaking exercises and take part in field trips to corporate offices and a business incubator, where they will hear from and network with industry professionals.

8th Grade Program

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The VE-JV program in the 8th grade challenges students to collaborate with their class to launch and manage a business. They are involved in all aspects of running the business, from marketing, sales, and human resources to accounting, finance and IT. Students fill different positions within the company including department managers and a CEO. Running all aspects of a company, VE-JV students learn about business and develop professionalism, self-confidence, teamwork and an entrepreneurial mindset. The 8th grade program is designed to provide students with hands-on experience in a variety of careers—experience that will enhance their motivation to learn and inform their decisions about future educational and career options.

Program Objectives

  1. To build awareness about a variety of careers and occupations.
  1. To convey the expectations of the workplace and develop professional behaviors.
  1. To develop skills in entrepreneurship, problem-solving, decision-making, time management, public speaking, financial literacy, teamwork and technology.
  1. To connect academic content to real-world projects.
  1. To enable students to use and interact with technology as applied in business.

Supporting Activities

  • Business pitch competition
  • National website competition
  • Trade show
  • SIFMA Foundation InvestWrite®, an essay competition on investment-related topics
  • SIFMA Foundation Stock Market Game™
  • Mentoring by business partners and high school VE students
  • Summer business leadership camp for rising eighth graders
  • After-school technology class

News

VE-JV Middle School Students Pitch Business Ideas at Cal Poly Innovation Lab

Posted: August 20, 2018

During the week of July 16, 2018, 10 VE-JV middle school students from San Fernando Institute of Applied Media (SFIAM) put their STEM skills to the test at the Cal Poly Pomona Student Innovation Idea Lab (iLab). The students learned … Continue reading →

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Florida High School VE Students Mentor Middle School VE-JV Students

Posted: November 29, 2017

Ramblewood Middle School’s VE-JV students visited JP Taravella High School’s VE firm, Tea Treat Box Co. on November 17 to learn more about the VE program from their older counterparts. “My VEI students and I LOVED having Ramblewood’s VE-JV students … Continue reading →

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Hubert Howe Bancroft Middle School in Los Angeles Launches VE-Junior Ventures Career Academy

Posted: September 8, 2016

Teri Jones, VEI Southern California Regional Director, and Eric Yu, VE-Junior Ventures Career Academy (VE-JV) Instructor, welcome students and special guests to the opening of a VE-JV Career Academy in Hubert Howe Bancroft Middle School (Los Angeles, CA). The students start the … Continue reading →

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VEI Receives $1 Million Grant from New York Life Foundation

Posted: October 30, 2015

Grant Funds In-school Entrepreneurship and Business Program for Middle School Students Nationwide NEW YORK, April 16, 2015 — Virtual Enterprises International (VEI) announced that it will be expanding its efforts to create tomorrow’s business leaders and entrepreneurs by piloting a … Continue reading →

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