Workforce development is a key goal of Junior Achievement (JA). Through our partnerships with our diverse group of businesses, we are able to present different jobs and opportunities to students. We start with our middle school programs, JA BizTown and JA Finance Park. Both programs occur at our JA Discovery Centers. Each JA Discovery Center is built to look similar to the town or city it is built in while highlighting partnered businesses. These businesses range from world-known, like Delta Airlines, to locally owned businesses, like Ford of Dalton. We sat with Ford of Dalton to talk about workforce development, and why the partnership with Junior Achievement is so worth it.

“For what all they (Junior Achievement) do for the community, it was a no-brainer to partner with them as well… It helps us as far as team building.

Dealer Principal for Ford of Dalton, Jason Denson’s son came home from school raving about his day at a JA Discovery Center.  That same year, Junior Achievement of Georgia was in the process of building a JA Discovery Center in Greater Dalton. After talking with Anna Adamson, former Director of Development for Junior Achievement of Georgia in Northwest Georgia, and learning about who was going to be a part of the new JA Discovery Center, Jason knew this was something Ford of Dalton had to be a part of.

Jason stated, “For what all they (Junior Achievement) do for the community, it was a no-brainer to partner with them as well… It helps us as far as team building. Being able to send groups over to work in the storefronts, they (Ford of Dalton employees who volunteer at JA) always come back smiling and talking about it.”

Ford of Dalton volunteers throughout the year at the JA Discovery Center in Greater Dalton. Every time Ford of Dalton comes to volunteer, students leave with smiles on their faces and are truly sad to part from their new Ford friends. Lanny Adams, New Car Manager at Ford of Dalton, shared their volunteer goal: to help give every child a chance. Junior Achievement volunteers have the rare opportunity to truly shape and change a life. Whether you help a student feel confident enough to share their thoughts or help a student understand the importance of building a good credit score, volunteers make a difference.

Ciya Turner, Social Media Specialist for Ford of Dalton, spoke on the importance of teaching students financial literacy, and finance management skills. “No one is born with those skills.”

Junior Achievement of Georgia partners with businesses to create a real-world connection. In JA BizTown, students can see themselves as the CEO of a big-name company. In JA Finance Park, students get to find out how much a randomly assigned job makes in a year- they are almost always shocked. In 3DE by Junior Achievement, students get to help solve real problems from companies. All three help focus on core skills that are essential when entering the workforce.