UniCredit Bank Austria, thanks to UniCredit Foundation, is expanding its broad financial education portfolio with a new cooperation with Junior Achievement (JA) Austria
- UniCredit Foundation and Junior Achievement Europe launched the EUR 6.5 million “Re-Power Your Future” programme in ten European countries back in July 2023
- The partnership with JA Austria and specifically the “Re-Power Your Future” programme aims at the promotion of secondary school and vocational training of young people
In line with UniCredit's motto “Empowering Communities to Progress”, UniCredit Bank Austria promotes the financial literacy of young people and young adults as well as company founders. On the one hand, the focus is on students, whom the bank supports with financial education workshops, online platforms, and competitions. It also provides financial expertise to vulnerable groups, particularly young people, and those at risk of marginalisation. All of the financial education programmes mentioned are available free of charge.
Robert Zadrazil, CEO of UniCredit Bank Austria: “With the cooperation with Junior Achievement Austria, which lies within the partnership launched by UniCredit Foundation with Junior Achievement Europe in July, we are adding another building block to our broad financial education portfolio. The scope of our offer now ranges from our significant contribution to the Teach for Austria education network, our MoneyMatters programme and our business plan competitions to the establishment of ‘junior companies’ to simulate the ‘real operation’ of small companies. Volunteers from UniCredit Bank Austria will support ‘Re-Power Your Future’ as mentors, coaches and on the jury for the junior companies.”
Jürgen Roth, Chairman of JA Austria: “As part of the new cooperation with UniCredit Bank Austria, the young people who will benefit the most from targeted support are those who will make the most progress. Junior Achievement programmes prepare young people for the world of work at an early stage and in a targeted manner: They motivate young people while they are still at school and offer them a framework to develop their own ideas and put them into practice. Every child in Austria should be given this opportunity to choose the best further education and vocational training programme. Only if young people discover their strengths and abilities as early as possible and are able to choose their educational path with enthusiasm will they also have a high level of motivation for their future career.”
“Re-Power Your Future” programme already underway in ten European countries
In July 2023, the UniCredit Foundation, UniCredit's corporate foundation, and Junior Achievement Europe (JA Europe), Europe's leading provider of entrepreneurship, career preparation and financial education programmes for young people, launched the “Re-Power Your Future” programme to prevent early school leaving. In Austria, UniCredit Bank Austria will extend the existing support from JA Austria primarily to those schools and year groups where young people are most at risk of dropping out of education. These are above all the ninth year, i.e. when compulsory schooling ends, especially at so-called hotspot schools.
As part of this partnership, the UniCredit Foundation is supporting a three-year programme in ten UniCredit countries with 6.5 million euros: Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The programme is aimed at students aged 10 to 19 – an age that is crucial for further education and integration into the labour market. It aims to get young people back into school, improve their performance, prevent dropouts, and inspire participants to find their dream job. The programme is implemented through partnerships with schools, companies, and non-profit organisations.
Further information on the financial education programme of UniCredit Bank Austria:
- Cooperation with the educational network Teach for Austria:
https://www.bankaustria.at/en/about-us-press-releases_68945.jsp - MoneyMatters – workshops and online platform for students aged 14 and over:
https://www.bankaustria.at/en/about-us-sustainability-social-impact-banking-financial-education-moneymatters.jsp - Financial education workshops for social NGOs active in youth work:
https://www.bankaustria.at/en/about-us-sustainability-social-impact-banking-financial-education-workshops-for-ngos.jsp - Bank Austria Ideas and Business Plan Competition “Next Generation” – largest ideas and business plan competition for students at vocational secondary schools in Austria and beyond:
https://www.bankaustria.at/en/about-us-sustainability-social-impact-banking-financial-education-business-plan-competition.jsp
UniCredit Foundation, https://www.unicreditgroup.eu/en/unicreditfoundation.html
This Third Sector Body (TSB) is the corporate foundation of UniCredit Group whose purpose is to unlock the potential of Europe’s next generation. Its mission is to empower young people across Europe by creating equal opportunities in education and to support them in making their way in life and the professional world. The Foundation's initiatives aim at combating school drop-out, enhancing employability, encouraging university attainment and promoting study and research. The Foundation is committed to supporting communities in all countries where UniCredit Group operates.
Junior Achievement Austria (JA Austria), https://www.junior.cc/
Since its foundation in 1995, Junior Achievement Austria (JA Austria) has been anchored in the network of the Austrian Economics Societies. The organisation is partly funded by public and private sector grants and contributions from its members. Together with JA Austria, the Austrian Economics Societies enable the implementation of the JA Worldwide programmes in Austria. JA Austria is the official licensee of all JA Worldwide programmes in Austria and is also a member of the Europe-wide network of Junior Achivement Europe and the worldwide network of JA Worldwide.
Since 1995, more than 58,000 students have taken part in JA Austria's programmes. In the 2022/23 school year alone, 459 junior companies were founded by more than 4,400 students. These are supervised by the staff of the economics societies in all nine federal states and supported by a large number of volunteer business experts and a team of dedicated members of the Junior Graduate Clubs - Junior Achievement Alumni Austria.
Junior Achievement Europe (JA Europe), https://www.jaeurope.org
JA Europe is the largest and leading organisation in Europe dedicated to inspire and prepare young people to succeed. For over 100 years, JA Worldwide has delivered hands-on, experiential learning in entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial health. In the last school year, the JA Europe network provided over 6.6 million learning experiences for youth in online, in person and blended formats.
Enquiries:
UniCredit Bank Austria Media Relations
Matthias Raftl, tel. +43 (0) 5 05 05-52809
E-mail: matthias.raftl@unicreditgroup.at
Junior Achievement Austria
Milica Markovic, Tel. +43 676 84 17 17 55
E-Mail: milica.markovic@junior.cc