Five years in a row, the participants of JA Azerbaijan programs reach the finals of the JA-HP Global Business Challenge. The international contest is conducted by JA Worldwide and HP Corporation annually and involves more than 1,000 teams from 69 nations. During the final round eight teams make decisions on key factors influencing their virtual business activity. These decisions are entered into computer software that generates market position of each participating team. This year, two teams from Azerbaijan reached the finals and one ranked 5th and another 7th in this prestigious international contest. The 2008/9 competition was supported by Statoil, the United States Agency for International Development, Chevron, Baker & McKenzie and the Ministry of Education in Azerbaijan.

JAA launched the 10th Annual National Management and Economics Competition (NMEC) among Azerbaijani high school students. The competition is based on computer software that allows student teams to act as chief executive officers of virtual manufacturing companies and compete to earn the highest performance index. The teams are prompted to make decisions that affect the profitability and sustainability of their virtual company and attempt to outperform their competitors in profit, sales, and market share. They set prices, determine production levels, invest in capital, plan marketing and research, and development budgets. This year 152 students from 23 schools in Baku and five regions participated in the elimination rounds. 24 students in eight teams advanced to the competition's finals to be held in Baku in February 2010. The competition is supported by the coalition of companies - Statoil, the United States Agency for International Development, Chevron, Baker & McKenzie, Bakcell, AmCham, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The contest is conducted in strategic partnership with the Ministry of Education.

75 students from 15 schools in Baku and four regions started forming their businesses within the JA Student Companies project. With the support and guidance of volunteer consultants from the local business community, the JA Company Program provides basic economic education for high school students. By organizing and operating an actual business enterprise, students not only learn how businesses function, they also learn about the structure of the free enterprise system and the benefits it provides. The program helps young people appreciate and better understand the role of business in our society. The participating students will submit their business ideas and plans to the jury board in April 2010. The most successful student-teams will present their businesses in the annual Student Business Day fair to be held in May. The fair winners will participate in the JA Job Shadow program, summer internship in private companies.

In September 2009, the American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan (AmCham) made a donation for the School Economics Education Program (SEE). The funding supports the implementation of the National Management and Economics Competition for 105 secondary school students, and the JA Job Shadow Program for 6 students. Within the contest, the student participants make decisions on price, production, marketing, capital investment, and research and development, and simulate "business quarters" using computer software. The impact of the decisions leads to the success or failure of each student company. The team with highest market share and profit wins the competition. Following the contest, six most successful students will participate in the summer job shadow program with leading international companies, where they will learn about careers at the workplace. The School Economics Education Program is supported by the public-private partnership consisting of Statoil, the United States Agency for International Development, Chevron, Baker & McKenzie, AmCham, Bakcell, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

With the financial support of BP and its co-ventures and in strategic partnership with the Ministry of Education and the State Committee on University Admissions, JAA arranged college admission preparation courses in the villages of Kurdamir and Yevlakh regions. According to the state statistics, only 23% of high school graduates from rural areas continue their education after graduation from secondary schools. The main reasons for such high drop-out are the students weak preparation for exams and unrealistic educational planning. Within the program, JAA provides after-school training on math, physics, and chemistry, counsels the students on careers and education opportunities, and facilitates their participation in state probation exams. The program has potential capacity of training 120 students and 6 teachers.

Bakcell and JAA started a new initiative to support the students of technical universities in Azerbaijan called the Introduction to Mobile Telecommunications Business (IMTB). During the first stage of the program, 54 students from four colleges participated in the work-readiness training by JAA. By exploring 16 success skills necessary for employability, the students developed personal strategies to achieve lifelong learning pursuits and career opportunities. The team-building exercises tested their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, as well as their ability to communicate, negotiate, and lead. Through engaging activities, the participants appreciated the importance of personal appearance, professional demeanor, punctuality, and written and oral communication. During the next stages of the IMTB program, the students will participate in series of training activities on mobile telecommunications, examine their skills and knowledge through internship at Bakcell, and participate in the international student fair in Europe.

Chevron Khazar Ltd. provided a donation to JAA to create computer access opportunities in twelve schools in Baku, Ganja, Kurdamir, Yevlakh, Goranboy, Agdash, and Sumgayit. The schools participate in JAA national and international youth business programs and nine of them are located in remote villages. With the support that Chevron Khazar makes available for the schools, the students will be able to access the computer and Internet-based program supplements that will enhance their JAA programs experience.

Azerbaijan Ministry of Youth and Sports entered the public-private partnership in support of Junior Achievement programs in Azerbaijan. The donation made by the Ministry provides funding for the implementation of the National and International Management and Economics Competitions. The grant agreement offers pre-competition training on business management and the national rounds of contest for 105 students, and the opportunity to participate in the online international challenge for 15 students. The program activities will commence in January and complete in August 2010.

JAA donated more than 2,500 textbooks on applied economics to 32 schools. The donation covered the textbook demand in these schools as the number of students in 10th and 11th grades grew this academic year. The textbook and the curriculum, called JA Economics, substituted an old economic geography class in the senior grades of these schools according to the Minister of Education decree. With the support of SEE program, funded by Statoil, the United States Agency for International Development, and Chevron, the JA Economics textbook was translated and adapted from its original US version and includes theoretical and practical material on the fundamentals of micro-, macro-, and international economics, and Azerbaijan's economy. The recipient schools are located in Baku, Ganja, Mingechevir, Sumgayit, Lenkaran, and Ismayilli.

With the support of BP and its co-ventures, JAA conducted series of business, work-readiness, and trade training for 190 students in villages of Agdash, Yevlakh and Kurdamir. The activities included: JA Success Skills program that meets the needs of a diverse group of high school students by providing engaging, academically enriching, and experiential learning sessions in work-readiness education and career perspectives. JA Global Marketplace, which is designed to provide practical information about the key aspects of the global economy, what makes world trade work, and how trade affects students daily lives. JA Student Companies that provides basic economic education for high school students. By organizing and operating an actual business enterprise, students not only learn how business function, they also learn about the structure of free enterprise system and the benefits it provides.

British Council and its partner companies, Azercell Telecom JV and Microsoft Azerbaijan, supported JAA to implement the 2010 Skills@Work Challenge for 240 students in 7 vocational schools. Skills@Work is a project that promotes internationalism within the vocational education and training sector across 18 countries in South East Europe and the UK. Conducted as a joint initiative between British Council and Junior Achievement, the Skills@Work Challenge is a national and international competition to encourage young people to use their skills in enterprising and innovative ways, ultimately increasing their employability and entrepreneurial flair. This year's competition is held simultaneously in nine countries in South East Europe and the UK. During the national competition to be held January 28, the jury panel consisting of business representatives will evaluate the students proposed business ideas to solve the assigned challenge. The winning team will have an opportunity to participate at the Regional Skills@Work Challenge competition which will be held in Belgrade, Serbia in April.