|  In May-August, 2006, Junior Achievement Azerbaijan provided nine most successful students with the opportunity to learn careers in the real work environment through the Work Experience Program. Every year twenty winner-students of JAA's "Student Companies", "Management and Economic Simulation Exercise", and "Global Business Ethics" projects receive the opportunity to apply for one of the opening internship opportunities at Junior Achievement Azerbaijan's partner companies.
The Work Experience Program (WEP) provides each intern with a career advisor, who is employee of hosting companies. Through WEP the participants observe how economics, problem-solving, teamwork and other basic skills are used each day on the job. This experience encourages the participants to discover skills required for success in careers and business, conduct a personal assessment of the skills they observe and examine how education and training relate to success on the job and business.
 This year JAA enjoyed productive collaboration with Exxon Mobil Azerbaijan Operating Company, McDermott Caspian Contractors, Statoil Azerbaijan, KCA Deutag and Bank Nikoil within WEP. The representatives of these companies interviewed and selected in total nine out of twenty interns, who spent from two days to two months in respective companies. In May three students learned banking procedures and financial operations during the two-day job shadow program with Bank Nikoil. KCA Deutag Azerbaijan human resources and accounting departments welcomed three students for three-day practical job shadow program. Two students interested in oil sector spent two months with Statoil Azerbaijan and Exxon Mobil Azerbaijan Operating Company learning about the companies' activities in Azerbaijan, its HSE, accounting, documentation, reporting, human resources, and public relations procedures, inter-department work and IT structure.
 Throughout June-July McDermott Caspian Contractors hosted a JAA student, who chose construction as his future career. His business mentor Ms. Qalina Yerokhina, McDermott Business Development Coordinator, thinks Junior Achievement Azerbaijan through the Work Experience Program contributes greatly to successful operation of businesses in Azerbaijan in the future. "We really enjoyed having JAA student in our company," Ms. Yerokhina says. "This young man's enthusiasm was impressive. He was particularly helpful in creating the company's database of staff and clients for my new department."
Junior Achievement Azerbaijan will continue the Work Experience Program for the 2006-2007 academic year and announces the recruitment process for companies interested in hosting the program. If your company would like to join WEP, please, contact Ms. Kenul Mammadova, JAA Program Assistant, at kenul@jaazerbaijan.org, or call (+99412) 493 9229.
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Junior Achievement provides teachers, and schools with concrete programmes, and allows students to learn how to put theory into practice and to understand what entrepreneurship is about. In this way students gain self-confidence and motivation, become proactive and learn how to work in a team. This is an important investment in Europe's future.