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Key Partners
Status
Start year of the initiative:
First investment by UBS Foundation for Social Issues and Education started in 2001, UBS as national partner of YES Switzerland since 2007. Still-ongoing.
Next steps of initiative:
Regional expansion: The initiative is expected to roll out to a further 3,500 students in France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, leveraging the successful Swiss partnership.
Impact
Country(ies) of impact:
France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and United Kingdom
Number of people impacted annually:
In Switzerland:
- About 5,000 students
- Over 140 mini-enterprises founded
- Over 200 volunteers
- Over 250 teachers
Time to intended impact:
Less than 2 years
Metrics:
- Corporate community investment
- Contributions in terms of cash, time, activities and impacts
Benefit to organization:
- Direct benefit to organization
- Indirect benefit to organization
Key Partners
Status
Start year of the initiative:
First investment by UBS Foundation for Social Issues and Education started in 2001, UBS as national partner of YES Switzerland since 2007. Still-ongoing.
Next steps of initiative:
Regional expansion: The initiative is expected to roll out to a further 3,500 students in France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, leveraging the successful Swiss partnership.
Impact
Country(ies) of impact:
France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and United Kingdom
Number of people impacted annually:
In Switzerland:
- About 5,000 students
- Over 140 mini-enterprises founded
- Over 200 volunteers
- Over 250 teachers
Time to intended impact:
Less than 2 years
Metrics:
- Corporate community investment
- Contributions in terms of cash, time, activities and impacts
Benefit to organization:
- Direct benefit to organization
- Indirect benefit to organization
Project Business
Submitted by UBS
Objective
To provide youth with practical entrepreneurship education and 21st century skills to build a bridge between school and business, meet employer needs and boost self-employment.
Overview and Main Activities
UBS partners with Junior Achievement-Young Enterprise (JA-YE) to deliver both the Project Business and Company Program initiatives. JA-YE is a non-profit organization that provides practical entrepreneurship education to help youth understand how businesses function. Many UBS employees participate in different Young Enterprise Switzerland (YES) volunteering programmes. UBS is part of the company-award jury and is member of the board of YES Switzerland.
The programmes aim for 85% of participants to get jobs after completing school and 15% of participants to start their own business within five years. They involve students participating in a real entrepreneurship experience (a ‘student company’) where they set up and run their own enterprise in small groups during one academic year. Students develop a business idea, optimize the production process and sell their products on the market, enabling them to put their theoretical knowledge into practice while acquiring important social skills such as teamwork. They learn how the business world works and the role played by entrepreneurship in our society. Teachers are trained by JA-YE to coach and support students. Upon completion, students receive the Entrepreneurial Skills Pass, an accreditation developed in collaboration with the EU, to certify their experience and skills.
UBS employees act as volunteer consultants, providing practical business training for students. In addition, each enterprise team is partnered up with a UBS client. This is a new element to the programme and has proven to be successful.
UBS provides additional support to the partnership by hosting the annual Young Entrepreneurs National Competition, where the top 25 mini-enterprises of the year match up and compete for various awards. Young entrepreneurs gain experience in presenting and selling their products and services to a wide audience.
Company Programs are implemented in over 37 countries and have already reached over 3,000,000 pupils, 140,000 volunteers and 130,000 teachers.
Over the past year, the following outcomes have been achieved across the UBS-funded element of the Company Program in Europe, the Middle East and Africa:
- 573 students completed the programme, more than the target of 500
- 276 students signed up to Entrepreneurial Skills Pass
- 74 schools have participated, more than the target number of 50
- 55 teachers became involved, more than the target of 50
- 573 students are developing skills, more than the target number of 500
- 46 students’ lives have been transformed
- 32 UBS employees have participated, compared with the target of 50
UBS partners with the following partners to provide Project Business services: Barclays, Microsoft, the EU Lifelong Learning Programme and Junior Achievement.
Success Factors and Challenges
Most critical success factors:
- Regular communication and dialogue between Young Enterprise Switzerland and UBS
- Documentation using a formal memorandum of understanding
- Careful matching of employed volunteers to projects
- Information sharing between countries and integration with existing parties
- Close cooperation with internal partners such as marketing and business
- Continuity of the programme and access to up-to-date business practices
Main challenges:
- Identifying the right projects
- Finding partners to support UBS in creating sustainable positive impact while leveraging UBS skills and know-how
Replicability and Scalability
How easily could other organizations implement this initiative?
Easy: The programme is well established and has been successfully delivered with corporate support for many years.
How easily can this initiative be expanded to include a larger number of participants?
Easy: With significant human and financial resources to manage an expanded programme, this could be extended to involve more participants.
About the Organization
Website: www.ubs.com
Sector: Banking and Capital Markets
Size (number of employees): 50,000-100,000
Headquarters: Zurich, Switzerland