Program Information

  • Education Level

    Middle School
  • Program Implementation

    After School, Classroom Based
  • Program Focus

JA Inspire® Entry

JA Inspire® Entry is more than a career fair: It brings together the business community and local schools and is designed to help launch middle school students into their future—high school, college, and careers beyond. The program consists of three segments: (1) pre-event career-oriented sessions; (2) the JA Inspire® event, and (3) a post-event reflection. The JA Inspire® event (in-person, virtual, or both) provides students a powerful way to learn about real-world career opportunities and their local economy.

JA Inspire® in-person events are multi-hour experiences where students interact with company representatives and participate in hands-on activities, often using equipment or tools used on the job. VFairs, the online interactive platform used to host the JA Inspire® virtual events, provides a visually rich virtual environment that mimics the dynamics of a physical live event. Here students attend webinars and presentations, explore company exhibits, and interact with company representatives.

Following participation in JA Inspire® Entry, students will be able to:

  • Gain insight into career clusters that interest them
  • Make connections with adults who have jobs in careers that interest them
  • See the connection between high school programming choices and careers
  • Collect information about the education required to be successful in a job
  • Practice soft skills

JA Inspire® Entry is part of the JA Work and Career Readiness Pathway and is recommended for middle school students (grades 6–8).

It has multiple curriculum implementation options:

  • Fully teacher-led
  • Fully self-guided, or hybrid with classroom introductions and talking points for all self-guided sessions
  • A Spanish translation is available

As part of this program, JA teachers and volunteers are encouraged to use the resources available in JA Connect® Learning Pathways, located at connect.ja.org. This self-guided experience includes interactives, JA Here to Career™, and games and apps for student use.

JA programs support national and state standards in reading, mathematics, social studies, and work and career readiness. See here for more information on alignment with national and state standards.

Request Program

Name(Required)

While working at #1 Cochran, the team will be running the car dealership. Employees will work together to find car deals, schedule service repairs, and sell an item during the shopping period.

Job Roles

  • CEO
  • CFO
  • Accessory Expert
  • Service Advisor
  • Digital Sales Advisor