‘Learn from it’: JA Manitoba trade fair showcases 13 high school businesses

Young entrepreneurs were at Kildonan Place on Saturday as part of a trade fair featuring 13 high school teams.

Young Manitoban entrepreneurs were in the limelight Saturday to present their newest “fantastic piece” for their resumes.

Thirteen high school teams showcased their businesses at Junior Achievement Manitoba’s trade fair, which took place at Kildonan Place shopping centre.

Luxe Prep, a Morden Collegiate business selling handcrafted cutting boards made with recycled wood, was one of the vendors.

“We were thinking like microplastics and there’s lots of waste from wood. My mom, at one point, used to use plastic cutting boards – not good for her at all, so we decided to make wood cutting boards,” said Tasvee Jain, president of the company.

“They’re all offcuts from the core, so it’s all reclaimed wood so nothing goes to waste and we’re trying to be as environmentally friendly as possible.”

Jain said the reaction has been “pretty nice,” as people were interested in the idea and the sustainability of the products.

She said her parents are in business and were excited to hear her trying novel ideas — in this case, woodworking.

“I’ve never done woodworking before so I got to learn new skills and how to upkeep a board.”

Jeanette Bergmann, company program manager for JA Manitoba, said the program offers a “whole curriculum,” from starting up with a business concept to a capitalization exercise calculating the cost of production. The program also involves partnerships with the Asper School of Business and SAFE Work Manitoba.

“It’s hands-on learning. It’s sort of like the next step from your classroom,” she said.

“You’ll learn financial literacy, entrepreneurship, work-readiness. Students don’t necessarily call it that, but those are the skills that they’re taking with them to their workplace, college or university – wherever they go.”

Bergmann said this is the time for students to try new things and either succeed or fail at them.

“Some of them are going to work, some of them aren’t. That’s okay. Learn from it and move on.”

A second trade fair will take place at St. Vital Centre at 10 a.m. on March 7.