How hundreds local teenagers are planning to start their own businesses in South Dublin
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How hundreds local teenagers are planning to start their own businesses in South Dublin
Minister Pat Breen launches the country’s biggest student enterprise programme with the Local Enterprise Offices
An estimated 22,000 secondary school students from 620 Irish schools, including 750 students from 16 local secondary schools in South Dublin, are learning about the world of business by setting up their own enterprises through the Student Enterprise Programme with the Local Enterprise Offices.
The Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen T.D. visited the school of an award-winning teenage entrepreneur this week, to officially launch the 2017/2018 Student Enterprise Programme, which is the biggest enterprise education initiative of its kind in the country.
The programme is run locally every year by Local Enterprise Office South and 16 schools from the county took part last year.
For the national programme launch, Minister Breen visited Coláiste Chill Mhantáin in Wicklow, where 16-year-old Cillian Scott is a fifth-year student. Back in May, Scott won the Intermediate Category at the National Student Enterprise Awards in Croke Park for ‘Scott Engine Tables,’ a company which transforms car, truck and tank engines into furniture.
Minister Breen said: “Since the Student Enterprise Programme began in 2003, more than 150,000 students have benefitted and we want to keep nurturing Ireland’s future entrepreneurs and business leaders in the years to come. Entrepreneurship is the backbone of the Irish economy and initiatives such as the Student Enterprise Programme are key to fostering a more enterprising culture. I would encourage principals and teachers to get in touch with their Local Enterprise Office, to find out how they can get involved in the next Student Enterprise Programme.”
Michael Nevin is the Chair of the Enterprise Education Committee with the Local Enterprise Offices which runs the Student Enterprise Programme. Welcoming the official launch of this year’s programme by Minister Breen he said: “The Student Enterprise Programme enables thousands of students to explore the world of business, starting in the classroom. This is a very practical programme for second-level students, made possible thanks to the support of schools, principals and teachers in every county and local authority area.”
Praising the teachers and local schools involved in the programme, Des English, Senior Enterprise Development Officer with the Local Enterprise Office South Dublin, said: “The Student Enterprise Awards encourages and enables students to take on the world of business and develop an entrepreneurial mind-set. Local Enterprise Office South Dublin works with schools to help foster an enterprising culture in the classroom and nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs.”
At the national launch this week, the Minister was joined by student entrepreneurs and representatives from Coláiste Chill Mhantáin, the Local Enterprise Offices, Enterprise Ireland and the local authorities.
Updates for teacher resource packs are available to secondary schools from the Local Enterprise Offices, free of charge, through the www.studententerprise.ie website.
ENDS
For media queries, please contact your Local Enterprise Office
Notes to the Editor
About the Student Enterprise Programme (studententerprise.ie)
The Student Enterprise Programme is co-ordinated by the Local Enterprise Offices and involves 22,000 students from 620 secondary schools every year. It runs from September to May and the 2017/2018 National Final takes place on May 2nd, 2018 in Dublin’s Croke Park. www.studententerprise.ie / #studententerprise / @StudentEntProg
At the 2016/2017 National Final of the Student Enterprise Programme in Croke Park in May 2017, the Junior Category winner was Blathnaid Murphy of Daisy’s Pawesome Bowties from Our Lady’s Secondary School in Louth and the Intermediate Category winner was Cillian Scott of Scott Engine Tables of Coláiste Chill Mhantáin in Wicklow. The Senior Category meanwhile was won by Carl Cullen, Ross Byrne and Cormac Spain of ‘ROC Protection’ from Clonkeen College in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. Their invention was a protective base layer for hurling and camogie players.
About the Local Enterprise Offices (localenterprise.ie)
The 31 Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) were established in 2014 to provide a ‘first-stop shop’ system of enterprise supports to start-ups and small businesses across the country. Located in the Local Authorities, the LEOs are operated on a partnership basis by Enterprise Ireland and the Local Authorities and their parent Departments, the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation and the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. The LEOs provide funding for projects primarily in the manufacturing and internationally traded services sector which over time have the potential to develop into strong export entities. The LEOs also provide training and mentoring support to entrepreneurs and businesses to assist development and performance.
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