Employees from Donegal County Council volunteered to step back into the classroom to teach Junior Achievement programmes in Primary and Secondary schools around the County. The volunteers visited the classroom for up to 8 weeks to help develop knowledge of business and enterprise in the local community.
In Primary School children learn the basic concepts of business and how education is relevant in the workplace. The sequential activities build on studies from each preceding programme and prepare students for secondary education and lifelong learning.
Secondary School programmes focus on developing the students’ interpersonal skills and some programmes aim to foster an enterprise culture. Through the Junior Achievement programmes, students gain a deeper understanding of teamwork, decision-making, creativity, communication skills and new level of confidence – all the things that are critical in work and in life.
Karen Wilhare of Junior Achievement commented, “We are delighted that Donegal County Council are involved in Junior Achievement. The employees have been so committed to giving a helping hand to the young people in the local community. The feedback from all involved is extremely positive and we really believe that the programmes are having a very positive impact on the minds of the young people it is targeted at.”
In the 2005/06 school year, 23 superb employees from Donegal County Council delivered programmes to over 550 children in schools in Milford, Letterkenny, Raphoe, Lifford, Castlefin, Carndonagh, Stranorlar and Bridgend. Both partners are preparing for another successful year in Donegal and are hoping to increase in the number of participants for the 2006/07 school year. Donegal County Council has contributed €7,000.00 annually to Junior Achievement Ireland for the last three years of the programme.
Pictured above, left to right are : Liz McIlwaine, Jane Toland, Eileen Harkin, Michael McLoone, County Manager, Caitlin Uí Chochlainn, Karen Wilhare (Junior Achievement Co-ordinator).
Junior Achievement Ireland is a non-profit organisation working as a partnership between the business community and the education sector, providing a range of enterprise programmes to young people aged 5 – 18 years. The twin aims of Junior Achievement are to teach enterprise skills to young people and to target those at risk of early school leaving. This year, over 50,000 young people in Ireland benefited from a Junior Achievement Programme.