Evelyn Burns of JAI with Citi volunteers Aidan Geraghty, Eamonn Dowling and Shane Connolly after their Enterprise in Action training sessionThe first Citi volunteers for the 2017/18 school year have been trained in the Enterprise in Action programme, sponsored by Citi Foundation, which is designed to promote the relevance of entrepreneurial thinking and provides a structured 5-week programme to allow students to practice innovative thinking and challenges them to understand ethical decision-making.
This year 80 business volunteers from a range of supporting organisations, including Citi, are volunteering to work with more than 2,000 15-17 year olds in their own classrooms to complete Enterprise in Action. Over the course of five weeks, Enterprise in Action volunteers will serve to highlight the role of business in Ireland and introduce young people to entrepreneurship in a practical way that equips them with life skills which can be carried into adulthood.
The Citi Foundation and Junior Achievement (JA) are working together in 19 European countries to equip secondary school students with entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills. Together the Citi Foundation and JA aim to impact more than 51,950 young people around Europe with the support of 230 Citi volunteers in the 2017-2018 school year.
Youth unemployment has become a major drive for Europe. Teaching young people to think as entrepreneurs and developing their entrepreneurial mind-sets is definitely a way to boost growth and create jobs. By bringing the business and education worlds together to support these programmes, JA and the Citi Foundation are actively working to tackle the existent problem of skills gap in Europe, empowering young people with the skills they need to enter the workplace.
Speaking at the launch of the Enterprise in Action programme, Paschal Donohoe TD, Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, stated that, “Initiatives such as Enterprise in Action are essential for fostering entrepreneurial attitudes and skills, which will ensure Ireland continues to be one of the most entrepreneurial countries in the world. Entrepreneurship is a key element in the health and wellbeing of any thriving economy. We must ensure that we support young people to acquire the skills and confidence they need so that face any challenge, and shape their careers in the future world of work. I commend Junior Achievement and Citi for such a wonderful initiative.”
The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and improved the lives of people in low-income communities around the world. They invest in efforts that increase financial inclusion, catalyse job opportunities for youth, and reimagine approaches ti building economically vibrant cities. The Citi Foundation’s “More than Philanthropy” approach leverages the enormous expertise of Citi and its people to fulfil their mission and drive thought leadership and innovation. For more information, visit www.citifoundation.com.