American Chamber of Commerce Helps Junior Achievement Celebrate 20 years in Ireland

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JA 20th Anniversary for JAWebMark Redmond, American Chamber of Commerce; Siobhan Collins, Avaya; Helen Raftery, Junior Achievement Ireland; and Mark Gantly, Hewlett Packard celebrating 20 years of Junior Achievement in Ireland

The work of volunteers with JAI was featured at the ‘Why Ireland? Celebrating Great Innovation in Ireland’ event in Galway organised by the American Chamber of Commerce recently.

The contribution of US companies in Ireland goes far beyond the economic impact. US companies are responsible for significant social benefits in communities throughout the country as they provide substantial human and financial resources to support innovative and inclusive programmes such as those facilitated by volunteers working with JAI.

Amcham 2Siobhán Collins of AVAYA speaking at the ‘Why Ireland? Celebrating Great Innovation in Ireland’ eventIn celebrating 20 years of industry-education partnerships in the west, guests at the event considered the impact of volunteers working with students in combating educational disadvantage and promoting the relevance of what young people were studying with their post-school futures and the ‘real world’. Attendees heard at first-hand the impact of these types of initiatives as Siobhán Collins who completed JA programmes as a student and subsequently became a JA volunteer at AVAYA said: “I participated in JA programmes when I was a student and I jumped at the opportunity to become a volunteer when I joined AVAYA.  Teaching a JA programme was a great opportunity to get involved, and give back, to my community. JAI plays an invaluable role in encouraging young people to stay in education and teaching them the skills they will need in the future. I’m delighted to celebrate JAI’s 20th Anniversary and would love to volunteer again in the future.”

Waterford Local Enterprise Office LEAP into Action in Local Schools

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LEAP 1

200 primary students from eight schools across Waterford city and county have taken part in the Local Enterprise Achievement Programme (LEAP), sponsored by Waterford Local Enterprise Office.

At the start of the programme each class was visited by a local business person who delivered the Junior Achievement ‘Our First Business’ programme, empowering students to come up with their very first business idea. All the students’ hard work and preparation came to fruition at the LEAP Event which was held in Waterford Institute of Technology on 7th and 8th June.

LEAP 2Minister John Halligan TD visiting students at their stand to hear their business ideasMinister John Halligan TD, Minister of State for Training, Skills and Innovation, who opened the LEAP Event on the 8th of June said: “Initiatives such as the LEAP Project are essential for fostering entrepreneurial attitudes and skills in the Waterford area, which will help to ensure Ireland continues to be one of the most entrepreneurial countries in the world. We must support young people to acquire the skills and confidence they need so that they can face any challenge and shape their careers in the future world of work. I commend Junior Achievement and Waterford Local Enterprise Office for such a wonderful initiative.”

Each day four local schools showcased their business ideas and presented them to local business people known as FROGS (For Recognition of Greatness in Students) who questioned the students on their ideas leap 3In the middle of the action are John Halligan, Minister of State for Training and Skills; Helen Raftery, CEO, JAI; Richie Walsh, Head of Enterprise, Waterford LEO; Tom O’ Toole, Head of the School of Business, WITand offered each group a fictional investment in recognition of the potential of their business idea.

Speaking at the event Jacqui Gaule from Waterford LEO said: “One of our core values at Waterford LEO is to encourage the spirit of enterprise in our local community. The creativity and innovation showed by the students was inspiring.  To reach primary school students and sow the seed of self-employment at this young age offers us the opportunity of a bright future for entrepreneurship in Waterford. We are delighted that Junior Achievement is our partner for this project.”