Students from Balbriggan Community College during a tour of Bridgestone
Since partnering with Junior Achievement Ireland Bridgestone Ireland Ltd have reached out to 321 local students who have benefited from Junior Achievement (JA) programmes delivered by Bridgestone volunteers over the past two academic years.
With an ever growing population in Balbriggan support from local industries has never been more important. Alongside delivering programmes on entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy to primary and secondary school students, Bridgestone volunteers act as positive adult role models promoting the world of work in the local community. Secondary level students have attended Student to Work Days and Mock Interviews where they had the opportunity to experience the work environment of a multinational organisation first hand.
Not only have Bridgestone volunteers reached out to schools in the Fingal region but also in the West of Ireland taking in Limerick and Galway.
Jacqueline Wherity with students from Balbriggan Community College during a visit to BridgestoneReflecting on his Junior Achievement class delivered by a Bridgestone volunteer, a 5th year student in Balbriggan Community College said: ‘That was brilliant! I was really nervous coming in for the interview but everyone was so nice and now I think I would be ready for another interview. Jackie (Bridgestone volunteer) was really nice and her classroom visits gave us a chance to talk about jobs in Balbriggan.’
Martin Somers, volunteer and Regional Operations Manager Ireland for Bridgestone, commented that “It was a thoroughly enjoyable few weeks with the 3rd class students in Gailscoil Riada and I feel there was benefits in this for me as well as the children.”