15,300 Students Benefit from Initiative which Supports Potential Early School Leavers

15,300 Students Benefit from Initiative which Supports Potential Early School Leavers

• Over 150 schools matched with local businesses around the country
• Programme Receives Recognition from EU Commission on Education and Culture
• Over 75% of students say it encouraged them to complete Leaving Certificate

Tuesday, 20th April: Over 15,380 post-primary students have taken part in an innovative Government-backed initiative that assists potential early school leavers to complete their Leaving Certificate cycle.
The Schools Business Partnership run by Business in the Community Ireland aims to partner schools in disadvantaged areas with a local business. To date 158 partnerships have been established around the country and 75% of student participants in the programme say it has significantly impacted on their decisions to complete their Leaving Certificate.

Funded under the National Development Plan, the Schools' Business Partnership is the only business to education programme in Ireland that is jointly funded by both business and the Department of Education and Skills.

A recent study from the ESRI has shown that young people regret having left school early because they see their lack of qualifications as a barrier to employment or further education and training. This is what the Schools Business Partnership aims to prevent through the various programmes that they run.

Today at a special celebration event in Dublin, the latest 243 participants of one of these programmes, the Student Mentoring Programme, received their certificates of completion.

Speaking at the event the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Mary Coughlan said “The Schools Business Partnership is an exemplar model of how Business can impact on society. Education plays a solid role in the development of an equal and inclusive society. Those who do not complete their Leaving Certificate are generally at a major disadvantage particularly in the business world and this is why business can play such a major part encouraging education completion. They bring the world of work to life for these young people and give them self belief and courage to continue their studies so that they can have options and choices in their future.”

The Schools Business Partnership was recently recognised on the International stage when Helene Clark, Director at the Directorate General for Education and Culture at the EU Commission in Brussels said “Structured school-business cooperation such as the Irish Schools' Business Partnership provides an excellent opportunity to help students discover a context for their learning and to open schools to the wider world around them. The successful initiatives to date show that there are real benefits to all concerned and to wider society, and they can be an inspiration to other EU Member States”.

The Schools Business Partnership is funded under the National Development Plan but is also strongly supported by business. Marks and Spencer Ireland as lead sponsor and Cadbury Ireland and Cornmarket have all supported the programme both financially and developmentally over a number of years and the impact of this has been appreciated not only by students but also by their own employees.

Speaking at the event, Deirdre Harte, Communications Manager, Corporate Affairs at Cadbury Ireland said “Our employees really appreciate the chance to get involved in this programme, it gives them a further purpose to their work and allows them the time to get involved in volunteering and giving back to their community. Each year we have more employees volunteering to get involved in the courses than we actually have the capacity to take and this is a testament to how successful the programme is and we are delighted to give our support.”

The companies involved in the Schools' Business Partnership are drawn from a variety of sectors including financial, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, technology, retail and food.

Some of the leading companies taking part in the Business in the Community Ireland mentoring programme include KPMG, Diageo Ireland, Investec Ireland and Microsoft.

ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Una O Murchu
Tel: 01 874 7232
Mob: 086 780 87 62
Email: uomurchu@bitc.ie