The Magazine from The Schools’ Business Partnership

Winter 2011 Edition

Links

In this issue:

The Magazine from The Schools’ Business Partnership Links

In this issue:Twin school video conferencing in Cork and Dublin with partnering company Dulux Explore Abbott Diagnostics and their national commitment to the Schools’ Business PartnershipA day in the life of two Schools’ Business Partnerhsip team members

Welcome

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For further information on The Schools’ Business Partnership, please visit

www.bitc.ie/sbp

Welcome to our first issue of LINKS in the cur-rent academic year! SBP has been rapidly ex-panding since July and to do that we expand-ed our team also: Nuala Greenan located in Galway, Sarah Morton in Tipperary, Patricia Reilly in the midlands and Miriam Kenny in Dublin. Jen Fox has also joined SBP as our Admin Assistant.

Since we commenced our expansion programme in July we have set up 24 new partnerships and to take a look at what schools and companies have joined us, turn to page 12. All the new companies are most welcome to our partnership!

We have a new Government partner since September: The Department of Children and Youth Affairs and we have already met some of this Department’s officials and should be shortly meeting Minister Frances Fitzgerald. We have also been busy presenting to the Joint Committee on EU Affairs recently and it was very useful to en-gage with its members and Chair Joe Costel-lo to consider how we can further assist and showcase Ireland to our fellow member states.

The Schools’ Business Partnership is now very active in The Czech Republic – site visits have tak-en place recently to IBM and Bayer – click here http://www.vedamabudoucnost.cz/fotogalerie to read further info and to see it in action. Other news from Europe is that Androulla Vasillou, EU Commissioner on Education has invited SBP to participate in a round table discussion next March in Brussels on the topic of school completion.

Also, we are assisting Leargas who host EU experts to showcase Ireland’s best practice and current supports and initiatives that demonstrate cooperation and partnership between the worlds of education training and work.

The visits will facilitate the exchange of in-formation and experience between deci-sion makers and educational specialists in ar-eas of common interest to EU participating countries. 12 experts from different European Countries will be participating in this visit next February and we are delighted to host them.

We have finalised our strategic objectives for 2012-14 which are to improve the level of school completion at primary and post primary levels by supporting the Government’s strategy on educational inclusion, literacy and the building of a knowledge economy. The latter objective will result in the introduction of initiatives and activity in the STEM agenda and we are excited about this new area of work.Finally, we will very shortly publish the Time to Read evaluation report which is almost complet-ed by Dr. Eithne Kennedy, St. Patrick’s College. We are hopeful that this evaluation will provide the platform for a national rollout of Time to Read in primary schools across the country.

Have a great Christmas everyone!

Germaine NoonanProgramme Manager

Welcome

1

For further information on The Schools’ Business Partnership, please visit

www.bitc.ie/sbp

SBP Snaps

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ContentsWelcome 1SBP Snaps 2BITCI Member Companies Education Initiatives 3Skills @ Work 4Abbott Profile with SBP 8Mentoring 9Management Excellence for Teachers 10Diary of a SBP coordinators 11Time to Read 13Meet the Partners & Sponsers 14

Front Cover Photos

Top Row Left to Right:1. Boys from Ennis Community College enjoying their site visit to Avocent.2.”Land Ahoy!”, North Monastery boys reviewing the landscape at Roadstone Cork. 3. Cobh Community School all dressed up and ready to go on site tour at GE Healthcare.

Middle Row Left to Right:1. The girls from St. Joseph’s SS, Navan in the boardroom of Generali Guernsey Group.2. “It’s mine!” with Beaufort School out on site at Tara Mines3. “Presenting boots” with the girls of Presentation SS, Limerick and the creative Boots team

Bottom Row Left to Right:1.“Power to it!”, Kilrush CS visit ESB in Moneypoint.2. Lawrence Barry, mechanical engineer at Carbery in West Cork, giving the 5th years from Maria Immaculata Community College, Dunmanway, a guided tour of the site.3. “Hook”, students from Crana College investigate the machinery at Inishowen Engineering.

SBP Snaps

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Mary Shinnors from Stone Developments interviews Laura Doyle from Bagnalstown VS

ContentsWelcome 1SBP Snaps 2BITCI Member Companies Education Initiatives 3Skills @ Work 4Abbott Profile with SBP 9Mentoring 10Management Excellence for Teachers 11Meet the New Links 12Diary of SBP coordinators 13

Some Snaps from Across the Country

Justin O’Connor of Kefron with Caritas College students at a CV and Interview Skills workshop

Students from Colasite Ide agus Iosef investigating the machines on site at Kostal

BITCI Member Companies

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BITCI Member’s Education InitiativesThe following is a snapshot of education initiatives offered by some BITCI member companies

Minister Ciarán Cannon with the winning students on campus in Leixlip.

regional SciFest fairs which took place earlier this year at Institutes of Technology around the country and the University of Ulster, Derry. The national final event gave the winning students an opportunity to showcase their projects at the Innovation Open Lab at Intel’s campus in Leixlip, Co Kildare and to be in with a chance to win the top prize. Dr Padraig O’Murchú, Education and Research Manager, Corporate Affairs, Intel Ireland said “If we are to realise a smart, sustainable and inclusive society, then we will need a citizenry that is scientifically literate and numerate as well as skilled in areas like critical thinking, collaborative learning, research methodology and communications. These are the very skills that exhibitions like SciFest foster and support”.See www.scifest.ie for more information.

Over the past 12 years, since BT took over as organiser and sponsor of the Young Scientist & Technology exhibition, the quality and quantity of entries received from secondary school students has surpassed all expectations and has garnered both national and international interest and acclaim.

Below: Colm O’Neill with students from Alexander College

BITCI Member Companies

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BITCI Member’s Education Initiatives entrepreneurship and fresh thinking, these students can improve their future career prospects. The exhibition is an ideal platform from which to start on that road.

Colm O’Neill, Chief Executive Officer, BT Ireland commented, “There is a major challenge to create sustainable jobs in Ireland. The talent, drive and entrepreneurship are there, evident from the superior level

of this year’s entries to the exhibition. We

need to protect our industries and

ensure growth for the future so that these young talented people

have career choices available

to them. We are hugely encouraged that

the numbers of exhibition entries has increased again this year. 48 years and growing, this exhibition is a brilliant showcase of Ireland’s potential.” The 2012 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition will take place January 11th – 14th. www.btyoungscientist.com.

SciFest@Intel is an exhibition of the winning projects from 14

Through its investment in the exhibition, BT aims to engage students in science, technology, engineering, and commercialisation, thus driving skills and innovation for the benefit of Ireland. Fostering this sense of participation in second-level education helps students with the interest and ability to progress to higher education institutions and enter the workforce as part of a well-equipped, resourceful talented pool. By focusing on skills,

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Skills @ WorkThe Kerryman link - An Inside Story

Eileen Fitzgerald, regional coordinator for Kerry, provides an inside story of one of Ireland’s oldest local newspapers

Michael Brennan, Managing Director and Siobhan Murphy, Advertising Manager of The Kerryman have supported The Schools’ Business Partnership Programme for the past four years. Linked with Causeway Comprehensive School, the students are so familiar with the local paper, in print for over 100 years, it’s a Kerry tradition in most households to pick up a copy midweek. Therefore students are naturally interested to meet the people behind the scenes and perhaps learn a few interesting snippets to share with family and friends.

The Kerryman personnel certainly don’t disappoint. Skills @ Work sessions are so varied and engaging, students are drawn to participate and enjoy the experience. Last year’s programme included presentations from award winning photographer Valerie Moore, reporter Donal Nolan and advertising manager, Siobhan Murphy. They took the students through a working day at The Kerryman covering everything from the business of printing the newspaper to the operations of the editorial team. They also

shared their own experiences of how their careers developed over time, entertaining the students with lots of really interesting and sometimes hilarious stories about their own life experiences.

Michael Brennan’s area of expertise is personal development. When he meets the students, he focuses on communication skills and encouraging students to maximise their talents.He explains how this translates into a CV and interview preparation

Michael’s sessions are reallyinteractive and entertaining, every student participates, it’s a given! As an observer, I am always amazed to see how much canbe learnt and achieved during a single session.

The students have their say when the programme ends with animpressive ‘Wrap’ session where it is obvious that a huge amount of work goes into the preparation. The students’ presentations are varied and creative but most importantly, all participate, which makes their teachers very proud. The great news is that The Kerryman will be back in Causeway Comprehensive School again early in the New Year and we are all looking forward to hearing the latest ‘inside story’ and lots more no doubt!

“Staff shared their own experiences, entertaining the students with lots of really interesting and

hilarious stories”

Causeway Comprehensive School students with Aine Keane, Business Teacher, Amy Walsh, Schools Completion Programme Co-ordinator, Eileen Fitzgerald, SBP Regional Co-ordinator and representatives from The Kerryman, Siobhan Murphy, Advertising Manager, Donal Nolan, Reporter. The photo was taken by Valerie O’Sullivan, Photographer

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Skills @ WorkThe Kerryman link - An Inside Story

“Staff shared their own experiences, entertaining the students with lots of really interesting and

hilarious stories”

Causeway Comprehensive School students with Aine Keane, Business Teacher, Amy Walsh, Schools Completion Programme Co-ordinator, Eileen Fitzgerald, SBP Regional Co-ordinator and representatives from The Kerryman, Siobhan Murphy, Advertising Manager, Donal Nolan, Reporter. The photo was taken by Valerie O’Sullivan, Photographer

Skills @ Work

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Two years ago Dulux decided to expand their work with SBP and linked their distribution and marketing centre in Dublin with Greenhills College in Tallaght. Anita and Eileen run the programmes for both schools, with the considerable help of Eamonn Oglesby in the Dublin office. Greenhills is a boys school,

Dulux Paints Ireland Limited

so the obvious comparisons were made – are the girls more atten-tive than boys, do the boys ask more questions? This year Dulux decided to introduce them to each other, via video conference link. Both schools had their respective site tours on the same day at the same time and Anita did the com-pany intro via live video from Cork to the board room in Dublin. The girls hadn’t been told in advance, so there was some rapid hair fix-ing when they realised they would be viewed by the boys. Initially camera shy, they soon settled into it and forgot they were being broadcast as Anita delivered a fan-tastic introduction on the history of Dulux and how the company operates today. The boys were very forthcoming with the ques-tions afterwards, the girls slightly more reticent – but then we didn’t really give them any notice they’d be on TV!

A Tale of Two Cities

Skills @ Work

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Dulux Paints Ireland Limited is part of the fabric of Cork, established in the City in 1885 as Harrington Brothers, still producing paint at the same historic site on the Commons. Generations of the same families have worked there during that time and the name Dulux is synonymous with the city. The company has particularly strong links with North Presentation girls school in Farranree, up the steep hill opposite the factory. Since 2004 Dulux have worked with the school, facilitating the Skills @ Work programme, as well as providing valuable paid summer placements for the girls, paints for the school and sponsorship for girls to participate in Operation Smile. Anita Power and Eileen Forde head up the HR and Training department at Dulux and are very much at home in the staff room at North Pres. This year they are going to provide some training for staff in-service as well as the work they are doing with the 5th year girls.

The friendly rivalry extend-ed to the Dulux ‘Lets Colour’ week in October, where stu-dents were invited to produce pictures of a building used

Celine McGrath, regional coordinator for Cork, regales how the Dulux paint competition linked two schools from two cities resulting in colourful consequences!

Skills @ Work

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A Tale of Two Cities Celine McGrath, regional coordinator for Cork, regales how the Dulux paint competition

linked two schools from two cities resulting in colourful consequences!

Skills @ Work

“The girls hadn’t been told in advance, so there was some

hair fixing when they realised they would be viewed by

the boys”

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opportunity for Dulux Paints Ireland to build sustainable links with the local community, it also gives employees an opportunity to be involved in a worthwhile and rewarding project and hopefully by giving advice and guidance to students it might have a positive impact on their future. If the support gives just one student success at a job or college interview then that’s enough of a reason for being involved in SBP”.

The girls from North Pres thought the video conferencing was really cool and want to try it again for the wrap-up session. But this time they’ll be prepared for the cameras!

by their community and trans-form the outside using colour. Anita found choosing a winner a difficult decision so in the end Klaudia Kuley (North Presenta-tion Cork) and the joint entry of Jordan Morris and Kevin By-rne (Greenhills College) won €100 worth of art supplies. The employees of Dulux are still adjudicating on the over-all winner who will win a new coat of paint for their art room.

Anita, Eileen and their team are real champions of SBP and are always open to new ideas and programmes. They plan to adapt their in-house diversity training and deliver it as in-service to the staff of both schools, as part of our new Management Excellence

for Teachers Programme. Asked how they meet the challenges of working with a boy’s school and a girl’s school at opposite ends of the country, Anita said;“Whilst Involvement in the progarmme has been an

Skills @ Work

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St. Oliver’s Community College in Drogheda has been a partner in the Schools’ Business Partner-ship Skills @ Work Programme for four years. The school has been linked with Irish Cement, based five minutes from the school in Platin, Co. Meath. Last year, our 5th year Leaving Certificate Applied students be-came involved for the first time and it proved a rewarding, en-gaging and positive experience for the students.

Skills @ Work

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Right: students of LCA programme on their site visit to Irish Cement

St. Oliver’s Cement a Strong Relationship Vocational Preparation and Guidence teacher John Heeney explains how the partnership with Irish

Cement has benefited the students of St.Oliver’s in Drogheda

St. Enda’s students Chloe and The students participated in the mock interviews and gained expert guidance and advice from members of the Human Resources department of Irish Cement. Having a multinational partner company was a huge benefit to our students as it allowed the students view business on a global scale while understanding and perceiving it through a link with a local company with many local employees. By interacting with Irish Cement, our students gained a new perspective on what the reality of globalisation means to our locality and how they might aspire to work for a truly global company. Visiting the company allowed this learning experience to take place, an experience which would be nigh on impossible to replicate in any classroom.

As a teacher, I really appreciated the fact that my students were

taken beyond their comfort zone and placed in realistic and challenging situations. After reflecting on this, the students saw the benefit of this learning experience and its relevance and application to the career progression after secondary school. For me, their growth in confidence and self-assurance was both clear and discernable as a result of participation in the programme. The students really appreciated the interaction with staff from Irish Cement and the “Day in the Life” shadowing

exercise which we undertook on the site visit gave them the ability to picture themselves in these roles. For many, it gave them a real focus on their career progression and how they could make their career choices a reality.

In conclusion, participation in the Skills @ Work Programme has been of huge benefit to our students and the LCA programme on the whole. It has brought an increased commercial dimension to the programme, one with a definite focus on improving students’ skills for the next step in their careers. By having the link with Irish Cement, we have also benefited from the expertise, professionalism and the global awareness of a fantastic multinational company. This link, now firmly “cemented”, has grown this year and we look forward this to continue into the future.

“By interacting with Irish Cement, our students gained a new perspec-tive on what the reality of globalisation means to

our locality”

Skills @ Work

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Skills @ Work

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Students from Mayfield Community School in Cork out on a site visit to Janssen Pharmaceuticals

Janssen Pharmaceutical and Mayfield Community School have a long-established relationship that continues to flourish every year. They have been running the Skills @ Work programme annually and the highlight of such has to be the site visit to the plant in Little Island. This year was no exception! On a beautiful sunny day in late October, 25 students from 5th year descended on Janssen Pharmaceutical.

There was much reluctance and separation anxiety as they were asked by reception to hand over their mobile phones, iPods and any other contraband they may have upon them. This is a health and safety precaution against any accidental sparks that may occur. We were brought into one of the training rooms where Breda Geoghegan, the company Skills @

Work co-ordinator, gave a brief overview of the company. She explained how Janssen is part of the Johnson & Johnson group of families that operate worldwide. In 1943, Robert Johnson crafted a “Credo” of values and principles that to this day continue to guide and drive the companies Breda said “Put simply, Our Credo challenges us to always put the needs and well-beingof the people we serve first. Janssen is therefore fully

"We believe our first re-sponsibility is to the doc-tors, nurses and patients, to mothers and fathers and all others who use our products and services....We are responsible to the communities in which we

live and work...."

committed to provide high quality products and services to healthcare professionals, patients and their families.”This responsibility to the community is evident to see by the committed and dedicated engagement they show to the school and its students.Once the scene was set for the students, 4 volunteers from the company described the job they do and the various routes they took to get there. Michael Napier, Senior Director gave an inspirational talk about his career progression. One of the volunteers, Tina, conducted some experiments for the students to show how science can be fun and interesting. All the time students were being rewarded with prizes for their questions and answers which ensured lively and healthy engagement!Much to the students horror we were then issued with hats, gowns and glasses in preparation for our walk around the site. Feeling totally “uncool” the students were shown the various manufacturing plants, R&D facilities, waste water management and even saw the site’s very own fire engine! Two more sessions are scheduled for after Christmas, a CV and interview skills workshop and a mock interview session. Catriona O’Donoghue, the school’s coordinator said at the end of the site visit “we are extremely lucky and proud to be associated with Janssen and we are very grateful for the time and resources they afford us. It is of huge benefit to the students to gain an insight into the world of work and the many and varied careers that are available that they may have never even considered.”

Guiding Principles Diane Beckingham, regional coordinator for Cork, on

how Janssen continue to remain true to their guiding principles

Mentoring

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“This was a really good experience. It will prepare me for working life, especially with the interview and CV workshops” - Mercy College with Abbott Sligo

“This is my 2nd year being involved with the Schools Business Partnership and it has given me a fantastic opportunity to interact with the students. It is great to see the students grow in confidence over the course of the year. Its wonderful to be part of a programmes that helps influence the lives of young people.” - Maura Fitzgerald Abbott Longford paired with Templemichael College

“I learnt how to prepare for an inter-view, how to improve my CV It has helped me to become more confi-dent”

- Fiona Ayo, St Colemans with Abbott Cork

Students from Mater Christi with Abbott Santry

“This is a

great opportunity

for our school to be working

with a successful company in our local

community – Abbott in Cootehill. We can promote

our school and the great work that Abbott and its employees

do to support our school and its caring environment for our students.” John Crotty, Principal, Breifne College

paired with Abbott Cootehill

Abbott Diagnostics are linked with six schools across the county - a fantastic commitment to tackling educational inclusion in Ireland. Katherine Jensen, CSR Manager for Abbott Ireland, has been instrumental in encouraging the various Aboott sites to participate. Below is what

the students and employees have to say about the programmes:

“I have enjoyed

watching how

our students

interact and en-

gage with all the

staff in Abbott , a

partnership now

six years old” -

Killinarden CS with Aboott Citywest

Abbott Profile

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Mentoring

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A Snapshot of Mentoring Across IrelandMentoring

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“We like the mentor-

ing programme because our mentors are nice and very helpful. This is a great experi-

ence because they give us lots of support outside of school”

Kim & Tara, Kilkenny VS

“Interacting with young people gives you a different perspective and we had fun

during the process” - Ray Winters, a mentor from

Donegal Creameries

“I really enjoy meeting my mentor she

helps me plan for the future, get information on courses and

helps me to understand the CAO process”- Students from

Mercy College

97% of mentors would recommend the

student mentoring programme to a

friend

The Schools’ Business Partnerhip Mentoring Programme is nationwide - have a look!

96% of students would recommend the

mentoring programme to another

student

94% of students said

that their experience was

excellent or very good

82% of students would

like to stay in touch with their mentor

after the programme

Management Excellence for Teachers

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Last academic year (20010/11) saw the roll-out of our latest programme, MET, Management Excellence for Teachers. Following a very successful pilot in 5 schools in 2009/10, the programme took place in 19 schools throughout Ireland and delivered personal and professional development as part of the schools’ in-service training.

The topics for the sessions very much focused on the ‘softer’ skills that are essential to professionals in all walks of life. Team working, motivation, individual leadership and communication are essential tools for management and leadership. Teachers are all leaders in their classrooms. They face the twin challenge of often working alone while also being part of a team in the staffroom.

62%Would recommend the MET

series to other teachers

The training is delivered by business leaders and has the added benefit of including experience and problem sharing from the business sector. There are many parallels between schools and business and many of the core skills are the same for both.

There were also ‘spin off’ benefits, for example the staff at Cobh Community College have formed a very valuable relationship with GE Healthcare – not only have the company delivered training on emotional intelligence, individual leadership and effective meetings but the school PR sub-group has had the benefit of expert advice

93% of teachers found the session

very useful or useful

92% of teachers found the session very benefical or benefical for team building

This year we plan to do 30 METs including sessions on IT training, diversity and school planning. If there is a need we will use our relationships with business to try and meet that need. This programme is unique in that it is owned by the schools themselves, the ideas for the sessions come from the teachers. The willingness to help is there from business and the appetite exists in the schools, working together we will develop this programme as far as we can.

92% of teachers found the content very valuable or

valuable to their role

91% of teachers rated the delivery as excellent or very good

When a mutual professional relationship is established between a school and business, there are practical benefits for the school and the business can focus their CR activities on an exciting new area.

“The Department of Ed-ucation need to bring this type of course to all schools if they are seri-ous about getting the very best from teachers”

- Templemichael College

Top Marks from TeachersCeleine McGrath outlines the Management Excellence for Teachers Programme.

Management Excellence for Teachers

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Celine McGrath, Regional Coordina-tor for Cork and MET coordinator

Time to Read

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A feature on the Schools’ Business Partnerhsip expansion 2011/2013. Since July 24 new partnerships have been established.

Welcome to our new schools & companies

St. Joseph's Rush Beech Hill CollegeGairmscoil Mhuire Kilrush CSCollinstown Park CCAdamstown VS Rosses Community School. Vocational School Muine Beag Colaiste An Chraoibhin St Patrick's College. Cork Mount Seskin CollegeBush Post Primary, Dundalk Breifne College Mullingar CC Columba College, Killucan Athy Community College Marian College McEgan College, Macroom Chanel College St. Brogan's, Bantry St. Vincent's CBS, Glasnevin Scoil Mhuire, Buncrana Terence MacSwiney CCScoil Chuimsitheach Chiarain

FujitsuSilver Hill FoodsLisheen MinesESB MoneypointBootsKerry GroupLetterkenny ITStone DevelopmentsQuinn HealthcareMarks & Spencer, CorkTallght HospitalVodafone IrelandAbbott C & F Automotive Trend TechnologiesAthy International ConcentratesLM Ericsson IrelandNutricia (Danone)Hitachi KokiSchering Plough WorkdayE & I EngineeringVMWareMarks & Spencer, Galway

Meet the...

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Diary of...

Talking to students about work and careers over the past few weeks led me to reflect on my own teenage self, valiantly reading from cover to cover a careers handbook given to me by a busy, and slightly dis-engaged, career guidance teacher. I read in detail every entry, from Actuary to Zoologist without finding one career or job that captured my interest or seemed pos-sible for me to do. Quite a few decades later, with time and attention paid to study and education and lengthy work commitments spent addressing

social disadvantage and inclusion, , I find myself saying, quietly, to a

student, “we are all clever in lots of different ways, you have a chance here, to listen to some people that want to spend some time and effort helping you, giving you an opportunity.” As I say this to her she holds my gaze, then turns to her classmates to work out some answers to the questions I had given them, that she was, a moment before, refusing to get involved in.

After three months as an SBP Co-ordinator I realise, as I leave that room, that group of students, tell-

ing them I will see them in two weeks for the site visit, that I have captured at least an essence of this job. Just in that one session, in a quick, quiet side conversation, I may have said something that,

for one student, could make a difference in her life, could mean she comes to the Skills@Work sessions with a little more enthusiasm, a little more ability to listen and a little more desire to get in-

volved. And that could make a difference to her whole future of work and education.

The Schools’ Business Partnership is so rigorous about evidencing the great work we do and detailing the impact on students and benefits for companies. However, for me, it all suddenly made sense see-

ing a change, even a small one, in one student, in one moment.

Of course I could tell you lots of other things about being an SBP Co-Ordinator; that no day is ever the same, that you get to meet such a range of people, that every class of students is different and that

the time and effort companies put into the programme is often fabulous. I could say too that there is sometimes work to do to bring partners on board, to recruit new companies, to keep programmes run-ning smoothly and to deal with things if sessions need to be changed or moved. I could also tell you

that it is often a joy to be involved in such a positive and focussed approach to addressing the chal-lenges some young people face. It is also great to be able to demonstrate to young people how a range

of individuals in education, companies and the SBP are working together to share knowledge, support them and give them opportunities.

I will conclude by saying I had no idea what work or career I wanted to do when I was fifteen or six-teen, despite the endless trawling of a dog-eared career handbook those few decades ago. But I am most

certainly delighted to now be playing even a small role in supporting young people to think about work, careers, education and their futures, in such a supported, interesting and exciting way.

Sarah Morton

A Day in the life of two Schools’ Business Partnership Coordinators Peek into the diaries of Sarah Morton, regional coordinator for Tipperary and Eileen Fitzgerald, regional coordinator for Kerry

Diary of...

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Meet the...Company Coordinators

I started my role as Regional Co-ordinator in the Kerry region five years ago yet I can still remember so well my job interview with our Programme Man-ager, Germaine Noonan in Listowel. It was race week, raining buckets with traffic restrictions all over town. Getting to the interview on time and in

a presentable state was my first priority. It was a pleasure to meet Ger-maine and after our conversation, I knew this job was exactly what I wanted

so I was really thrilled to be chosen as the successful candidate.

Since then, our list of schools and link businesses have expanded two fold which has lead to innovative programme developments and many changes in the role of the BITC Co-ordinator.

The opportunities for personal development are limitless, I’ve met so many wonderful people along the way and the position offers such a variety of responsibilities.

Every working day is different, good communication and organizational skills are definite req-uisites for the job. Our national team of co-ordinators continuously network and support each other

and it’s great knowing this pool of expertise is available when a new situation comes along. However one’s ability to bring people from different backgrounds together to facilitate learning and

positive change is really what it’s all about. Once a company agrees to join SBP and begin work with a school, it’s wonderful to witness the educational benefits for students and to see last-ing relationships develop.

What I love most about being a BITC Co-ordinator is witnessing the goodwill and generosity of spirit which is alive and well in our schools and communities. Company and school personnel participating in the programme go above and beyond to engage and inspire our young people, they

obviously really care about the students they meet and their futures. Their willingness to put their own workloads and timelines on hold in order to participate in the programme is admirable.

My travels take me all around the county, into West Limerick and more recently on the Tarbert ferry to Clare where ESB Moneypoint and Kilrush Community School recently commenced a

link. Last week while on the ferry, a shoal of dolphins accompanied the ferry while crossing the

Shannon, how great is that for a work commute! I feel very privileged to do this work and of course like every job, there are challenges. My biggest challenge is spreading the good news about The Schools’ Business Partnership and the magic that is happening all around Ireland - can you help?

Eileen Fitzgerald

Day in the life of two Schools’ Business Partnership Coordinators Peek into the diaries of Sarah Morton,regional coordinator for Tipperary and Eileen Fitzgerald, regional coordinator for Kerry

Diary of...

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Integra Life Sciences is linked with

Tullamore College

15

The Schools’ Business PartnershipAdding value to the Department of Education & Skills 'School Completion Programme' The Schools’ Business Partnership aims to positively impact on educational inclusion and address key issues in areas of educational inclusion in Ireland. The programme does this by matching one school with a large local business and engaging in various programmes. The number of schools currently matched nationally is 175. Through the Schools' Business Partnership a menu of programmes has been developed to address key educational issues for these schools across the country. Marks & Spencer Ireland have been the lead sponsor of the Schools' Business Partnership

since its inception - a remarkable commitment.

Find Business in the Community Ireland on:

Lead Sponsor

Supported By

Partners

The Schools’ Business PartnershipBusiness in the Community Ireland

32 Lower O’ Connell Street | Dublin 101 8743809 | www.bitc.ie/sbp