Schools across Limerick are being encouraged to sign up for this year’s Student Enterprise Programme.
An initiative of the Local Enterprise Offices (LEO), the country’s largest enterprise programme for second level students begins its 21st year and over 300,000 students have taken part since it began.
Every year around 25,000 students take part from almost 500 schools all across the country, competing in the Junior, Intermediate and Senior categories.
Participants learn how to create and run their own business, picking up key skills along the way such as ideation, marketing, finance, and sales and it’s open to all secondary schools.
Recent ambassadors for the programme have included Limerick All-Ireland Hurling winner Sean Finn, Derval O’Rourke and Josh Van Der Flier.
The programme is run through the network of Local Enterprise Offices, supported by Enterprise Ireland and the local authorities, with local coordinators in every area to support teachers and students throughout the year of the programme, which in turn helps foster entrepreneurship in students and gives them key skills they can bring with them into later life.
The programme is open to all secondary school students from first year through to sixth year.
Limerick has had success over the years with two of the top five finalists last year coming from Desmond College Newcastle West.
Niamh O’Mahoney whose business 'SmartArntU' made the cut in the senior category and Ava Ahern, Laura Brennan, Kayla McAuliffe whose business 'Mela No More' excelled in the intermediate category.
Mike O’Byrne of LEO Limerick said: “We believe the Student Enterprise Programme is a tremendous way to get young people thinking about starting their own business later in life. The stronger the pipeline of new entrepreneurs coming through the better for our economy down the line.
“Students learn key skills on how to create a business idea, start a business and grow a business. The skills they learn will stand to them in whatever career they move into after school and college.”
The Student Enterprise Programme also has a new range of online resources for 2022/2023 at StudentEnterprise.ie, which will feature regular blogs and houses a full range of Student Enterprise resources for students and teachers.