Callout for Tipperary’s enterprising students
Schools across county Tipperary are being encouraged to sign up for this year’s Student Enterprise Programme. An initiative of the Local Enterprise Offices, 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 Derval O’Rourke, Josh Van Der Flier and Limerick All-Ireland winner Sean Finn.
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 through the year of the programme, which 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.
County Tipperary has had success over the years with Thurles CBS students Jack O’Mara and Daniel Ruddy becoming National Prize winners 2020 with their business Handy Hose, a device which fits to the hose to enable it to attach easily to the any metal surface within the milking parlour and is readily available to buy in Glanbia and other stores.
Tina Mulhearne LEO Tipperary Student Enterprise Coordinator looks forward to working with County Tipperary secondary school teachers and students and is on hand to support schools during the programme. Further information can be found at www.studententerprise.ie
Head of Enterprise Anthony Fitzgerald encourages all schools to participate and feels this is a very important part of entrepreneurship in Tipperary. Often our student entrepreneurs go on to develop their original business idea started in secondary school. As a county we are at the forefront of creating new business as is evident in recent statistics that Tipperary has one of the highest .ie domain registrations in the country.
Last year the winners were Barrelda from Meath in the Senior Category with their business recycling poly drums from the farm for use as meal troughs and calf teat feeders. In the Intermediate category the winner was Earrings by Aoibheann from Dublin who created a range of jewellery for people who may be sensitive or allergic to traditional jewellery metals. The Junior category was won by Sew Stylish from Kilkenny who again recycled materials to create multifunctional scrunchies for hair that could also hold personal items such as keys and lip gloss.
Since the Student Enterprise Programme began in 2003, over 300,000 students have taken part, learning key skills on how to create a business idea, start a business and grow a business. The Student Enterprise Programme also has a new range of online resources for 2022/2023 at www.StudentEnterprise.ie, which will feature regular blogs and houses a full range of Student Enterprise resources for students and teachers.