North Cork Students Get a Taste of Real Life Business
Second level students from all over North Cork were given the opportunity to learn some very valuable lessons in business last Friday 21st October at the annual North Cork Schools Enterprise Programme Directors’ Day. Approximately 130 students and their teachers attended the event which was hosted by the North Cork Enterprise Board and held in the Charleville Park Hotel. The annual Directors’ Day is designed to help students running their own student businesses as part of the Student Enterprise Awards learn more about their roles and responsibilities as young entrepreneurs.
About the North Cork Schools Enterprise Programme
The North Cork Schools Enterprise Programme gives second level students throughout North Cork the opportunity to set up and run their own student businesses while at school. The Programme, which runs for the academic year, sees over 15,000 students from all over Ireland set up and run student enterprises just like any normal business. Students get to experience all the realities of being an entrepreneur from coming up with the business idea itself, to choosing the company name, manufacturing a product/supplying a service to selling and marketing the product/service and managing the company finances.
About the Directors’ Day
At the Directors’ Day last Friday five local entrepreneurs delivered presentations to students on the following:
- Role of the Managing Director
- Role of the Sales & Marketing Director
- Role of the Human Resources Director
- Role of the Finance Director
- Franchising a business
The five directors were Angela Harris, HR Manager from the Barry Group, Maurice O’Keeffe from AIB, Dan Murphy from Dan Murphy Life & Pensions, Geraldine O’Brien of Subway, Noelle Foley of The Corkman newspaper. After their presentations the five directors held individual question and answer sessions with each student enterprise group to give the young entrepreneurs the benefit of their experience in business.
Manager of the North Cork Schools Enterprise Programme, Michael Hanley says "The Directors’ Day was a huge success and the students learned a lot from hearing the advice that the speakers had to offer. It gave them good direction in terms of what to do next with their student businesses as they prepare for the first competitive leg of the Programme which is the annual Christmas Trade Fair which takes place in Fermoy on 14th December 2011".