Irish Funds Financial Literacy TY Programme: Sponsorship Announcement, Schools Update and Looking Forward

We had a very active January, finishing up at three schools and heading into another, along with our Train the Trainer session at the end of the month for our incoming industry volunteers.

We were also delighted to attend the IOB Funds and Asset Management Forum in Cork last Friday where Minister McGrath in raising the importance of financial literacy, highlighted our programme and the good work in progress. We were also joined by Niamh Geraghty (Deloitte) and Eoin Fitzgerald (Irish Funds Council).

We are excited to announce that Deloitte has come on board to sponsor the Irish Funds Financial Literacy TY Programme – increasing support for this very important industry initiative. 

Sponsorship Update: A Warm Welcome to Deloitte 

We are excited to announce that Deloitte has come on board for the 2023/2024 academic year to sponsor the Irish Funds Financial Literacy TY Programme – increasing support for this very important industry initiative. With Deloitte's resources and expertise, together we will support communities to increase their levels of financial literacy. 

New and returning Industry Volunteers: Train the Trainer Session – Enthusiasm and Games! 

The Irish Funds Financial Literacy TY Programme is an opportunity for leads to participate in a positive and rewarding industry initiative. Industry firms play a critical role in driving economic growth and we wanted to offer our member firms the opportunity to support our endeavour to improve the financial literacy of students today.

On 30 January, we were joined by 40 eager and enthusiastic industry volunteers to provide guidance and training for their role in the programme. Thank you to lead facilitator, Eibhlin Johnston, for leading the session and our Irish Funds interns Julie Bowell, Lucy Ann Duigan and Rory Moran for showcasing our course resources like the Financial Times portfolio game and our interactive Kahoot workbooks. We even had some keen leads join in on one of the games!  

Schools Update – Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going 

In 2024, we are continuing to update our TY Programme to make it as educational as possible by actively updating our materials and information. Following this, we wanted our member firms to support our endeavour to improve the financial literacy of students today.  

6 schools have now finished the Programme across 4 counties - Loreto Balbriggan, Larkin Community College, Drimnagh Castle in Dublin, Mercy Tuam in Galway. Mercy College in Sligo and Colaiste Chiarain Athlone in Roscommon.  

The programme is currently live in St Mary's Edenderry in Offaly, starting later in February in GC Reachrann and Swords Community School in Dublin, then starting in March in Gaelcholaiste Mhuire AG, Cork and Castletroy, Limerick, pencilled to start in April in Blackrock College, Loreto Foxrock and Woodbrook, Bray and finally agreeing dates for a further 3 interested schools. 

We had some highly successful portfolio managers and some very keen students who hope to work in financial services in the future!  

Exciting Journey Ahead 

We look forward to the future of the programme with the support of Deloitte and all those who contribute their time and join our effort to improve financial literacy across Ireland. As we progress towards the summer, we are excited to join our industry leads in this important work.