Schools in Action: Busy Month for Irish Funds Financial Literacy Programme
Friday, 31 January 2025
There was fantastic engagement in January for the Irish Funds Financial Literacy Programme. Nine schools have now successfully completed the programme, with five schools in progress and another nine schools set to begin in the coming months. These schools span over ten different counties, underscoring the importance of regionalisation in the funds industry. As always, a huge thank you to our sponsor Deloitte, for the continued support.
Schools
Woodbrook College, Wicklow: Students completed the programme this week with Rachel Basquel from Deloitte. The class particularly enjoyed learning about the diverse careers available in the funds industry and discovering the many pathways to a career in funds.
Catholic University School, Dublin: With Michael D'Arcy from Principle Global Investors, students finished their final session, and Niall Dowd joined to present students with their pins and certificates. There was great feedback from students who took a keen interest in the Investment Management industry.
Drimnagh Castle, Dublin: The students completed the programme with KBC's Bogomil Marinov, Aifric Jordan, Paul Gannon, Gabriel Adekola and Stephen O'Neill. This week, they received a presentation from Deloitte's Rory Brown, who delivered the class's pins and certificates.
St. Mary's Secondary School Edenderry, Offaly: Students completed the programme last term with Brendan McGrath from Waystone and received their pins and certificates from Brendan and also Alan Cuddihy from Deloitte this week.
Schools Starting the Programme
Presentation Secondary School, Kilkenny: Karl Dullea and Mairead Buckley from State Street have delivered two fantastic sessions to the Transition Year students, and the students enjoyed setting up their Financial Times Schools portfolios.
Presentation De La Salle, Bagnelstown, Carlow: The students have completed two sessions with Saoirse Power and Elaine Halligan from State Street. The class were eager to learn about the funds industry and thoroughly enjoyed a bingo card game the industry leads created.
Upcoming Completions
The following schools are set to complete the TY Programme over the next month:
Castletroy College, Limerick with Mark Flynn, Northern Trust.
Kinsale Community School, with Grace O'Mahony from Deloitte.
Loreto Clonmel, Tipperary, with Aislinn O'Keefe and Joan Heuston from Waystone.
Feedback
We have been receiving feedback each week from individual sessions and are delighted to hear from our industry leads about their thoughts on the programme. Here are some quotes:
"Students find it enjoyable and it helps them think of future careers."
"I enjoy going back to my old school and giving back in some way. Plus, the engagement of the students is very enjoyable."
Teachers also provided excellent feedback that encourages great progress:
"It's really advantageous for second-level students to have contact with 'real life' professionals, to get a taste of a particular profession, and to hopefully motivate them towards a career that could be very rewarding. We find this particular module really engages our Transition Years."
"This is our third year collaborating with Irish Funds and it has been a really positive, engaging partnership."
Thank you
A note of thanks to our fantastic industry volunteers and to programme coordinator Eibhlin Johnston and Irish Funds team, Natasha Haugh, Paula Morley, Claudia Moran, Conor McGuinness and Sophie Walsh.