Business Action on Education Showcase Event
Tuesday, May 24th, 2016
Over 150 people from the business sector attended this first ever showcase event and it proved to be a very beneficial day for all. The Chair of BITCI, Kieran McGowan kicked it off and congratulated all the businesses on their tremendous impact in their local communities as a result of being involved in the Schools’ Business Partnership.
Nessa MacDonagh, Head of HR, Generali Link Ltd. gives her feedback on the event:
“Thank you so much for a wonderful day today. Kerrie, Aideen and I were bowled over by the level of thoughtful planning. The panel discussions were so interesting and it was lovely to hear about Marks & Spencer’s involvement. I had heard you both speaking when you visited us last year how low key their involvement has been. It can be a cynical world, so they provide a great example for us in witnessing a corporate’s selfless involvement in community based activities.”
Maurice Pratt, Board BITCI moderated the interesting plenary panel which discussed the future of such engagement and we had different views from the panellists: Mr Seán O’Foghlú, Secretary General, Dept. of Education & Skills; Lauren Keegan, New Relic; Jennifer Aherne, Kirby Group; Gerry Kane, State Street Global Services and George Roche, Retired Principal, Nagle CC, Cork. The audience were very engaged and had great questions for the panellists which got everyone thinking.
Three breakout sessions took place:
How business can support educators (principals & teachers) which featured Cornmarket’s Rachel Hyland and Procter & Gamble’s Kieran Conway. The teacher perspective was presented by Aidan Brehony, a teacher in St. Conleth’s VS, Newbridge- The CEO of Friends First, Tom Browne gave a most interesting perspective on why he volunteers in the Time to Read programme. Bernie O’Connor from ESB (Time to Read sponsor) shared her enjoyment of the programme and the audience got a good insight in to the child benefits from Margaret Irwin of St. Brigid’s GNS on Haddington Road in Dublin.
- Many businesses face challenges in ensuring their future people pipeline is health and this session discussed this critical issue. Gerard Grant from Pramerica shared what his business is doing in Donegal to inform, energize and support teachers and students so that they are fully aware of the career opportunities and diverse roles that exist. IBM’s Ann Patton spoke about the many initiatives, supports and cutting edge approaches that IBM employ.
Fiona Meehan, Senior CSR Executive with Three shared all that they have done in recent years supporting St. Joseph’s SS in Fairview, Dublin including the fun bit – their longest serving volunteer Nigel Wakeham was recently made an honorary student of the school and presented with the Joey’s school tie!
