M&S Mary Street Celebrating 40 years in Ireland

Monday, December 16th, 2019

Sharon Kelly, HR Section Manager, Marks and Spencer Mary Street and Recruitment

What does the school link mean to Marks and Spencer?

The company sees the link with Larkin College as an important part of its corporate responsibility in contributing to the local community. It is great to be able to offer practical support in an area that we can share our expertise and feel that we are contributing to the community we are part of. It is also seen as a good opportunity for employees to engage further with colleagues and develop themselves. Employees enjoy participating in “A Day in the Life” and the mock interviews. It is a great opportunity to share experience and knowledge.
The company is celebrating 40 years in Ireland this year and is very proud of its well-established link with Larkin College.

What does the link mean to me as an individual?

I love this partnership. I really enjoy meeting the students. I get such satisfaction watching them grow in confidence from the first day we meet. I am constantly impressed with the Transition Year students and the school’s TY programme. It energizes me every year and reminds me that there is a bigger picture in all that we do. These students are our future and it is important that we all do what we can to help them learn, and while what we do is only a very small part of their Transition Year activities, I always hope that it helps them in the future.

I was recently interviewing a young man for a sales advisor position in one of our other stores. His interview was not great and he was not successful. I really felt for him and couldn’t help feeling a certain pride that this would not happen to any of our Transition Year Larkin students. I asked him if he had done any previous interviews and he said no. He had not had the opportunity to do any mock interviews either. So I saw first-hand the advantage of mock interviews and how it really can make the difference between getting that job, or not as in this case.