Enterprise club
Enterprise Club is organised with he business department, one lunchtime per week. Students get the opportunity to work in enterprise teams to develop their enterprise ideas. This club allows students the time to work on their projects without infringing on class time and gives students a space to seek help and advice from their business teacher.
Enterprise Christmas Fair
TY students organise an Enterprise Christmas Fair in the school canteen. All enterprise students including Enterprise Club teams present their product to teachers and students allowing them the opportunity to browse and buy from the stands on display. The Student Enterprise Co-Ordinator judges the products on display and decides on what groups will be put forward into the Kerry Student Enterprise Awards competition. It was a day of awards and celebration for the hard work completed by the students.
Student Enterprise Programme
Students from 1st year to 6th year get to set up and run their own business and find out what it’s really like to be an entrepreneur by taking part in this 8 month long enterprise education learning programme.
The Programme runs from September to May, and students get to do everything a real life entrepreneur would do from coming up with the business idea to marketing, sales and preparing a business plan.
At the end of the programme in May, one student business from each region gets to compete at the National Final for the ‘Student Enterprise of the Year’ award.
Castleisland Community College has had huge success in the competition to date!
Foróige Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Competition
The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Programme is a world recognised, youth entrepreneurship education and development programme. It is provided by Foróige in Ireland and is affiliated to NFTE International. This gives students an opportunity to develop skills and possibly travel around Ireland and Europe and be in with the opportunity to attend the International NFTE Global Gala Event in New York City. NFTE provides fantastic support to the students in the programme. In Castleisland Community College the programme is delivered to students in Transition Year and student in Enterprise Club.
The purpose of the programme is for students to set up and run their very own business. Businesses can consist of one, two or three people and each student is given a loan of €15 to help them start their business and this loan must be repaid in full at the end of the year. The students are taught all the different aspects involved in setting up and running a business such as working out their costs, how to conduct market research, how to sell to customers etc. Students are free to set up any business they wish and have complete control over decision making in the business.
There are four key parts to completing the programme. Firstly each student must set up their business. Then they must trade their products or services at a trade fair in the school. They must then complete a detailed business plan before they present their business plan and idea at a Dragons Den in the school where one business is chosen to represent the school at the NFTE Regional Finals in the hope of reaching the National Finals. Each student who completes the programme is awarded a certificate from Foroige in recognition of becoming entrepreneurs. Over the course of the programme profits are gained and losses are incurred but the key fact that remains is that life skills and knowledge are attained.
Money Smarts Competition
This virtual national secondary school competition combines financial literacy education with a fun challenge. Students have the opportunity to be in with a chance of winning €25,000 for their secondary school.