Age: Primary 5/7

Supported by Ni4kids, our The Business Beginnings programme allows young people to get real business experience by setting up and running their own company. Aimed at young people from Primary 5 to Primary 7, the programme gives an insight into how business works in the real world.

A lot of focus during Primary 6/7 is on the transfer test, so it is great to see the students getting to have fun working on developing skills that will be useful to them as they move into big school, and eventually help them in their career.

I believe we are fortunate in Northern Ireland that our Curriculum includes a focus on skills that are key to success in life, such as communication skills, teamwork, decision making and problem solving.

The emphasis is often on academic output and exams, and so it’s really important for us to provide schools and teachers with the support to allow young people to develop these skills.

‘Business Beginnings’ does exactly that – bringing in classroom resources and expertise from business mentors to allow the students to experience the real world of business and selling.