Junior Entrepreneur Programme now open

PRIMARY schools across Co Wicklow are being urged to sign their budding young business brains up to the Junior Entrepreneur Programme, which was launched in recent days.

The pr Junior Entrepreneur Programme (JEP) encourages children in fifth and sixth class to learn about entrepreneurship and launch their own businesses which, in the past, have ranged from clocks and games to books and solutions for everyday problems.

Running over a 12- to 16-week period during the school year, JEP nurtures creativity, independence and problem-solving among pupils, with every aspect of the programme blending into the curriculum. Local entrepreneurs are invited to visit the JEP classrooms and tell the story of their business.

Every child produces a business idea and entrepreneurs are invited to participate in a Dragon’s Den-style session where they are helped with selecting one final idea for the class to pursue.

Jerry Kennelly, chairman of JEP and founder of Tweak.com, which underwrites the JEP programme, said the JEP gives children an opportunity to learn more about business and the real world before they have to decide what they will study in second level.

‘It gives children the opportunity to do something for themselves, to invest their money and get back profit they’ve made themselves. Along the way they learn the importance of entrepreneurs in their community and find out what they’re good at,’ he said.

Participating classes will get a chance to showcase their classroom business at an All Ireland Showcase Day in Dublin next May.

Fifth and sixth classes can sign up to JEP 2019 until Friday September 28. For more information, visit www.juniorentrepreneur.ie.