IT WAS an early start for students at Limerick’s Ardscoil Rís when local business leaders held a special networking event in school on Wednesday morning to give students the opportunity to witness business at work firsthand.
The Sarsfield Business Network International (BNI) chapter which includes trades people, financial personnel, media and other service providers met with the students at 6.30am to show them how to network effectively to build a better future for themselves and their community.
Several of the students are involved in running their own mini enterprises as part of the transition year curriculum while sixth year students who attended are considering business as a third level option.
The Sarsfield BNI chapter are among the leading business networkers in the region, having generated over €5.3 million worth of business among them in just four years. Group members also support more than 200 jobs locally with this number set to grow in the coming months.
Chapter director Eleanor Murnane said they were delighted to hold their weekly meeting in the school among the future business leaders of Limerick. She said it was vital that young people learned about business outside of the classroom and she looked forward to seeing some of them in the chapter when they set up their own businesses.
Ardscoil Rís Principal Bríd de Brun said the meeting had given the students an opportunity to see the work that business owners put in to ensure a better future for themselves, the people they employ, and in turn, the local Limerick economy.
Transition Year student Louis Murray who is involved in one such small enterprise selling accessories for smart devices said, “The meeting is a good idea – it helps other businesses and your own and it’s great to meet up every week to keep track of what’s going on.”
The Sarsfield BNI group welcome local business people to attend their weekly meetings as a visitor in the Absolute Hotel at 6.30am. For further information contact Eleanor Murnane on 086 8940354, Paul Dorrell on 086 827 5951 or log on to www.bni-limerick.com
