The Schools' Business Partnership (SBP) aims to match 158 post primary schools in Ireland with a local business in 2009.

“This initiative is a proven winner and it has been an effective partnership link for the school. It has a significant motivational impact on the students,” said Mary O'Sullivan, Career Guidance Counsellor at St Nessan's.

Anna Murphy, Access Project Officer at LIT provided the students with thought-provoking discussions and workshops to help introduce students to the real world of work.

“Initiatives, such as Skills @ Work, provide a dual-purpose-the students learn from us, and we learn from them. We are delighted to provide students, who learn literally in our back-yard, with the opportunity to learn more about the working world. We believe that by supporting these types of community activities we are contributing to their future success.”

The programme had a great impact from the students' point-of-view, too with one participant adding: “We saw people's everyday work lives; they all finished school and went onto college, so I am too.”

Students attended presentations on the typical 'day in the life' of various roles within LIT and also learned CV and interview skills, culminating in valuable real-life mock interviews.