10-year partnership celebrations for Kingspan and Inver College
Business in the Community Ireland’s (BITCI) congratulates Kingspan and Inver College, Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan for partnering for the past decade to deliver its World of Work programme to 2nd years students.
The nationwide World of Work programme provides industry insights to 2nd year DEIS students through corporate volunteers from a local company. The volunteers share their career experiences, overview of their daily duties and tasks and hosts a site visit to their company. A dedicated YES (Youth Engagement in Sustainability) module demonstrates to the students how the company is becoming more sustainable and encourages them to participate in project-based competition to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding.
Over the past 10 years, this partnership between Kingspan and Inver College has benefited 203 students.
Andrea Lazenby Simpson, BITCI Head of Education said “We applaud Kingspan for their ongoing commitment to this partnership with Inver College and the dedication of Mark Lynch of Kingspan in his commitment to delivering the programme. Kingspan originally partnered with us to deliver Skills@Work which then transformed into World of Work.”
Mark Lynch, ISO Systems Support Engineer and original Kingspan volunteer involved in the initiative, commented: “This is a fantastic project that offers Kingspan employees a meaningful way to support Inver College. It provides students with a unique and practical insight into the world of work, while also giving us the chance to give back to our local community.” Mark also acknowledged the crucial support he received from BITCI Regional Coordinator Kate Horton, adding, “The guidance and advice from Kate was invaluable. Her support made delivering the course both easier and more enjoyable for everyone involved.”
This programme helps raise career expectations of students, encourages them to do better in school and make more informed career choices. This partnership was the original winner of the YES module when it was introduced in 2022. Students can see first-hand at the site visit of their R&D centre in Kingscourt Co. Cavan how much Kingspan are adopting and prioritising sustainable innovations into the core of their business operations.
Lorraine Fealy Junior Cycle Schools Programme Coordinator said “The partnership between Inver College and Kingspan has evolved over the years originally beginning with 5th years and now engaging 2nd years to give them exposure to career pathways and opportunities. Students are now learning about sustainability and Kingspan’s “Planet Earth” initiative. We were delighted our pupils won the inaugural YES competition for their Water Agents project which looked at eliminating plastic bottles. Inver College looks forward to continued partnership with Kingspan.”
In 2025, BITCI celebrates its 25th anniversary and as leaders in sustainability and social inclusion, the partnering of corporate volunteers with local DEIS schools with the intent of addressing education disadvantage and achieve greater equity of opportunities remain vital to BITCI’s social inclusion objectives.
The World of Work programme is funded by Tusla.
