Today marks the official launch of the second year of The Pitch and The Public Jobs Schools Resource Kit to over 700 post-primary schools throughout Ireland. After the success of year one, which saw over a quarter of all post primary schools in the country registering, the initiative has been further optimised to provide students with the best learning experience to truly demystify careers in the public sector.
The Resource Kit includes a wealth of teachable moments for Transition Year (TY), Leaving Cert Applied (LCA) and Leaving Cert Vocational Programme (LCVP) classes. It contains pick up and teach lesson plans, covering diverse career paths and entry routes to the public sector, as well as employee videos that bring lesser-known roles to life. From Development Executives to Communications Officers and HR professionals, students will be introduced to a wide range career paths they may not already be familiar with.
Having received greatly positive and valuable feedback from year one, this year guidance counsellors and teachers will find a suite of standalone lesson plans on Publicjobs.ie, as well as brand new career profiles, videos, and career pathways to explore. The number of lesson plans will increase from 8 in year one to 16 for year two. As part of this, we have tripled the number of career path video interviews included in the Resource Kit.
A central component of the initiative is The Pitch – The Publicjobs.ie Schools Advertising Challenge, which last year saw more than 100 post-primary students from across the country stepping up to the challenge, by creating captivating videos to promote careers in the public sector to their fellow students. Working individually or in teams of up to six, students let their creativity flow, employing innovative digital skills to produce high-quality videos, in both Irish and English. We are delighted to announce that students will again have the opportunity to pitch a career in the public sector to their peers and a panel of judges as part of The Publicjobs.ie Schools Advertising Challenge. This year, there are three very exciting prizes up for grabs, which include; An action-packed visit to the Defence Forces at Curragh Camp DFTC, a behind the scenes all access studio tour of TG4 and an expert guided tour of any Office of Public Works Heritage site plus an annual Family Heritage Card.
PRIZES
DEFENCE FORCES
An action-packed visit to the Defence Forces at Curragh Camp DFTC.
TG4
A behind the scenes all access studio tour of TG4.
THE OPW
An expert guided tour of any Office of Public Works Heritage site plus an annual Family Heritage Card!
Commenting on the initiative, Interim Chief Executive Officer at Publicjobs.ie, Margaret McCabe said:
“This successful initiative presents a real opportunity for us to demystify the public sector for students, and to encourage them to consider a career in the public sector as we continue to develop a talented and skilled public sector that reflects the diversity of Irish society. We were delighted to see that the first year of the Public Jobs Schools Resource Kit was a huge success, despite the challenges presented by COVID-19. We are very much looking forward to seeing the creativity, innovation and teamwork of students across the country as they come together to learn more about careers in the public sector.”
For more information on the Public Jobs Schools Resource Kit, please visit publicjobs.ie/schools to explore the lesson plans, watch the videos and discover a range of informative materials about careers in the public sector. The Public Jobs Schools Resource Kit can be downloaded from publicjobs.ie and is available in both Irish and English, along with all the details of how to take part in The Pitch – The Publicjobs.ie Schools Advertising Challenge.
The Pitch Early Entry Deadline: 7th Dec 2022 (all early entries will be in with a chance to win a €200 ‘all 4 one voucher’ for their school)
The Pitch Final Entry Deadline: 10th March 2023