Access to Education, Bridge to Employment  - A collaborative programme incorporating the following players:

• Munster Technological University
• University College Cork
• Junior Achievement Ireland
• Business in the Community
• Mayfield Community School
• Terence McSwiney Community College
• North Monastery Secondary School
• A Student Representative Forum
• Cork City Partnership
• DePuy
• Centocor
• Janssen Pharmaceutical
• Johnson & Johnson US and the Academy of Educational Development in Washington

The Johnson & Johnson companies based in Cork, Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd., DePuy and Centocor, in conjunction with Johnson & Johnson US and the Academy of Educational Development, Washington have developed a pilot programme, called “Access To Education, Bridge To Employment”.

The aim of the 4 year programme is to encourage & assist students from seleceted DEIS schools in Cork City to stay in school and progress to third level education with a particular reference to Science & Technology.

A series of access initiatives ie career guidance seminars, campus taster programmes, role model seminars and parent information days will form part of a programme. This will culminate with a number of students being given scholarships to attend the Cork Institute of Technology and University College Cork.

The programme will be a dynamic combination of such initiatives along with industry based initiatives such as site visits, career talks in schools, mentoring etc within the Johnson & Johnson companies in Cork.

Almost two hundred 5th year students from the three schools in the Northside of Cork City will be involved in the Programme.

Johnson & Johnson have been running the Bridge to Employment Programme in the US for over ten years and Cork has the honour of been chosen as the first international site outside of the US to run this pilot programme.

Two students from each of the participating schools act as a student representative forum and were involved in the draughting up of the programme.