Young people taking part in educational programmes designed to help them understand the world of work are gradually taking full responsibility for their enterprises, according to Pat Fay, a teacher at St Paul's Secondary School in Raheny, Dublin. Fay, who has received a bursary to carry out research into the Junior Achievement Ireland programmes, has found so far that students taking part in Junior Achievement Ireland - set up in 1994 by a group of business people following a US model - are increasingly expanding their role.

The programme aims to give young people insights into the mechanics of business, economics and the work ethic. In the 1996-97 school year, more than 1,650 students in 20 schools took part.