Enrichment activities are often seen as the poorer cousin to core academic subjects – but we know that they can have a powerful influence on a young person’s life and opportunities (Ireland’s big school secret: how a year off‑curriculum changes teenage lives, 16 October).
Enrichment and non-formal learning activities support a young person’s social and personal development and skills for life, and work in ways that textbooks and traditional lessons can’t. These are the skills that employers tell us they really value and, when available, these are the activities that often engage young people the most.
