Digital Marketing in Action: Skills4Retail Pilot Inspires Students at Grange Community College

This is the Skills4Retail Digital Marketing pilot in action, delivered by Junior Achievement Ireland (JAI), and the results are telling.

What the pilot set out to do

The Skills4Retail Digital Marketing module was brought into Grange Community College as part of JAI’s broader mission: to connect young people with the world of work before they enter it.

The module introduced students to brand awareness, customer engagement, and the growing role of digital channels in retail. These are skills that were once considered specialist knowledge but are now entry-level expectations in many retail and commerce roles.

What makes the JAI model distinctive is the integration of industry volunteers into the learning experience. These are professionals who give their time to bring classroom content to life with real examples, real challenges, and the kind of authentic enthusiasm that no textbook can replicate.

An industry mentor who made a difference

For this pilot, that mentor was Karl O’Shaughnessy, Digital Development Lead at daa Labs, Dublin Airport Authority. Karl brought his experience working at the intersection of digital technology and customer experience, a perfect fit for a module focused on how digital marketing supports real-world business goals.

His involvement was noticed. Reflecting on the experience, Karl said:

“Being able to share experience from my work in daa Labs and bring practical context into the classroom made it especially rewarding. I’m genuinely proud to be involved in work like this in the local community.”

The students felt the difference. Their teacher, Deirdre Bredin, noted how Karl’s presence changed the energy in the room:

“Karl was an excellent mentor. He brought real life to our courses and the students were really engaged and really enjoyed it.”

Why digital marketing matters for these students

Deirdre is clear about why this module matters for her particular cohort.

“We study marketing and customer service, and a lot of our beauty students set up on their own. Digital marketing would be an integral part of this.”

This speaks to something important about Skills4Retail’s design. The programme is not built for one type of learner or one type of career. Whether a student is headed into retail management, launching their own business, or pursuing a career in beauty, hospitality, or any other customer-facing sector, the ability to understand and use digital marketing tools is increasingly non-negotiable.

The students themselves confirmed this. One 4th year student, asked to describe the experience, said simply:

“Fantastic! Really enjoyed myself and it sparked a passion in me for digital marketing.”

The broader picture for Ireland

Ireland’s retail sector is one of the country’s most significant employers, with over 270,000 people working in retail across the island. The sector has undergone significant digital transformation in recent years, accelerated by the pandemic and the continued growth of online shopping.

Yet the pipeline of talent with genuine digital retail skills remains thin, particularly at entry and graduate level.

Programmes like Skills4Retail, particularly when delivered through trusted networks like JAI, with the backing of industry partners like Dublin Airport Authority, offer a practical, scalable way to address this. Crucially, they do so in a way that meets young people where they are: in classrooms, at VET level, before they have committed to a career path.

Coming up: More pilots, more learners

The Dublin pilot is part of a much larger Skills4Retail journey, with partner organisations across Austria, Czech Republic, Portugal, Romania, and Latvia all testing and delivering modules in their own national contexts.

What unites all of these experiences, from Bucharest to Riga, from Vienna to Lisbon, is the consistent message from learners and educators alike: this training fills a real gap, and young people respond to it.

Stay connected to hear more from each of these pilots as we share updates throughout the summer.