Bricks 4 Kidz, a teaching programme for children that uses Lego to promote science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), is to roll out 30 sub-franchises, creating 150 jobs over the next three years.
The news comes following the acquisition of the company’s Irish operations by Wexford-based Karl Fitzpatrick, who wants to expand its reach further across the country.
Of the 150 jobs to be created, the group said there will be immediate roles for a franchise development team, including a franchise development manager and franchise support executives.
Likewise, Bricks 4 Kidz’s creativity centre in Wexford has immediate vacancies for science, maths, engineering and IT teachers with a keen interest in Lego.
Bricks 4 Kidz is currently established across 40 countries worldwide and the company said that its programmes are built around proprietary model plans that are designed to be exciting and relevant to children’s interests, all of which have been created by engineers and architects.
So far, the Irish programmes within Bricks 4 Kidz have been based only in Leinster, specifically in Ashbourne, Dunboyne and Clonee.
Participants in the programme are asked to build a new project each month, with architectural concepts being taught while participants assemble buildings, bridges and other structures.
Once the project is completed the children, aged between four and 12, use the rest of their time to expand their gadgets and collaborate with one another.
Speaking of Bricks 4 Kidz’s future in Ireland, Fitzpatrick said: “I closely monitor international trends in the education sector and two areas that have emerged recently are the increased focus on teaching STEM along with the need for creative and play-based education.
“Bricks 4 Kidz stood out as a business that combined both of these elements and has already achieved phenomenal success across the globe. We will be opening our first creativity centre in Wexford in July and plan to have a strong presence in every county across the country by 2018”.
