The Association of Teachers of Home Economics (ATHE) has announced a new partnership with celebrity Chef Neven Maguire, which has been launched to mark World Home Economics Day 2018. The theme of World Home Economics Day 2018 is Home Economics Literacy: Skills for Healthy and Sustainable Cooking.
As a collective group of home economists, the ATHE is calling upon the Irish government to make Home Economics compulsory for all post-primary students in Ireland in an attempt to develop essential food and culinary skills in young people.
Commenting on the initiative, Maguire said, "My first cooking lessons were at home with my mother Vera in our family kitchen. I was the first boy in my school to enrol for Home Economics classes in secondary school. These classes were the basis of my love of food which led to my entering Fermanagh catering college and the beginnings of my work at MacNean House and Restaurant. I am forever grateful for the practical life skills that I learned through this subject.
"I am delighted to support this initiative with the Association of Teachers of Home Economics who do stellar work with young people in schools across Ireland. The campaign will further encourage young people to learn and develop important and practical skills to cook their own tasty and nutritious meals at home.
"The skills learned throughout Home Economics are ones which students can utilise themselves day to day, and I believe there are massive benefits to having the subject become a compulsory part of the curriculum, regardless of whether they want to pursue a career in the food and hospitality sector."
