Why financial education in schools will be more important than ever before

Louise Neill, community manager at YBS, created the financial education programme Money Minds in 2015, which saw staff at the mutual go into schools to help pupils learn about managing finances.

Ms Neill believes it is more important now than ever for young people to learn about managing money given the economic situation that has been created by the Covid-19 outbreak.

She told The Yorkshire Post: “This is something that just can’t be put on the backburner. Children really need this kind of education.

“Lots of families are struggling through redundancies, furlough and that kind of thing.

“It’s really important to continue money and finance education so that maybe these families’ children can put themselves in a better position when they get much older.”

YBS also announced that it is putting £240,000 extra investment into Bradford in 2021, to deliver a commitment to provide employability and digital skills training and support its home city’s post-Covid recovery.

The investment supports the Bradford-based mutual’s longer-term ambition to provide at least 2,000 people in the city, including at least 1,000 young people, with employability support through access to training, work experience, mentoring, apprenticeships and some targeted financial support for further education by the end of 2022.

Ms Neill said that financial education in state schools is “not very good” as it is.

The community manager at YBS added: “It isn’t a subject that is taught separately. I would have appreciated it being a part of the National Curriculum as a child when I was learning.”

Speaking of her own experiences growing up, Ms Neill says that children are likely to be more receptive to lessons around managing finances.

She added: “When I was a child, my mum and dad were never well off but it stood me in good stead. I just said I don’t want to be in this position when I’m older and I’m not.

“Sometimes being exposed to that kind of background can be helpful because you do want to get yourself out of that situation for your own adult years.”

Financial education is delivered as part of PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) but Ms Neill says that “financial education doesn’t always get the full focus that it needs”.

The Money Minds programme has switched to providing online lessons since the first lockdown in March last year.

Prior to lockdown, it was a volunteering opportunity for staff at the mutual.

Ms Neill said: “It was up to colleagues to create relationships with local schools in their area.

“The materials originally were delivered face to face.

“Of course, Covid-19 put a stop to that so we had to think on our feet and get on with producing sessions digitally.”

Her message to other financial institutions is to support young people as they have been the hardest hit of any generation by the pandemic. She said: “I believe that younger people of this world have been more affected by the pandemic than any other genera- tion.

“I recommend that we concentrate on young people and do all we can to support them.”

Money Minds lessons can be found at www.ybs.co.uk/media-centre/money-minds-home-school

YBS committed to future skills

As part of its employability skills commitment, Yorkshire Building Society is providing £120,000 for small and medium-sized firms in Bradford to offer apprenticeships in IT, digital, science, technology, engineering and maths and professional services careers.

The society will be launching pilot schemes in 2021 to provide opportunities for digital skills training to people of working age in local communities to increase their chances of securing future employment.

Chief executive Mike Regnier said: “By investing this additional £240,000 we will be building on our previous experience working in our local communities.”

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