Keeping Learners Financially Fit

Financial education for further education learners and work-based trainees has been given a boost with the development of interactive sessions, focused tutorials, quizzes and games.

At the ‘Keeping Learners Financially Fit’ speed-dating conference on 14 June at Cardiff City Football Stadium, almost 100 educators and students showcased new resources and initiatives that have been developed over the past year to improve learners’ financially capability.

The event was part of the UK-wide Money for Life initiative, a two-year, £4 million investment which aims to create a step change in financial capability among adult learners.

In Wales, Money for Life is led by ColegauCymru/CollegesWales in collaboration with NTFW and sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group.

Through showcasing resources developed by Money for Life focus groups made up of a wide variety of organisations and learners, the conference focused on:

• why financial capability is so important to the further education, work-based learning and community education sectors, and
• the role that education practitioners: tutors, advice workers and community workers, play in equipping learners with sound money management skills that benefits the learners as well as wider society. 

Addressing the money management needs of different types of learners, the resources have been developed with and for people who are unemployed, those on low incomes and young parents.
Examples showcased included:

• A special financial well-being event on the pitfalls of poor money management that was organised for young people by Coleg Glan Hafren, focusing on the experiences of victims of loan sharks that had been in the local media. Videos of loan shark victims helped give an understanding of how deeply such an experience can affect someone’s life.  This prompted a peer-peer learning session where participants shared their own experiences and they all committed to learn how to manage money in order to avoid such desperate pitfalls.
• An interactive online quiz on the finance of employment, which teaches and tests knowledge of pay scales in different occupations and tax and National Insurance rules. The quiz, developed by Barry College, will be shared among all colleges and the wider educational sector through the National Grid for Learning (NGfL).
• ‘The taste of money’ - a blind tasting exercise comparing budget and premium branded produce presented by Deeside College students was judged by the ‘Keeping Learners Financially Fit’ audience as the best presentation on the day.
• A Monopoly style board game attractively designed by Coleg Harlech/WEA North Wales where the aim of the game is ensuring value for money. Players throw a dice and move across a board, answering questions and attempting to keep money in their personal kitty. To go overdrawn is to lose!
• A dedicated programme of financial capability tutorials to complement the Essential Skills Wales study programme under consideration by a group comprised of Barry College, City and Council of Swansea, Coleg Harlech/WEA North Wales, Merthyr Learning Centre, Neath Citizens’ Advice Bureau, Neath Port Talbot College and Pembrokeshire College.

A key purpose of all the resources and programmes showcased at ‘Keeping Learners Financially Fit’ was to help young people acquire skills to help them control their finances throughout their adult lives.

The day closed with a panel discussion with senior representatives from the National Training Federation for Wales, Lloyds Banking Group, ColegauCymru / CollegesWales, NIACE Dysgu Cymru, and the National Union of Students (NUS) Wales.

Michaela Neild, NUS Wales Deputy President said: “Money for Life is a hugely important initiative that helps students to learn the money skills they need to be able to stay in education and training and ultimately throughout their adult lives. In addition, I am really pleased that so many students participated in the ‘Keeping Learners Financially Fit’ conference and that they were given the opportunity to be directly involved in developing the resources and opportunities through Money for Life focus groups, making sure that the outputs are relevant to learners’ lives.” 

Berni Tyler, Head of Quality at CollegesWales said: “The range of participants at the ‘Keeping Learners Financially Fit’ conference – the culmination of the first year of the Money for Life initiative, was testament to the inclusive approach we are taking to benefit learners from across a diverse spectrum. It has proved a successful collaboration for further education, adult and community learning, work-based learning and industry. In the second year of the programme, we will be looking to develop on the peer-peer learning model, giving grants to learners to develop innovative ways to work with their community groups to teach them about financial capability.

For more information about the programme, please visit www.moneyforlifeprogramme.org.uk
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Media contact: Sylvia Davies on T: 029 2052 2500 or M: 07968 771913
Notes to Editors:

Money for Life

• Money for Life is supported by Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB and Halifax, owned by Lloyds Banking Group
• The programme builds on work started by the FSA and concluded by CFEB in 2010-11, as part of a seven-strand, five year national strategy for financial capability throughout the nations of the UK.  Two strands included funding for programmes via key workers for young adults in colleges, university and the youth sector, as well as a website and online financial tools.
• Money for Life is taking place in a phased approach over from 2010-12.  Phase one has focused on raising awareness and embedding financial capability and skills with adult learning and Further Education (FE) practitioners, whilst phase two will focus on the delivery of free-of-charge training and the Money for Life Challenge – a learner-focused financial capability activity.
• Money for Life offers two qualifications accredited by the Open College Network:
  1. ‘Teach me financial capability’: for practitioners who want to consolidate their own financial capability knowledge.
  2. ‘Teach others financial capability’: for anyone interested in developing skills to be able to help others improve their money management (e.g. through FE courses or community groups).
• Money for Life has identified and addressed barriers to financial capability learning via a series of focus groups across the UK, examining the financial capability needs of distinct learner groups.  Types of learns focused on by the groups were: ESOL learners, learners at risk of becoming NEET, migrant workers, work-based learning apprentices, access learners, work-based learners, young parents, young offenders, Skillbuild apprentices, students attending outreach centres, students in vocational learning, and students taking part in Essential Skills education. 
• Focus groups also took place which looked at providing financial capability coaching and skills through community networks, developing an interactive financial capability game, and those volunteering as a money mentor.
• In Northern Ireland, the focus groups which took place were Delivering Financial Capability for Access Learners and Financial Capability Support for Migrant Workers.

Further information on each focus group can be found here:
http://www.moneyforlifeprogramme.org.uk/resources/

Money for Life partner organisations (Wales):

ColegauCymru/CollegesWales
ColegauCymru / CollegesWales is the national organisation representing all 19 further education (FE) colleges and two FE institutions in Wales. Through CollegesWales, colleges are represented on various committees, working parties and other groups that influence and shape policy in post-16 education and life-long learning. http://www.collegeswales.ac.uk

Ffederasiwn Hyfforddiant Cenedlaethol Cymru/National Training Federation for Wales
The National Training Federation for Wales (NTfW) is a Wales wide membership organisation of over 90 organisations involved in the delivery of learning in the workplace. Members range from small specialist training providers to national and international organisations, as well as Local Authorities, Further Education Institutions and Charities.  The NTfW represents the interests of Training Providers and Learners to inform them about all aspects of the education and training agenda in Wales. http://www.ntfw.org/

Other UK partners:

Scotland’s Colleges (Scotland) http://www.scotlandscolleges.ac.uk/Welcome.html
National Skills Academy for Financial Services (England) http://www.nsafs.co.uk/ 
Toynbee Hall (England) http://www.toynbeehall.org.uk/
Educational Guidance Service for Adults (Northern Ireland) http://www.egsa.org.uk/