Financial Life Skills for Young People

Through employment we generate the money we need to fund our lives. In order to build a career that can match their aspirations, every young person needs to develop the skills and techniques required to gain employment.

Being able to conduct background research on employers, prepare a CV, write a job application, and attend job interviews with confidence, are all dependent upon these skills and aptitudes, from the outset of one’s career and throughout one’s working life.

Modern life demands that we are all functionally financially literate. The decisions we make often have financial consequences that are not always immediately apparent.

Being exposed to a variety of scenarios, and facing a wide range of challenges, while still in the safe confines of education is the best and most effective way for young people to comprehend the key financial concepts that dominate all our lives – credit, interest, debt, and cash flow.

Developing a clear understanding of these concepts and, most importantly, how they interconnect ensures young people can cope with the competing needs of spending, saving, and investing while managing their hard earned money.

Active citizens are essential for a successful society and economy. As citizens, we fund the government, which spends our taxes on public services and sets the laws by which we operate. Through our national and local democratic systems, we all have the opportunity to participate in, and influence the direction of our society.

An active citizen understands how our political, economic and social systems work and, crucially, how they can build their own independent adult lives within that framework. In doing so, they become responsible for the part they play in our democracy, with all the benefits that will bring.

Every financial decision we make has consequences beyond our own personal lives. The environmental capital of the planet is being diminished as the global population grows and developing economies add to the demand for resources. Understanding the role we can play to make our society sustainable – through conserving resources and reducing pollution - is a critical area of knowledge for our young people to acquire.

Only through understanding the day-to-day impact of our actions can we ensure that this generation, and those that follow, are able to make decisions that will ensure the future sustainability of our planet.