CollegesWales and NTFW keep 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.