Are financial education and careers education linked?
Many of my blogs so far have been aimed at students or clients, with a ‘side benefit’ that hopefully other careers professionals find them useful too. This blog ‘flips’ this around, to be predominately more aimed at professionals working with students. The topic - how careers education and financial education are linked. The intention is to take a look at what they both are, useful resources and some suggestions for linking them further. There are a whole host of useful resources for both areas, which often ‘exist’ in parallel to each other.
For several reasons financial education and careers education have both been getting more focus in recent years. The London Institute of Banking and Finance have run an annual survey each year since financial education became part of the national curriculum in 2014. The 2019 survey had some interesting findings. Including that -
64% of students say they have access to financial education compared to only 29% in 2015
most are taught financial education as part of other subjects and the majority don’t receive financial education regularly
the majority say they would like to learn more in school (82%) and regularly worry about money and their personal finances
From a careers education point of view, these findings could very easily ‘mirror’ what happens with careers work too. How else are they similar? Good delivery can be seen as a postcode lottery in schools, curriculum pressures mean that both face ‘competition’ for delivery time in a crowded timetable. And significantly, if done well both can make a huge impact on students future well being and economic engagement in society.
So, what should a decent careers education programme be aiming to achieve? The updated CDI framework suggests 3 outcomes for students,
Developing yourself through careers, employability and enterprise education
Learning about careers and the world of work
Developing your career management, employability and enterprise skills
The all party parlimentary group Financial Education for Young People produced a report in 2016 which suggests financial education should be a
‘planned programme of study that equips young people with knowledge, skills and confidence to manage their money well’ (p5).
The ‘cross over’ and benefits between students recieving ‘good’ careers and financial education should be fairly logical! After all, if a student is helped into a great career but isn’t particularly financially literate, they won’t be able to live their ‘best life’, or cope as well with any unexpected career or financial ‘bumps in the road’. Alternatively, if they are really financially savvy but aren’t as aware about how to use their aptitudes, educational opportunities or Labour Market Information they may miss opportunities to develop their earning potential.
Did you know that there is a Financial Education Planning Framework? There are definite elements that could be seen as careers education related, e.g. the ‘Links between work, life choices and financial planning’ and ‘Personal and economic links with the wider world’ could both connect well with career planning, using LMI and opportunity awareness sessions! And who wouldn’t agree that the D.O.T.S model could be relevant with financial education too? (Decision making, Opportunity awareness, Transition skills and Self awareness for those reading this without a careers background!).
What resources are there that could be useful for each area? The Real Game and its different key stages versions has been a great resource in the past. Hopefully it will be updated and accessible again soon. There are several useful resources at Young Enterprise, which have been through a quality assurance process. Did you know that there is a ‘My Money Week’ and ‘National Careers Week’? Both these links provide resources that can be used! Young Enterprise have a very useful newsletter, which is definitely worth signing up for. Interestingly, Young Enterprise also have a Teachers Hub which does try to bring both employability and financial education together in how they support teachers. The CDI (Careers Development Institute) is well known as the national association for careers professionals, there are a number of communities of interest, including for those working in education. Being able to talk to others about how they plan and deliver careers/financial education can be a great way forward.
Martin Lewis has produced a free financial education text book that can be downloaded. It has been mapped against the English curriculum, so should be a source of good ideas! There are also some really useful other websites/podcasts that older students and their parents/families might find useful too. These include Money to the Masses and Meaningful Money. There are a range of charities too, who have twitter ‘presence’ and several have resources to use, e.g. The Money Advice Service, The Money Charity, Step Change and Young Enterprise/Young Money. HMRC are worth a mention here too, they have a whole host of useful youtube materials that are really helpful for those thinking about self employment!
So, what could you do to raise the profile of both careers and financial education where you work? Here are some suggestions - they are just that though, suggestions! You will know your own setting well enough to know what might work now, in the medium term or might be best left as a long term suggestion!
Could you work with the financial education ‘champion’ or careers lead in school/college to do some joined up activities in National Careers Week or My Money Week?
Could you do some joint CPD sessions for staff, to raise their confidence about having conversations with students? Both are areas that non specialist staff may feel uncomfortable having conversations about - especially if their own career management/financial management skills need improving!
Could you access some of the resources highlighted above and share them around staff?
Could either/both be looked for in any lesson observations?
Could you look at the CDI employability framework and Financial Education Planning Framework to see how your current provision ‘overlaps’ both? Any minor tweaks that could increase how both are met?
Could you use any parent newsletters to promote careers and financial education messages?
Could your year 13’s have a budgeting session? A number of years ago, I knew a biology teacher who was a careers lead. She always did a session with her year 13’s about what was ‘safe’ to eat and being able to pick up bargains in the supermarket with food being discounted near the end of its shelf life.
Could you promote self employment options through getting the local FSB representatives in or other self employed/small business owners?
These are just some ideas - what else could you do?
I hope these resources, links and suggestions identified here at least spark some thoughts and discussions. At the end of the day, students need both careers and financial education to ensure they become engaged in society and economically successful. And which careers professional/financial education specialist doesn’t want this as an outcome?
Mark Yates
Careers Writers Association member
