Financial Innovation and numeracy opportunities
Amidst rising inflation, increased taxes and spiralling energy costs, 86% of UK adults say they are concerned about day-to-day living costs. The cost-of-living crisis disproportionately impacts young people, who tend to have less savings to fall back on. A survey by The Prince’s Trust found that 46% of young people have fears about not having enough money to buy essentials, whilst a quarter have skipped meals to cut back on spending. A third said they can’t afford to turn the heating on.
One of the reasons people of all ages are bearing the brunt of the living crisis is because they often lack the skills and confidence to effectively manage their money, to save, or to deal with debt. Debts and money problems can in turn have a negative impact on mental health, with a staggering 81% of young people feeling anxious about money and finance.
To help address facets of this complex issue, ELBA has collaborated with New City College to offer the ‘Managing your Money’ programme, a financial literacy programme that supports people of all ages with their day-to-day money management. This is part of a new government-funded initiative called Multiply, which helps adults improve their numeracy skills.
Through a series of workshops, attendees will learn how to create a budget, find the best tariff deals on the market, improve their credit scores and manage debt. The programme aims to equip everyone with the knowledge and skills to make better financial decisions.
Andy Lymer, professor of Taxation and Personal Finance at Aston University, highlights the importance of financial literacy during the current financial crisis:
“Financial education alone won’t solve the cost-of-living crisis, but making better financial decisions might help people… Now more than ever, financial education is key. You can’t start learning good financial decision-making early enough, nor is there a point you should stop learning about it. Improving our financial education needs to be a lifelong habit and is especially important right now.”
We are therefore thrilled to be working with New City College to help our beneficiaries to better understand and manage their own personal finances.
New City College are also offering two other pathways through the Multiply initiative. The ‘Family Learning’ programme is aimed at parents with children in Year 1-11, providing them with various techniques to enhance their children’s understanding of mathematics, with an emphasis on methods currently used in schools.
The ‘Upskilling for Promotion’ programme is for employees who are seeking to improve their maths skills in order to progress within their chosen career path. The programme tackles key mathematical concepts such as fractions, decimals and percentages, and the use of excel in the workplace.
All three programmes are aimed at those aged 19 and over who do not have a C grade in GCSE mathematics. Also, all three programmes are free and participants can attend as many as they want. The initiative will help them to build their numeracy skills and develop their confidence with numbers, whether that be to improve their household finances, help their children with homework or unlock job opportunities.
Courses are short (15 hours in total). They can be face to face or online and will be modified once the tutors meet the attendees to answer their queries wherever possible. Groups are small and there are no assessments – it’s all about support and providing pragmatic skills without the kind of abstract maths we all remember from school!
If you are interested in enrolling on the Multiply programme or would like to find out further information, please email Musa Bukenya at musa.bukenya@elba-1.org.uk.
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