The PFS – Education Champion

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15 April 2019 

When you think back to school, do you recall ever being taught about finance?  No?  Us neither.

It isn’t until you were thrust into your first paid job that you even knew what a payslip was – or the meanings behind the words on it.

Finance really needs to be instilled into school age children so they are prepared when they’re out in the ‘real world’.  We need to start having conversations on finance now.

I wonder if you asked a child if they knew what insurance was if they’d know the answer?  And the same goes for pensions, savings and investments.  Whilst they may have a very basic understanding, it is really important for them to understand the importance of each of these.

In research conducted by Experian, it was revealed that half of the households under the age of 35 couldn’t afford an unexpected bill of £250.  Whilst it’s not correct in saying that if they were taught about savings in school that this figure would be eradicated, I’m positive it would be significantly lower.

Young people like to live in the here and now and quite often pay cheque to pay cheque.  If they’re not taught the importance of setting themselves up financially for when they’re older, a lifestyle that they get used to could come to an abrupt ending when they hit retirement.

So with this being said, we’d like to bring it to your attention a fantastic initiative being run by the PFS to get ‘Education Champions’ into school to discuss with 15-18-year-olds, the importance of money and being able to have that conversation.  Our very own Vicky Pearce is getting involved in the scheme and will be visiting schools in the local area to discuss different career options that they can take, to raise the profile of the industry as a careers destination and highlighting its wider contribution to society.

If you’d like to get involved too, the PFS is looking for more individuals to join – You can find more information here:

https://www.thepfs.org/membership/future-professionals/education-champions/