Barclays Bank launches 15m financial skills programme for young people
Andy Hillier
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Barclays Bank is to invest 15m over the next three years to help improve the financial skills of young people in the UK.
The Barclays Money Skills programme will be run in partnership with Action for Children, the National Youth Agency and the National Skills Academy for Financial Services. It aims to reach one million young people by 2012.
Under the proposals, more than 120 Barclays staff will work alongside Action for Children project workers to provide intensive coaching on money management issues. Sessions will be held at 31 projects across the UK, with the target of reaching 2,500 people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
In 2011, Barclays and the National Skills Academy for Financial Services will run money skills learning weeks at 150 colleges.
Barclays will work with a consortium of six leading charities, led by the National Youth Agency, to deliver Barclays Money Skills Champions – a peer education programme to support disadvantaged young people. This programme will be rolled in partnership with Citizens Advice, Rathbone UK, UK Youth, YouthAccess and YouthNet.
Michelle Smith, head of communities at Barclays, said: "Research shows that 90 per cent of young people turn to family and friends for financial advice. That’s why we’re delivering a peer education programme where young people can turn to other young people for advice."
Organisations including the Consumer Financial Education Body currently run other financial literacy programmes for young people, but Smith denied that Barclays was replicating existing work. "There are a lot of young people who aren’t being reached," she said. "By working with organisations like Action for Children we’ll be able to reach some of the most vulnerable groups."
She also denied that the money would be better invested in community groups, many of which are fighting for survival as a result of the economic downturn triggered by the banking crisis. "The Money Skills programme is more than a financial investment," she said. "It also allows Barclays and its staff to bring their core expertise to the programme."
Last month, Barclays Bank admitted it paid just £113m in UK corporation tax in 2009 despite recording £11.6bn of profits.
