The Income Protection Task Force (IPTF) has formally launched its Financial Foundations programme, a volunteer-led financial education initiative aimed at 16 to 25-year-olds in educational institutions across the UK.
As Health & Protection reported, it was originally unveiled by the trade body earlier this year, but further details have now been confirmed for the start of the academic year.
The initiative has three objectives including starting conversations with young people about what it means to have a healthy relationship with money, and explaining key financial concepts that will help them manage their own money with confidence.
It also aims to encourage young people to consider a career in financial services and learn more about the opportunities available to them.
This objective follows recent conversations across the industry highlighting a concern about the pipeline of young talent entering the protection industry.
In particular, the IPTF noted the lack of financial advisers selling protection numbers having fallen significantly over the past thirty years and with only a small proportion of advisers who are licenced to sell protection doing so regularly.
The organisation is inviting volunteers from across financial services to sign up and deliver a talk at a financial institution of their choice.
The key component of Financial Foundations is a ten-minute presentation, Your Money, Your Life, which has been designed with young people in mind and is ready for volunteers to present.
The talk is scripted to ensure consistency of delivery and covers topics such as how money is portrayed online, needs versus wants, understanding a payslip and the power of compound growth.
Volunteers deliver the presentation in person having completed a short 30-minute training webinar covering safe and effective delivery, safeguarding requirements, and the four core principles that underpin every session: keep it simple, keep it neutral, keep it educational, and keep it responsible.
A volunteer pack which will be provided to those taking part provides information about approaching educational settings and sets out the process and provides template emails for approaching schools or colleges.
Anyone interested in signing up to be a volunteer can complete an expression of interest form on the IPTF website.
Financial Foundations builds on the trade body’s wider work raising awareness of financial protection and resilience, including IPAW – its annual Income Protection Action Week.
Jo Miller, managing director of the IPTF, said: “We know that many young people enter adulthood without the basic financial literacy to protect themselves, plan ahead or make informed decisions.
“Financial Foundations is designed to give them a starting point and to ignite an interest in managing their money and understanding financial resilience.”