Charity scores a first for Isle of Man and JA worldwide with new financial literacy programme. The first programme within the global Junior Achievement organisation to explain the credit crunch to young people and introduce them to the fundamentals of financial literacy has been launched by Junior Achievement Isle of Man. ‘It’s All About Money’ was conceived and devised by Junior Achievement Isle of Man chief executive Sue Cook who said: ‘Given the present state of the global economy and the contracting jobs market, it’s more important than ever that young people have a sound working knowledge of everyday financial management. We felt it was important to support the Island’s schools in teaching young people how to become financially capable adults. ‘It was against this background that “It’s All About Money” was born. However, Junior Achievement is a charity with limited resources and without funding from the Big Lottery Fund through the Manx Lottery Trust this programme would have remained simply an item on our wish list. Thanks to their support in providing a grant to produce and print the materials for students and volunteers “It’s All About Money” has become a reality. ‘We also worked in collaboration with the Office of Fair Trading, particularly in the content relating to identity theft and scams. With their input we were able to highlight that it takes a person an average of 16 months to discover they’ve been a victim of identity theft, a crime that costs the UK around ?1.7 billion a year.’ Aimed at year 10 students, the programme outlines the causes behind the credit crunch then goes on to outline how to manage personal finances, explain how to open a bank account, the difference between a wage and a salary, the rudiments of National Insurance and the positives and negatives of obtaining credit and identifies the chief differences between savers and spenders. ‘In devising the programme it was alarming to learn that according to research carried out by the Personal Finance Education Group more than half of teenagers aged 14 to 17 had owed money at some point and that a survey conducted by the Northern Ireland Consumer Council revealed only one in ten 16 to 17-year-olds felt knowledgeable about their consumer rights. In summary, “It’s All About Money” is just one, but a very important element in the complex and often daunting process through which young people can develop life and financial literacy skills and become prepared for the increasingly competitive world of work.’ Sue went on to point out that key to the programme’s success will be its delivery. ‘This academic year we expect more than 700 students to benefit from this programme. We’re currently running training sessions for teams of volunteers drawn from the private and public sector before the programme can go “live”. Response has been very encouraging – clearly the style and relevance of the programme has helped capture the volunteers’ interest which, in turn, will help motivate the students. Nevertheless we would welcome more volunteers to deliver this and our other programmes if we are to realise our vision of reaching every primary and secondary school student in full-time education in the Island.’ Junior Achievement Isle of Man is a Manx-registered charity. In the 2010-2011 academic year Junior Achievement Isle of Man ran 150 classes in 18 schools, reaching more than 4,000 young people. Each year the charity needs to raise ?300,000. For details about becoming a volunteer business mentor or helping raise funds, contact Sue Cook, suecook@jaiom.im, telephone 666266 or call in to Junior Achievement Isle of Man, Suite 2, Peterson House, Middle River, Douglas. www.jaiom.co.im ENDS