Natwest are launching a new initiative this week in partnership with the National Youth Agency to improve young people’s confidence around money, to help champion their potential.
Natwest are joining forces with the National Youth Agency to launch the Thrive Programme – a new programme being trialled at youth community centres across England to help address the lack of financial confidence and concerns that young people face today.
The new programme is being launched as a pilot across three youth community centres in Manchester, London and Sunderland this week, with plans to scale across the summer.
With 67% of young people worrying about money, and only 8% of financial education coming from the classroom1, NatWest and the National Youth Agency have collaborated to create a programme that offers some much-needed support and guidance for young people to develop a positive mindset around money and help champion their potential.
Led by inspirational youth workers, the content of the programme has been tailored to make the financial messages and guidance practical and relevant, suiting the learning-styles of different young people, promoting discussion with real-life examples.
Some of the topics covered in the programme will include:
- Money Mindset: Developing an awareness of their (young peoples’) own beliefs about money, and the potential for beliefs to limit actions that could improve financial wellbeing.
- Money Talks: Busting myths when talking about money and outlining ways to have conversations about money in close relationships.
- Own Your Vision: Setting goals for life achievements and effectively planning age-appropriate ways to reach them
In partnership with the National Youth Agency, the professional, statutory and regulatory body for youth work in England who sets and validates the national standards for youth work qualifications, the programme will equip youth workers with a series of workshops and activities designed to speak to young people on their terms and in a way that they can relate to.
The content of the programme has been tailored to make the messages practical, relevant, and suitable to being discussed in a way that suits the learning-styles of different young people, promoting discussion and practical examples over formal textbook-led education.
NatWest Group CEO Alison Rose commented: “Helping young people – no matter what their background – to thrive and develop a positive money mindset is core to our purpose and what I want us to achieve as a bank. We know education through inspiring relationships can have a big impact on young people, that’s why with the Thrive Programme we’ll be working with local and relatable people within the community to help young people reach their potential.
“Co-creating this programme with Marcus has helped us to better tailor our content to the real-life experiences of young people, and has only reinforced the amazing impact that positive role-models and peers can have in helping to develop an understanding of money and goal-setting.”
Leigh Middleton, CEO of the National Youth Agency said, “We are delighted to be partnering with NatWest to design and deliver such an important programme. All young people deserve to thrive; high quality youth work gives young people access to that one inspirational adult that can make the difference growing up. Youth workers provide safe spaces to explore their identity, increased self-confidence and develop the life skills to thrive growing up. The Thrive Programme will provide youth workers with fantastic resources, toolkits and knowledge to continue transforming the lives of young people and enable them to reach their potential.”
NatWest Thrive builds on NatWest’s long term commitment to financial education and support for young people, such as its MoneySense programme which has run in schools across the UK for over 25 years. The Thrive programme will teach children outside of the classroom, and address the psychological barriers that get in the way of children thriving.
1 https://www.libf.ac.uk/study/financial-education/young-persons-money-index
