Youth Employment Programs

Compared with youth in higher income households, youth from lower income households more often face barriers to career training, and more often have limited resources and access to financial education and related services. Therefore, these youth may be less able to achieve financial well-being.

Youth employment programs offer opportunities to help young people, especially disadvantaged youth, gain the financial knowledge, skills, and access to resources necessary to effectively manage finances through adulthood.

Youth employment programs address a broad range of vocational skills. They help youth gain the abilities and training necessary to be successful in transitioning to adulthood and careers.¹

In recognition of this, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Administration for Children and Families partnered to produce Building Financial Capability in Youth Employment Programs: Insights From a Roundtable With Practitioners (PDF, 34 pages).

A roundtable discussion, led by the Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC), focused on promising programs for youth to help them build financial capability. The roundtable found three components that are crucial to promoting financial capability:

1. integrating financial education into youth employment programs,
2. establishing partnerships with employers, and
3. identifying effective strategies to collaborate with financial institutions.

The final report (PDF, 34 pages) discusses four key lessons that came out of the roundtable:

• Lesson 1: Partnerships with the private sector, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, financial institutions, and youth are necessary for successful program implementation.
• Lesson 2: Financial education should be tailored to the needs of youth, employers, and financial education providers.
• Lesson 3: Youth should select financial products after carefullly weighing the costs and risks of various options.
• Lesson 4: Organizations should develop explicit strategies for engaging youth in the short and long term. Efforts to engage youth are important during and after a youth employment program.²

Resources

Building Financial Capability: A Planning Guide for Integrated Services
The interactive tools in this guide walk organizations through the process of developing an integration plan, beginning with developing a deeper understanding of which financial capability services can help improve various financial situations.

How Money Smart Art You? (CFPB)
A suite of 14 games and related resources about everyday financial topics. It’s based on FDIC’s award-winning Money Smart program.

My Next Move
This step-by-step simulation provides users with tools to learn about career options.

NEW! Resource Guide for Youth Employment Programs: Incorporating Financial Capability and Partnering with Financial Institutions (PDF, 7 pages)
This resource guide from the FLEC is for youth employment programs that are interested in enhancing financial capability and building partnerships with financial institutions. It maps out how and why such partnerships can help young people achieve greater financial well-being and employment success.

Youth Banking Resource
The FDIC is sharing resources to encourage banks and schools to work together to improve the financial skills and experiences of youth. Financial education and school-based savings programs introduce young people to financial services at an early age, while helping youth learn how to manage their money more effectively.

Money Smart for Young Adults
The Money Smart for Young Adults (MSYA) instructor-led curriculum provides participants with practical knowledge, skills-building opportunities, and resources they can use to manage their finances with confidence. Instructors can use it to deliver unbiased, relevant, and accurate financial education whether they are new or experienced trainers.

Youth Financial Education Curriculum Review Tool
This tool was designed to help you decide which financial education curriculum best suits the needs of your students and classrooms and help curriculum developers evaluate strengths and gaps in their materials.

References