“One down, two to go”. Those were the words my wife greeted me with last night when I got home.
The eldest of my girls has now completed her last exam and the hope is that we now have a Masters graduate in International Business and Modern Languages in the family.
One of her last assignments was to write up a piece on the merits (or otherwise) of investing in emerging markets – and she voiced frustration that when she was at high school she hadn’t really had any input on financial planning and investing.
I did muse that this would partly be down to her own subject choice, my wife is a teacher, therefore I am hard-wired to defend against ‘it was all the teacher’s fault’ reactions, but I have often wondered whether this kind of basic building block of financial education should be an integral part of the curriculum.
Understanding that this might be a difficult thing to achieve in the short-term, I was delighted to receive an email last week from the Chartered Insurance Institute in relation to their education champions programme.
Long-term learning (and saving)
I registered an interest in this, as we find that many of our clients value us investing some time with their children/grandchildren to raise their awareness of finances generally and, more specifically, long-term savings. This is also a great exercise for us, as we have to focus our minds on cutting out jargon in explaining what is a complex area to individuals who are at least one generation away from us.
The programme will be focused on engaging with local schools to raise the profile of financial planning generally, to highlight the career opportunities available and to help young adults improve their financial competence. It has been great to see a number of my colleagues and LinkedIn connections showing enthusiasm for the initiative.
The obvious benefit of increased awareness and competence in financial matters is a great thing in itself, but the potential provision of a pathway into a career in insurance and financial services is a welcome additional benefit.
I didn’t go to university when I left school. Rather, I found myself working for Sun Alliance as a postal clerk and was lucky to have met some fantastic ambassadors for the profession who invested some time in me and helped me build a career as a result.
As a business, we are constantly seeking fresh talent, whether that be school leavers or graduates or more experienced individuals. I love the blend that comes from this approach.
As for my eldest, she is adamant that a career path similar to mine is not on the radar. But at least I know that she has a grasp on investing in emerging markets.
Oh, and as an update from a previous blog, she has auto-enrolled in the pension scheme that came with her new job…
#dadknowsbest
George Houston is technical director at Mattioli Woods