A project that will allow 750 secondary school students and young carers to develop their understanding of money matters and learn skills to help them manage their personal finances gets under way this week.

Old Mutual International’s Money Skills for Schools Week runs from today, Tuesday (May 14) to Friday.

It involves financial experts bringing money matters to life using interactive games, quizzes and activities.

The main purpose of the skills week is to equip young people with the skills and knowledge they need to make informed decisions about a wide range of issues regarding money.

Peter Kenny, chief executive officer, Old Mutual International, said: ’This is the third year we have supported Money Skills for Schools Week and, once again, as the largest life assurance company on the island we are pleased to be helping future generations develop the skills and confidence they need to manage their personal finances.

’Learning how to make informed spending decisions is a vital life skill, and the lessons learned this week will assist students as they prepare for further education and employment.’

Sessions will be held at Castle Rushen, Queen Elizabeth II, and St Ninian’s High Schools, Ramsey Grammar School, King William’s College and Crossroad Care with support provided by school teachers and youth workers, as well as more than 20 Old Mutual International staff.

As part of Old Mutual International’s support for Crossroads Care’s Young Carers Project, through the Quilter Foundation (a UK registered charity), the Money Skills for Schools sessions will also be given to young carers.

Graham Cregeen MHK, Minister for Education, Sport and Culture, said: ’It’s great to once again have the support of Old Mutual International and the MyBnk financial advisers this year.

’The Money Skills week is a fantastic initiative and teaches the island’s students valuable life skills in a fun and interactive environment, an approach we encourage through our Essentials for Learning curriculum in schools.

’The government is committed to ensuring that our young people have the skills and knowledge ready to enter the workplace and this scheme helps support this objective.’

MyBnk is a UK financial education charity for young people.

The Money Skills for Schools Week sessions will cover subjects including budgeting, borrowing, saving, understanding pay slips, and other aspects of personal finances and living independently. An especially exciting and engaging element of this year’s scheme is ’Money Twist’, a series of highly interactive sessions building young people’s knowledge around basic finance and survival money management.

During Money Skills for Schools Week here on the island, students will have a chance to win prizes - provided by Old Mutual International - in a competition which tests the knowledge they have gained.

First prize is an iPad, second prize is a pair of Apple AirPods, and the third prize is a £100 voucher for a brand or shop of the student’s choice.

Guy Rigden, MyBnk chief executive officer, said: ’Young people on the island face unique challenges and Isle of Man Government statistics show that poor budgeting is often the main debt trigger.

’Managing money well opens up new opportunities and helps us make informed decisions - MyBnk and Old Mutual International are thrilled to be bringing money to life and helping young people prepare for their future.’

There was a great response from students who attended last year’s Money Skills for Schools week. Here are comments from two Queen Elizabeth II High School pupils:

Natasha, aged 14, said: ’Learning about money was very interesting.

’It’s made me think about the future in a way I hadn’t before. I want to be a doctor and after the lesson I started doing some tutoring to save money.

’It’s generally helped me be more aware of the need to save. It’s also helped me spot fraud and scams.

’It’s important for young people on the island to know this stuff as we get older, we need more of these types of classes in schools so when taxes and loans come up in the future, we know how to deal with it.’

Harvey, aged 13, said: ’Since MyBnk came to our school I started to save for a school trip - but now I’ve got £800. It’s taught me not to spend money on things I don’t need and how to organise my finances. I want to be a teacher so knowing how to deal with money is important, but there needs to be more practical classes to show us how.’