The news comes as a number of bankruptcy officials have visited 20 secondary schools across the West Midlands city educating young people on how to handle their money. Led by Tony Supperstone, the team of experts from R3 - the Association of Business Recovery Professionals - are also teaching schoolchildren on how to avoid getting themselves into an untenable situation where they will be unable to meet debt repayments. The experts worked together with the children on areas such as overdrafts and understanding what interest is. He pointed out that there is a "gap" in the current curriculum when it comes to teaching young people about loans and debt, the Birmingham Post reports.
Mr Supperstone told the publication: "We are trying to get them as early as possible before they start entering into credit card arrangements and taking out all kinds of debts they can't afford to repay. It is early days yet, but this is a national initiative that we have started. We are going around the country asking our members to go into local schools. There is a gap there in education. We think it should be a compulsory part of the curriculum, but in the meantime we are having to fill the gap."
However, R3 is not the only company calling for an increase in the nation's financial literacy, which could consequently improve consumers' attitudes towards savings, budgeting and borrowing, the latter of which could include methods such as secured loans, overdrafts and plastic cards. According to Debtmatters, financial literacy needs to be at the heart of school curriculum as a number of children are leaving education with good exam results and qualifications but little understanding on how to manage their money. Michael Shirley, operations director for the debt solutions firm, suggested there is "a growing proportion of the population that has little experience or knowledge of how to manage their personal finances".
Meanwhile, the West Bromwich Building Society is due to launch an online game, targeted at primary schoolchildren, which aims to help them to develop money management skills which can be transferred into later life. Brian Seymour-Smith, spokesperson for the financial services firm, said: "Unless you have skills handling money you face the danger of getting into debt in later life which closes all kinds of doors."
And although such moves have been targeted towards young people, those Britons who are old enough to have already taken out a personal loan are being advised to take the time to consider their own borrowing. Earlier this year, Moneyfacts analyst Lisa Taylor stated when "used wisely" personal loans, overdrafts and other types of credit can help people manage spending through various ups and downs. However, she advised borrowers to always make more than the minimum repayments whenever possible so as to avoid facing "a lifetime of debt" as they would otherwise be servicing their debts over a much longer period of time.
For Sale West Midlands
Employment Law Solicitors, Martin Kaye are the first company in Telford to use the Healthy Hearts Campaign's new mobile health screening facility in a bid to assist employees in monitoring their health. Diabetes and cardio-vascular risks can now be identified with a 30 minute pop-in pop-out check at work.
A West Midlands law firm is the first company in Telford to take part in a health screening campaign for its staff.
The screening will include cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar analysis, as well as a general physical examination, a lung function test, and heart checks.
?The Healthy Hearts Institute is based at Sandwell Medical Research Unit at West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, and has already been piloted across the West Midlands.
Healthy Hearts Campaign Co-ordinator, Geraldine Thomas, said: ?Our mobile screening facility travels between industrial estates, business parks, and office blocks, and is run by a team of health professionals.
?Hundreds of staff have benefited from the state-of-the-art check-ups, and now the screening programme is being extended to Shropshire.
Martin-Kaye Solicitors, who are based in Telford, have signed up to the Healthy Hearts Campaign, in a bid to help employees find out more about the state of their health.
The mobile screening unit will visit the company's offices on November 15, and every employee who attends the session will receive a 30-minute consultation to assess their condition, with the results explained in private afterwards.
Senior Partner, Graham Davies, said: ?We are extremely pleased that our staff are backing the Healthy Hearts initiative, and that they're keen to take up this opportunity ? in fact over 70 per cent of our employees have signed up to take part.
?At the heart of every company is its workforce and we want to help our employees to identify any potential risks so they can seek the right kind of treatment, which should help prevent problems in the future.?
Healthy Hearts, Geraldine Thomas, said: ?We are delighted to see such a high level of interest from a wide range of companies, who are all taking the view that health screening in the workplace benefits not only the employee, but the company too.?
Healthy Hearts is a charitable social enterprise initiative which encourages access to health screening, particularly with regard to cardio-vascular health risks and diabetes. Although operating for some three years, Healthy Heart was established as a charitable institute in 2006 to improve access to health in local communities, and forms part of the Sandwell Primary Prevention Alliance.
Martin Kaye Solicitors in Telford, Shropshire West Midlands are a forward thinking law firm that continually strive to push the bench mark forward by setting a good example of employment standards in the modern day work place. They are one of the West Midlands fastest growing legal practices operating from state of the art premises. The firm is structured around a number of specialist commercial and private client departments. More information can be found at http://www.martinkaye.co.uk/.
Both Tom Dawson & John Mehtam are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Tom Dawson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Personal Finance, Parenting and Personal Finance. Tom Dawson writes for Essentially Home Loans where visitors can apply for , we also specialise in. Tom Dawson's top article generates over 74000 views. to your Favourites.
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