The overall aim of the learning programme will be to enable participants to make better and more informed financial choices, to understand and manage a budget and equip them with the knowledge and skills to live a life free from debt. The course is aimed at low level ESOL learners
This course has been developed and piloted with a grant from the Bank of Scotland Foundation.
It is a well-established fact that accumulating and unmanageable debt is a fact of life for many families.
This problem is particularly acute in SIMD areas where many people live on or below the poverty line and where poor financial decisions can have a disproportionately significant impact.
Throughout Scotland there are many organisations that help people manage the problem of debt. The aim of this course however is:
through improved financial literacies, to enable people to better manage their finances and prevent the problem occurring in the first place. The intention is to deliver a programme of financial literacy and numeracy that is grounded in helping people meet the financial challenges of daily living, better manage their budgets reduce their living costs and enable them to get the most value from the income they earn or benefits they receive.
The programme delivers learning within a context relevant to the needs of the intended participants.
It will
• Focus on helping learners understand calculating interest and APR
• Enable them to understand and interrogate their mobile phone or utility bill so they can be sure they are on the tariff that best meets their needs.
• Scrutinise price comparison websites and unit cost pricing in supermarkets so that people make better choices in relation to what they need, how much they need and understand that seemingly discounted offers do not always offer best value
Each participant who completes the programme successfully will achieve an SQA SCQF Level 2 Unit which consolidate skills and knowledge and will be relevant in a range of employability settings.