MP Backs Local College Initiative on Financial Education

10.47.09am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 27th Nov 2006

Richmond College is pioneering a national course helping young people to acquire AS and A Level equivalent qualifications in financial education: a practical course which will help the students manage their own money and understand the problems around personal debt.

Vincent Cable MP said: "There is growing alarm about the consequences of £1,000 billion of personal debt - about £15,000 for every man, woman and child - and, particularly, the pressures on students and young families trying to buy a home. Loan defaults, bankruptcies and home repossessions are growing rapidly. There is an increasing realisation that many young people don't have the educational background to understand financial transactions and as a consequence get themselves bad deals with credit cards and other borrowing.

"The young people I met on the course were highly motivated and switched on and saw it as an opportunity to improve their qualifications while also learning a life skill."