School Leavers to get core skills and knowledge with toolkit

“We need to make sure all our young people can leave school with the skills they need to get on in life and avoid common pitfalls that can easily trip them up. It shouldn’t be left to chance,” Chris Hipkins said.

School Leavers will get the core skills and knowledge they need to help launch their post-school lives, with the School Leavers' Toolkit, Education Minister Chris Hipkins says.

"We need to make sure all our young people can leave school with the skills they need to get on in life and avoid common pitfalls that can easily trip them up. It shouldn't be left to chance," Chris Hipkins said.

"We want to make sure children and young people know and understand how money works, and how to have their say in our democracy.

"The Toolkit will provide easy to find – and understand – advice and information on how to set up a bank account, and learn about compound interest and debt.

"It will also provide civics education and advice on what to expect when moving into a flat when applying for a job and enrolling in further study or training, and in other areas that will add to students' personal and financial wellbeing and sense of connection to the community."

"It's important to have all this useful information in one place and of a high and consistent standard. We've enlisted students to road-test the toolkit, and partners including Worksafe, MBIE, the Commission for Financial Capability, the Electoral Commission, and the Bankers' Association to get the content right.

"This is just a starting point. Now we've got the toolkit up and running we'll be looking to add education resources in other areas that will benefit school leavers."

The toolkit also provides options and support for teachers to incorporate this learning into their day to day classroom teaching, Chris Hipkins said.

It clarifies and makes it easier to teach aspects of the National Curriculum that are important for every student to learn. It also provides a website for schools and Kura with resources aligned to the National Curriculum, to support teachers to include financial literacy and civics education, further into their classes.

The Studyit website for secondary students has also been refreshed.

(With Inputs from New Zealand Government Press Release)