YELLOWKNIFE (November 5, 2012) – The Honourable Jackson Lafferty, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) today announced a new curriculum designed to help people gain the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to manage their personal finances.
The new curriculum was developed by the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) at the suggestion of the NWT’s three operating mines and meets a need they identified for financial literacy training for their staff.
“This is critical and timely information for everyone, especially since November is Financial Literacy Month. We are very appreciative that our Northern mines identified this need for their workforce,” said Minister Lafferty. “This material will teach the necessary basics of managing a household budget, saving, and taxes, managing debt and planning for retirement. This is another valuable step forward in training, assisting and preparing Northerners with the information and tools they need to lead prosperous and fulfilling lives.”
To date, adult learners enrolled in the Adult Literacy and Basic Education (ALBE) courses have received some personal finance training through Career/Life courses. The information concentrated on household budgeting and was limited in time and scope. The new Financial Literacy package provides learners with eleven modules that will give them knowledge and skills in all areas of personal finance, from developing a budget, income tax, banking, credit, financial planning, to buying a house and planning for retirement.
A variety of learning activities at varying levels will meet the needs of different learners, and final activities will ensure they have understood the concepts delivered in the modules.
“This work builds on much of our other work and partnerships,” said the Minister. “This curriculum will help build capacity for the NWT Literacy Strategy, the Adult Literacy and Basic Education Action Plan, the NWT Labour Force Development Framework, as well as the GNWT Antipoverty Strategy. As we did our research and designed our curriculum, it became clear that this is not just a gap in learning in the North, it is across Canada.”
The new Financial Literacy Curriculum is the result of a May 2011 meeting between the departments of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) and Industry, Tourism and Investment and BHP Billiton, Ltd., Rio Tinto and De Beers Canada as part of a GNWT and Mines Memorandum of Understanding. ECE identified modules for the program and researched best practices from existing programs such as information from the Task Force on Financial Literacy – Leveraging Excellence: Charting a course of action to strengthen financial literacy in Canada which is supported by Aurora College and the NWT Literacy Council.
The modules will be piloted at Aurora College Community Learning Centres beginning in February 2013. The new curriculum fits with the 17th Legislative Assembly’s goal of a healthy and educated people free from poverty and a strong independent north built on partnerships.
For more information, contact:
Jacqueline McKinnon
Manager, Public Affairs
Department of Education, Culture and Employment
P: 867.920.6222
E: jacqueline_mckinnon@gov.nt.ca