Training teachers to help young Queenslanders avoid debt traps

The Bligh Government has thrown its support behind a new national initiative to improve financial literacy training in our schools.

Education and Training Minister Rod Welford said teachers would receive training in teaching financial literacy to help implement the National Consumer and Financial Literacy Framework in Queensland schools.

“Every day we see more and more evidence of young Queenslanders being caught in debt traps,” Mr Welford said.

“Mobile telephone contracts, easy access to credit cards and difficulty reading and understanding the fine print all contribute to this situation.

“The more we learn about youth debt, the more alarm bells are ringing.

“The Dunn and Bradstreet debt trends data for the March quarter 2008 found that more than half of all debtors in Australia are younger than 35 years.

“It also found that 28 per cent of Australian's aged 18 to 34 expected to use their credit card during the June quarter for purchases they otherwise could not afford.

“In addition, about one in 10 young people also expected to miss a bill repayment during the June quarter this year. We know it’s a problem, but we are also doing something about it.”

Mr Welford said professional development workshops would be conducted around the state over the next six months for both state and non-state school teachers.

“These workshops will further assist teachers to integrate consumer and financial literacy into various subject areas, not just mathematics,” he said.

“Queensland strongly supports this latest Commonwealth funding initiative and my department is delighted to coordinate these professional development workshops which support our own growing involvement in the area of improving financial literacy in young people.

“In our increasingly complex world, people need to become informed consumers at a younger and younger age. They must understand the role of money in our society, learn to read the fine print, recognise the impact of addictive behaviours such as gambling, and learn to use mobile phones and credit cards responsibly.

“Many of our largest financial institutions have also taken up the challenge and provide some excellent resources for teachers, parents and students to access on the web,” Mr Welford said.

Media contact: Marnie Stitz on 3237 100 or 0419 734 985