Turning Students into Better Employees One Lesson at a Time

Author: Hannah Henry
Work Readiness
Published: Monday, 02 Oct 2017

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Does your child know how to write a check?

A new finding has been uncovered in Northeast Pennsylvania students are not learning a basic life skill--financial literacy! Basic skills such as keeping a checkbook, paying bills, obtaining a job, earning an income, or even budgeting financials are not a piece of the education curriculum currently in place.

The Report of Economic and Personal Finance Education in Pennsylvania to the Governor and General Assembly stated that only 28 percent of the state's high school students take a course that teaches economics or personal finance.

Terry Ooms, executive director of The Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development commented, "It surely has an effect not just on the economic status of an individual and family, but on the community as well. It's tied to many indicators of poverty and social assistance needed."

In order to combat these findings, Carbon Chamber & Economic Development Corporation has called in Junior Achievement of Northern Pennsylvania to help address the need when it comes to Northeastern Pennsylvania?s economic future.

CCEDC's director of economic development, Kathy Henderson, commented, "We see a skills gap in the students in financial literacy, not just in (our) business education partnership meetings, but in everyday life. We felt because there is a gap that exists in students' education, the Junior Achievement program is a perfect fit..."

The Junior Achievement programs offer lessons in work readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship, serving students from kindergarten to 12th grade. Students that have engaged in these programs have been found to be more prepared to enter real-life professional situations. With this financial preparation, students will not only be equipped with the skills necessary to be hired in the competitive workforce but will also make for more responsible and quality employees.

Click HERE to learn about programs offered by Junior Achievement!

_{Economic and Personal Finance Education in Pennsylvania. (2013, April) Retrieved August 8, 2017, from <http://www.bing.com/cr?IG=EBDF4B986F074D7CA5D8C16CFDBC725E&CID=02FC68691D9867063BD062B11C9E6646&rd=1&h=Chpsil7tMLpR8Fw4gbsNT4B3eEjM0yHbalCa2MlmSf0&v=1&r=http%3a%2f%2fwww.dobs.pa.gov%2fDocuments%2fPublications%2fReports%2fFinancial%2520Education%2520Report.pdf&p=DevEx,5060.1>}

_{Ruff, K. (2017, August 4). Carbon County Junior Achievement. Retrieved August 08, 2017, from<http://biz570.com/carbon-county-junior-achievement-1.2225523>}