SINGAPORE - A financial literacy program has been launched in Singapore to teach Institute of Technical Education (ITE) students how to manage their money and make financial plans in line with their life goals.
Called MoneyMinded, the programme is helmed by bankers from the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) and was developed in partnership with ITE.
Up to 300 ITE students will benefit from the programme by the end of July, with 600 more expected to join by the end of next year.
While new here, MoneyMinded has already been established in countries like New Zealand, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Mr Vishnu Shahaney, ANZ's chief executive for Asia and Singapore, said at the programme's launch on Friday that MoneyMinded has benefitted communities across the Asia-Pacific.
"With ANZ's growing presence in Singapore, we want to expand our best programmes to benefit young adults here," he added.
The programme's launch here comes after a pilot test with 165 ITE College West students last year, after which an impact study was done independently by Professor Albert Teo from the National University of Singapore's Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Programme.
The study found that students were more confident about money after going through the programme. Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed said they were confident about making financial decisions after the programme, up from 32.7 per cent before.
Plans are under way to bring the programme to young adults beyond the institute, with a second pilot partnering the Bishan North Citizens' Consultative Committee to be held next month.
Mrs Josephine Teo, Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport, told Friday's event that the launch of MoneyMinded "was a very welcome development".
"It is a way to help more Singaporeans gain the necessary skills and cultivate money management habits from a young age," she added.
She was speaking at the programme's launch held in ANZ Singapore's offices at Collyer Quay on Friday, where she witnessed the signing of a letter of collaboration between ITE and ANZ Singapore.
Originally launched in Australia in 2005, MoneyMinded was designed to promote financial literacy in marginalised communities. It has since reached over 240,000 people in 17 countries with nearly 6,000 trained facilitators.
