On June 11, the Atlantic Council and PwC hosted a roundtable discussion of teachers, administrators, state legislators, and federal officials on how best to involve the private sector in education, specifically focused on improving the financial literacy levels of young people.

 

The experts gathered to advance two core objectives:

  1. Promoting US and global economic growth and job creation by supporting public-private partnerships on fundamental issues (such as financial literacy) that strengthen competitiveness and the pool of available talent.
  2. Improving the financial literacy of today’s youth by connecting practitioners, federal and state policymakers, and academic experts with private sector leaders dedicated to building a stronger US workforce.

Financial literacy is essential for people to manage their daily lives, and is part of the foundation of a skilled, competitive workforce. Despite the fact that 13 US states now mandate financial literacy as a graduation requirement, nearly two-thirds of high school students remain financially illiterate. This means they understand neither money management nor basic financial vocabulary. Worse, fewer than 20 percent of teachers feel prepared to teach the subject.

Government has a vital role to play, but the private sector has a wealth of resources and expertise that policymakers and practitioners should draw on as they work to tackle this crucial issue. PwC and the Atlantic Council therefore gathered a cross-section of thought leaders from academia, government, education and the private sector whose goal was to find actionable solutions and form collaborative efforts to increase student competency in financial literacy.