21 May 2020 | Posted In Money advice news

The UK’s biggest consumer website, MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) and world-leading distance learning institution, The Open University, have teamed up for an ambitious new project, launching on 21 May 2020, to help give the nation the skills and knowledge to master their finances.

MSE’s Academy of Money (mse.me/ou-academy) is a new, completely free and independent academic financial education course, prepared and written by the Open University with guidance from MSE. Hosted on the OU’s OpenLearn platform, the course is made up of six two-hour sessions of study covering all the key aspects of personal finance, including spending, borrowing, mortgages, saving, investing and retirement.

Who is it for?

Anyone can choose to study with MSE’s Academy of Money, but those working for or accessing financial and consumer help services could especially benefit. Colleagues, customers and clients can use the course flexibly to improve their knowledge of personal finance, studying at their own pace, and perhaps even choosing to complete just one topic to brush up.

For those working in the consumer help industries, the course can provide some academic grounding to support their work, and evidence commitment to continuing professional development with a free Open University digital badge and statement of participation.

How can an organisation use the course?

There are lots of ways to embed MSE’s Academy of Money in your organisation for the benefit of employees and consumers. For example, it could become part of internal training resources for staff, or used as a recommended resource for appropriate clients/customers, both online and directly.

Christopher Woolard, Interim Chief Executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, said:

“Navigating financial services can be difficult and making the right choice can feel hard. To take control of your finances you need to understand the options open to you. As a result, we’re delighted to see this course – which will hone people’s financial skills – being available to all, free of charge.”

Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, said:

“Companies continually spend billions of pounds on advertising, marketing and teaching their staff to spend. Yet consumers don’t get any training. We need to redress that balance. We fought hard to get financial education on the curriculum, but these important lessons can’t just stop when people leave school. With such financial turmoil across our society, it’s crucial everyone is properly financially educated, so we can improve our nation’s poor financial capability, entrenched by a lack of early-life money lessons going back decades.“That’s why we’ve chosen to fund this new project and partner with The Open University – one of the world’s most prestigious distance-learning institutions. Our aim is to provide a more formal learning environment for those who want to dedicate their time to improving their financial knowledge. Education is a form of financial self-defence, and so we’re delighted to encourage people to tool themselves up in our ‘Academoney’.”

Find out more at: mse.me/ou-academy