Our thinking

Learn to earn

10 January, 2025

Considering how to help your child navigate their financial future? Look no further than Finland, a frontrunner in financial literacy. Aiming to achieve the best financial literacy globally by 2030, Finland has introduced Yrityskylä—a national network of business villages designed to empower young minds with real-world money skills. 

85% of Finnish students in 6th and 9th grade are participating in the 10-lesson programme where they learn how businesses, economies, and societies function. They even tackle life skills like job applications. The grand finale? A day spent in the bustling business village where students wear work uniforms, earn money, buy food and drinks, and grapple with financial curveballs—like spending too much and needing to make emergency cash. 

Finland’s National Literacy Strategy plays a key role in this work, supported by the National Legal Services Authority in partnership with the Bank of Finland along with a network of network of financial literacy actors including businesses. The Yrityskylä programme itself is spearheaded by Junior Achievement Finland, a non-profit dedicated to ensuring children and young people have the skills they need to manage their daily lives. Through hands-on, gamified learning their approach blends practical experiences with theory to make financial education stick. 

Early exposure to concepts like earning, spending, and saving helps children develop essential skills to manage their money and make informed decisions as they grow. By starting these lessons early, we can give the next generation the confidence and knowledge they need to navigate their financial futures with greater ease and security.

By Meg Seckel