According to an OECD report, there is a lot of catching up to do, especially among younger people. A “finance license” should come.
In the classic Austrian educational timetable, far too little knowledge about business and finance is conveyed. The Ministry of Finance has therefore been working on the development of a national financial education strategy since May 2020. On Monday, Finance Minister Gernot Blümel (ÖVP) announced the current status of the project together with the long-standing CEO of Erste Bank, Andreas Treichl, and Federal School Spokeswoman Alexandra Bosek.
In cooperation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the financial knowledge of Austrians has been analyzed over the past few months – as well as the financial education offers currently available in this country.
According to Blümel, the OECD report shows that adults in Austria have an above-average education in the area of finance when compared internationally. However, there is still some catching up to do, especially among younger people and “certain population groups”. That is why an ideas competition was started in January in cooperation with the federal student council, in which students can participate in the design of such financial education offers. The ideas collected should then flow into the planned action plan.
The report also shows that the existing financial education offers in Austria are uncoordinated. “There are numerous sensible and established initiatives in Austria, but the overall view is missing,” said Blümel. Most financial education initiatives are therefore aimed at young people in schools. Even if the need is certainly greater among young people, it is still important “that all target groups have access to financial education”.
“The lack of financial and economic education in Austria is not a new phenomenon, it is unfortunately a tradition”, said the longstanding Erste boss Treichl. “In my opinion, it also makes a significant contribution to widening the gap between rich and poor.”
Subsequently, “a uniform finance license is planned,” said Blümel. The notification should then serve as confirmation of the knowledge gained for your own curriculum vitae.
In the further development of the action plan, the Ministry of Finance wants to work closely with the heavyweights of the Austrian economy, including large banks. However, the project is being financed exclusively from the ministry's budget, according to Blümel.
