Welcome to the Real World: Teacher Training

Receive the knowledge you need to bring Welcome to the Real World, a program that helps young adults explore careers, make decisions, and manage money, to your classroom or club.

In today’s world, financial education is crucial. However, many young people finish high school without understanding the basics of managing money. Studies show that young Americans often don't know enough about money to be good with it when they grow up. "Welcome to the Real World" is here to help fill in that gap.

In this train-the-trainer workshop, adults will learn how to facilitate this program in their classroom or club.

About Welcome to the Real World

The Welcome to the Real World program provides an opportunity for your school to partner on a fun and interactive program that is grounded in career exploration, financial education, and real-world expenditure decision-making opportunities. This hands-on experience utilizes career and money management fact sheets. Through the program, young people can explore careers and finances and make lifestyle and spending choices in situations similar to those adults face daily.

This curriculum can be used in a variety of ways.

In the Welcome to the Real World simulation, youth assume they have completed the basic educational requirements for their chosen career, are employed, are twenty-five years of age, and are independent with no financial support from family or others.

During the simulation, participants select a career or occupation they would like to pursue. After they choose a profession, they receive a monthly salary for that occupation. They then proceed through real-world activity, deducting taxes, determining a savings amount, paying a student loan, if applicable, and spending their salary on their lifestyle choices. During the activity, the child can practice spending decisions for housing, insurance, transportation, utilities, groceries, clothing, and entertainment.

The Welcome to the Real World program offers:

• Hands-on activities that are thought-provoking and engaging.
• Educational materials written at a reading level youth can understand.
• A program that is ready to go: all materials are available via an Extension Educator.

About this train-the-trainer experience

Free training for this program will be held on 1/23/2024 (5:00pm-8:30pm) or 1/24/2024 (8:30am-12:00pm) with CPDUs for Educators. At this training, you will learn how to bring the curriculum to your school and receive the materials to set you up for success!

Help young people gain the financial education they need and follow up the knowledge with a simulation experience. Please contact me anytime lauraval@illinois.edu to ask questions or use the registration link to participate in the training.