In 2022 we launched a partnership with the National Youth Agency (NYA), bringing together NYA’s expertise in youth work with our mission to empower young people with the knowledge, ambition and financial confidence they need to thrive.
We’re the only UK high-street bank working with the NYA to deliver financial learning in youth clubs through trained youth workers and since the beginning of our partnership we’ve reached over 10,000 young people in youth club settings.
By supporting youth workers, clubs, teachers and schools with the right tools, training and resources, we’re helping young people develop the confidence and practical skills they need to take control of their future. And we’re seeing the impact - 97% of young people who’ve taken part in youth club settings report a positive change in their financial behaviour.
We’re also investing directly in the youth sector. Through our £5 million Apprenticeship Levy Transfer Scheme, we’re helping bring more qualified youth workers into the profession, funding a third of all degree‑level youth work apprenticeships in 2025.
Q: What difference can better financial confidence make to the UK’s finances?
Financial confidence is key in driving economic growth, but its role is often underestimated. For people and families, feeling more confident with money makes a real difference day-to-day. It helps people manage budgets, build resilience, and work towards personal goals, whether that’s saving, investing, or planning for the future.
At a national level, the impact is broader. Strong financial literacy and entrepreneurship education are widely recognised as drivers of long‑term economic growth, with the potential to add billions to the UK economy over time.
And from an education perspective, there’s a clear opportunity to help more people understand and engage with both saving and investing as part of effective money management. This will give individuals more chance to grow their assets and benefit from long‑term economic prosperity1. And it has a knock-on effect: when more capital flows into the economy – particularly through investment – it helps businesses to grow, innovate and create jobs.
That’s why, building on NatWest Thrive’s everyday money and savings content, we’ve recently introduced a new investment education module for young people as part of the programme.
Q: What makes the NatWest Thrive approach so effective?
Teaching young people the basics – how to spend, save and think about money – through the school curriculum will lay important foundations. But understanding alone isn’t enough. That knowledge needs to turn into confidence that young people can use in the real world.
This is where NatWest Thrive stands apart. We’ve worked with teachers, community leaders and young people themselves to make sure the programme is flexible and practical. The content is broken into bite‑sized modules that can be tailored to different settings and needs, whether that’s in a classroom, a youth club or a community space.
The programme’s strength is its interactivity – and it’s brilliant to see how engaged and excited young people are when they take part. The sessions are great for that – they’re built around discussion, teamwork and real-life challenges, and workshops I’ve been to have always involved lots of questions, debate and critical thinking from the participants.
