An Australian entrepreneur has launched a new course to teach students important life skills that aren’t taught in school.
Zachary Bakker, 26, is the founder of Beyond the Curriculum – an online education provider for young people that aims to foster valuable life skills beyond the scope of a conventional school education.
Bakker said he was inspired to create Beyond the Curriculum a few years after graduating from high school, when he started to notice some of the gaps appearing in the current education system.
“I was very lucky in that the importance of saving and investing was something that was drummed into me at a very young age. Growing up, I was exposed to a lot of information about finance, and I started saving for my first home at the age of 15,” Bakker said.
“After leaving school though, I started to notice people saying things like, ‘I wish I knew that when I was younger’, or ‘I wish I started saving and investing earlier’.”
Bakker said this made it clear to him that not everybody had access to the same financial information and knowledge he did growing up.
“If financial literacy wasn’t something that my family encouraged in me from a very young age, I don’t think I would be in the financial or professional situation I am in now.”
Bakker said that these comments made him start to notice some of the gaps in our current educational system.
“A lot of the time, financial literacy isn’t even something that is really taught within your traditional high school curriculum, but I think it’s really important that it’s something that young people are taught before they leave school,” he said.
“With Beyond the Curriculum, my goal is to fill in some of these gaps, and give young people the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to excel in the real world once they step out into life outside the classroom.”
Bakker, who currently lives in Perth and has worked as a clearance diver for the Royal Australian Navy for the past six years, said that most of the lessons for Beyond the Curriculum were based on his own life experiences.
“I have been working since the age of 15, and started renting at the age of 21. I also purchased my first investment property at 23, and my second at 25. I’ve also been investing in shares, high interest accounts, and cryptocurrency since I received my first pay check,” he said.
“All of the lessons are based on my own personal experiences with finance and what I have learnt over the years. I want to ensure young people have access to the information they need to set themselves up for financial success.”
Whilst finance is a major focus of the Beyond the Curriculum program, Bakker currently offers two programs for secondary school students: Financial Development and Personal Development.
The Financial Development course covers tax, real estate, budgeting, investing, loans, credit cards, insurance, saving, and expenses, whilst Personal Development looks at goal setting, time management, resume writing, critical thinking, problem solving, self-care, stress management, relationship building, and communication skills.
However, Bakker said he has plenty of other ideas for new courses in the pipeline, with fitness and nutrition being two subjects that he is keen for Beyond the Curriculum to start offering.
“I think that all of these things are really important life skills that young people should have when they leave school.”