Financial coaching (FC) is a transformative approach that empowers individuals to take control of their financial future. Through personalized interventions such as assessing financial positions, creating budgets, managing credit, accessing benefits, and filing taxes, financial coaching equips participants with the tools and confidence to define and achieve their financial goals. Coaches work alongside clients, providing ongoing support and guidance to turn financial aspirations into reality.
Despite its potential, participants often face barriers to accessing and staying engaged in financial coaching programs. Challenges like technological and socio-economic obstacles, low awareness of the value of financial coaching, and immediate survival needs overshadowing long-term goals can impede engagement. Additionally, those already struggling to access employment services may find it even harder to connect with financial coaching resources.
The Embedded Financial Coaching Initiative, led by Prosper Canada, addresses these challenges by integrating financial coaching directly into workforce programs. This approach aims to reduce poverty and improve financial well-being for individuals facing barriers to employment. By aligning financial coaching with workforce development, participants receive holistic support that addresses both employment and financial stability.
This Workforce Toolkit was created to support workforce programs and financial empowerment service providers in embedding financial coaches into their services. It provides practical guidance and strategies for integrating financial coaching into workforce development programs, helping organizations empower participants to overcome financial and employment challenges.
As the first iteration, this toolkit will be expanded upon in future versions. Prosper Canada is deeply grateful to West Neighbourhood House, Building Up, and EBO Financial Education Centre for their invaluable contributions, as well as to LISC, whose pioneering US-based work served as inspiration for this initiative.
This resource was made possible through the generous funding of JPMC and RBC. Prosper Canada is committed to continuously updating this toolkit to ensure it remains a relevant and effective resource for workforce programs across Canada.
