Intuit Launches Financial Educational Program for High School Students

Intuit has launched an educational program aimed at teaching high school students skills needed to run a business.

The program involves providing fully operational food trucks to school districts to give students real-world experience and develop financial, technical and entrepreneurial skills, the company said in a Friday (Sept. 22) press release. Intuit is the provider of business and finance tools like TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks and Mailchimp.

Initially launched in California’s Compton Unified School District, the program will expand to other school districts, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Dallas and Reno, during the upcoming school year, according to the release. The selection of these districts was based on Intuit’s commitment to helping underserved students in its Prosperity Hub School Districts.

Currently, only 25% of high school students are required to enroll in personal finance courses, with even lower rates in low-income areas, the release said. By engaging in this program, students are expected to gain skills that will set them up for success and support their ability to prosper in the future.

“As an important component of our corporate responsibility programs, this food truck program will help students develop technical and durable skills employers seek,” Dave Zasada, head of corporate responsibility at Intuit, said. 

The work-based learning experience provided by this program will engage students from various career pathway programs, according to the press release. These include culinary arts; graphic design; accounting and finance; business and marketing; and automotive.

Intuit will also provide free tools such as QuickBooks Online and the GOPayment Point of Sale app to help students manage the food truck business’ finances, the release said.

“Community transformation hinges on economic opportunity, and as a global financial technology platform, we believe in equipping students for the jobs of today,” Silke Bradford, head of K12 business and partner development at Intuit, said.

PYMNTS Intelligence has found that young people have a lack of financial literacy compared to their older peers. This disparity in financial know-how derives from a number of factors, including lower spending power, a lack of familiarity with in-branch banking and coming of age amid a global health catastrophe, according to the “Digital-First Banking Tracker,” a PYMNTS and NCR collaboration.