A Career Guide for Young People | TotalPicture Radio - The First Podcast for Career Advancement, Employment Trends, Recruiting, and Leadership Development

A Career Guide for Young People

Monday, 09 June 2008

Deloitte's LIFE, Inc Helps Young People Make Career Decisions

Neale S. Godfrey

Welcome to a Career Connections edition of Total Picture Radio, this is Peter Clayton reporting. Joining us today is New York Times best-selling author Neale S. Godfrey, who has written 16 books that deal with money, life skills, and values.

The mission of Neale’s company, the Children's Financial Network, is to educate children-and their parents-about money. Her latest book LIFE, Inc. is part of an an interactive educational program funded by the Deloitte Foundation, designed to assist middle and high school students create a pathway to a business career that maps to their personal interests and abilities.

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Questions Peter Clayton asked Neale Godfrey:

Give us the back story on the Life, Inc project.
Is this a case of companies like Deloitte looking 5-10 years out and not seeing a talent pipeline?
How have teachers reacted to the Life Inc program?
How about the students?
How is Deloitte distributing these materials to the schools?
I haven’t seen many shows on TV that glamorize the accounting profession, have you?
What were some of the challenges you faced in developing Life, Inc?
A highlight of the program is its “Virtual Role Models,” experienced workers who provide a look back on their careers paths and development. How have students reacted to this?
Tell us about the interactive component - the online part of Life, Inc.
Do you have a favorite story about Life, Inc you would like to share with us?

Press Relase for LIFE, Inc Program:
WILTON, Conn., March 10, 2008 -- The Deloitte Foundation, a not-for-profit arm of Deloitte LLP, announces the national rollout of “LIFE, Inc. - the Ultimate Career Guide for Young People” an interactive educational program designed to assist middle and high school students create a pathway to an exciting business career that maps to their personal interests and abilities. The Deloitte Foundation initiative is expected to reach more than two million students within the first several years of implementation.

A package consisting of a student journal, career and teachers’ guide, and web site serve as the core of the LIFE, Inc. program. The career development and identification program initially will be donated by the Deloitte Foundation at no charge to targeted educational institutions, after-school programs and other non-profit organizations.
Among the national organizations that are developing plans for LIFE, Inc. curriculum are the Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), and the YWCA, with other major affiliations to be announced within the next few months.

The LIFE Inc, content was developed by New York Times best-selling author Neale S. Godfrey, who has written 16 books that deal with money, life skills, and values. A highlight of the program is its “Virtual Role Models,” experienced workers who provide a look back on their careers paths and development. VRMs, featured on the Web site and in the printed materials, are used to assist students with career research.

LIFE, Inc Research
Research commissioned on behalf of Deloitte LLP by Deloitte Services LP’s Next Generation Initiatives Group showed that young people are making career-related decisions earlier than ever, and that the ideal time for parents and teachers to have conversations with students about careers is as early as the sixth to ninth grade when they are considering the widest range of career options.

“We have learned that students are often skeptical about taking on business careers,” said Shaun Budnik, President of the Deloitte Foundation and partner Deloitte LLP. “We feel it is important to show students a range of exciting career options and assist them in envisioning themselves in those careers through the use of positive Virtual Role Models. Our LIFE, Inc. program uses online components such as interactive games and personal assessment tools to reach a generation that is comfortable in the online world.”
The LIFE, Inc program materials were distributed to more than 37,000 Deloitte employees to use at home or in their communities.

LIFE, Inc. - the Ultimate Career Guide for Young People” is a new interactive educational program designed to assist middle and high school students create a pathway to an exciting business career that maps to their personal interests and abilities. The Deloitte Foundation has underwritten the program and teamed with author Neale Godfrey a New York Times best-selling author who developed our content. The content includes a student journal, career and teachers’ guide, and web site serve as the core of the LIFE, Inc. program.

-Deloitte has sponsored this program to serve thousands of middle and high school students)
-The Program consists of:
The goal behind LIFEInc is “self discovery.” We want to inspire young people to dream, and vision themselves in careers of their choosing. We want to help them see what they need to achieve those dreams.

About Neale S. Godfrey:
Neale S. Godfrey is an acknowledged expert on family and children's finances. She has been in the financial field for over 30 years. She began her career as one of the first female executives at The Chase Manhattan Bank. She then became the President of The First Women's Bank and founder of The First Children's Bank. That started the conversation about children and money in the United States.

Neale formed Children's Financial Network, Inc to promote the mission of education for children and their parents. She has authored 16 books dealing with money, life skills and values.

Neale S. Godfrey is an acknowledged expert on family and children's finances. She has been in the financial field for over 30 years. Early in her career, Neale became one of the first female executives at The Chase Manhattan Bank in 1972. Later, she became the President of The First Women's Bank and Founder of The First Children's Bank.

In 1989, Neale formed her own company, Children's Financial Network, Inc., whose mission is to educate children-and their parents-about money. In August 2006, Neale revised and updated her #1 New York Times Best Seller, Money Doesn't Grow on Trees: A Parent's Guide to Raising Financially Responsible Children. Neale's latest book is LIFE, INC: The Ultimate Career Guide for Young People. She is the author of 16 books that deal with money, life skills, and value issues. She developed money curriculum for children, The One and Only Common Sense/Cents Series, and a CD-ROM, Money Town, both created for children grades K-9.

Neale empowers women to take charge of their financial lives and has authored two books on that topic: Mom, Inc: Taking Your Work Skills Home and Making Change: A Women's Guide to Designing her Financial Future.

She has served as a national spokesperson for such companies as: Aetna, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Fidelity, Quaker Oats, Nuveen, and AOL-Time Warner. She is a professional speaker for both domestic and international audiences. Neale often appears as a financial expert for television on programs like The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNBC, CNN, CNN-fn, etc. She also starred in the PBS special, Your Money, Your Children, Your Life.

Neale has been honored with awards such as "Woman of the Year", "Banker of the Year", "Child Advocate of the Year", and received the first "Femme Award" from the United Nations Agency for International Women's Rights (UNIFEM). Despite these achievements, what her kids really think is cool is that she was a "question" on both Jeopardy and in the New York Times crossword puzzle! She has also served on a White House Task Force and a Governor's Task Force as well as on the Boards of Directors of The New York Board of Trade, UNICEF, University of Charleston, and YPO. Currently, she is on the board of directors of UNIFEM, Morris County NJ Chamber of Commerce, and the Advisory Board of Girls, Inc.