A new Advanced Placement course combining business studies with personal finance is being offered in schools across the US, as employers and educators raise concerns that high school graduates are leaving education without the skills needed for the modern workplace.
AP Business with Personal Finance, developed through the College Board’s AP Career Kickstart programme, is designed to give students both college-level academic experience and practical knowledge of how organisations operate, money moves and ideas become businesses.
The course comes amid claims that young people can complete assigned work but are less confident when required to think critically, solve problems or deal with uncertainty. Research cited by the course’s proponents found that only 40% of hiring managers considered it easy to find entry-level candidates with the skills they needed.
Those skills include clear communication, teamwork, project management, problem-solving and an understanding of basic financial decision-making.
Fewer than one in five high school students currently take a business course, according to the material supporting the new programme. Business education is often treated as an optional subject or as preparation for a business degree, rather than as a foundation for employment and personal financial security.
The course’s advocates argue that students should learn more than how to budget, save and invest. They say pupils also need to understand how companies make decisions, how to assess risk, how to develop an idea and how to lead a team.
Business education aimed at widening opportunity
The programme is intended to complement existing career and technical education courses, allowing students to gain business knowledge alongside practical training. A student studying visual arts could use the skills to build a creative enterprise, while someone learning computer science could explore how to take an innovation to market.
For students pursuing skilled trades, the lessons could provide the knowledge needed to run a small business, according to the course’s proponents. The programme includes “Business Canvas” projects, in which students develop and pitch a business idea of their choice.
The authors behind the initiative say the need for such education is illustrated by their own family experiences. One, Neil, grew up in rural Oklahoma, where pupils were separated early into college and trades pathways. His parents ran small businesses but had limited experience of expanding them, while students on the trades route had few opportunities to learn about business.
The other, Greg, was raised by parents who worked on an aircraft manufacturing assembly line in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. They made several attempts to establish businesses, including a corner shop, but lacked access to the tools and knowledge needed to create and manage a viable business model, according to the account.
The authors say students should not have to choose between developing a trade and learning how to turn that expertise into economic opportunity.
There have been signs of growing interest in the subject. Employers are offering to work with schools, while states have been strengthening financial literacy requirements. The Council for Economic Education’s latest report, cited by the initiative, says 39 states now require pupils to complete a personal finance course to graduate.
Student organisations including Business Professionals of America, DECA and Future Business Leaders of America have also demonstrated the potential of competitions and leadership programmes, with participants developing confidence, teamwork and problem-solving skills.
However, access to such opportunities can still depend on where a student lives, what their school provides and whether they intend to pursue a particular career.
AP Business with Personal Finance is intended to broaden that access by combining employer-informed content with rigorous academic study. Students can earn college credit while gaining recognition from employers, and the course can be adapted for existing career and technical education programmes.
The programme’s supporters say making business and financial literacy a standard part of the high school experience would help more young people navigate changing workplaces, make informed decisions and build opportunities beyond the classroom.
