Young people from east London were given a tour of the Barclays headquarters in Canary Wharf to celebrate completing a project that taught them skills in money management, and gave them a unique insight into the world of work.

The project, coordinated by social regeneration charity East Potential, a subsidiary of housing association East Thames Group, with funding from Barclays Money Skills, gave the young people their own budget to carry out a creative project of their choice with the aim of teaching them skills in money management.

The young people, from East Potential's foyers and the local community, used their budget to set up and launch their own website, and visited Barclays to give a presentation on what they learned throughout the process. They were then given a tour of the building to see what office life is like, and took part in business mentoring sessions with Barclays staff.

This creative project is the latest project in the wider financial inclusion programme that was launched by East Potential and Barclays in May last year. The programme offers young people across east London and Essex essential training in reducing debt, managing money and increasing income, helping them to build a brighter future for themselves. The project was set up after a survey revealed that debt is the biggest worry for young people in Britain.

One young person who benefited from this project is Anam Choudhury, 21. Anam has lived at East Potential's Focus E15 foyer in Stratford for the past year.

Anam said: "Taking part in this project has been a great experience. I have learnt a lot about managing budgets and I really enjoyed visiting Barclays and presenting our work to the team. I was in charge of organising the launch of the website so got some good experience in event management too which has been invaluable for me as I know this is an area I want to work in."

Tim Phillips, business development manager at Barclays, said: "This is a great opportunity to give something really valuable to these young people, by sharing our skills in business and money management. I've been really impressed by what they've achieved through the project and look forward to continuing to work with such motivated and impressive individuals."

Pamela Gardner, head of social and economic regeneration at East Potential, said: "We work with young people in our foyers and in the local community every day to empower them to live a life of independence. For many young people that we work with, struggling with debt and other financial problems can be a huge challenge and can stand in the way of enjoying life and building a future. This project has given them a unique chance to learn skills in money management and planning ahead, making them more financially secure."