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Government Funded Vocational Training Programs
- Oct 14, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Jan 31
In England, there are government funded vocational training programs available in a wide range of subjects. These free courses help adults and young people learn new skills, get certified and improve their chances of employment.
Success in these vocational training programs will develop learners’ skills and knowledge and will either help you to get a job, change career or improve your skill sets.
What “Government-Funded” Really Means
In the UK, the government funds a wide range of training programmes to help adults gain practical skills and boost their employability. This funding is delivered primarily through the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and the Adult Education Budget (AEB).
These programmes are designed to reduce the cost of training and make recognised qualifications more accessible to people at different stages of life.
Adult Education Budget (AEB)
The Adult Education Budget (AEB) pays for accredited vocational courses. This includes training in construction, business skills, health and social care, and other in-demand sectors.
Through the AEB, learners aged 19 and over can access training that is specifically designed to prepare them for employment or support a career change.
These free training courses are available to adults of all ages, whether you have recently finished school or college, or you are an adult looking to retrain or upskill.
Types of Government-Funded Training Available
Depending on your circumstances and career goals, there are several types of free or fully funded courses available.
Skills Bootcamps
Skills Bootcamps are free, intensive courses for people aged 19 and over. They focus on sectors where there is a recognised skills shortage, such as:
Business and administration
Health and social care
Digital and technical roles
Courses typically last up to 16 weeks and are designed to help learners gain practical, job-focused skills. In many cases, learners are guaranteed a job interview upon successful completion.
Free Courses for Jobs
Free Courses for Jobs are designed to help people gain the skills needed to move into a new role or improve their employment prospects.
There are over 400 funded qualifications available across areas such as digital, engineering, construction, and care. These courses are also available to employers who want to upskill their existing workforce at no training cost.
Essential Skills
Essential Skills courses are fully funded programmes aimed at improving core workplace skills:
English and maths – typically lasting 3 to 6 months
Digital skills – usually requiring 30 to 55 hours of learning
These courses are intended for learners who achieved below a Grade 4 (Grade C) at GCSE, or for those for whom English is not their first language.
Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships are another government-funded option, allowing learners to gain practical experience while earning a wage.
Apprentices receive structured training alongside on-the-job learning, making this a suitable route for people who want to develop skills while working.
Benefits of Government funded Training Programs
There are thousands of free training courses which are funded by the government which provide young people and adults with the appropriate skills to step up in their career. These training courses offer many benefits which appeal to people looking for better jobs in a sector they love.
The benefits of government funded vocational training programs include:
They are free – You don’t need to spend any money developing your skills which will help you to become more successful in your job or provide you with the correct qualifications for the job you want.
Learn new skills – You can develop your skills for specific job roles to show employers that you are invested in learning to increase your employability.
Improve job prospects - completing the appropriate training courses will improve your skills and therefore improve your potential job prospects.
Earn a higher wage – training courses are designed to enhance your skills which will help you get a better job with a higher wage.
Improve your work performance – once you have gained better skills that relate to your job, your work performance will improve which will also help with potential promotions and moving up the career ladder.
Completing training courses in the right job sector will provide employees with all the necessary skills and enhance your employability. It also shows employers that you are always willing to learn more and move up the career ladder when the time comes.
Completing online training courses will demonstrate your ability to effectively manage your time, work independently and be able to adapt to new and evolving technology. These training courses will set you apart from others applying for the same job and the qualifications will enhance your job prospects.
Eligibility Criteria
The eligibility criteria for the government funded training varies depending on the type of free training course you require. However, for all training courses, you will need to be 19 and over and live in England in order to participate in the training and receive a qualification or certificate upon completion.
For the Free Courses for Jobs, you must earn below £25,000 or be unemployed to be eligible for their training courses to receive level 3 qualification for free. The annual wage amount may vary slightly depending on location.
If you claim Universal Credit, you are eligible to apply for a free training course if it will improve your chances of getting a job. You are able to receive full time training for up to 16 weeks and continue to claim the Universal Credit benefit.
The Skills Bootcamps are eligible for people that are either full time or part time employed, self employed or unemployed and you do not require any previous knowledge of the particular job sector. You can also use this service if you are already employed to further develop your skill set.
For the Essential Skills courses, you must have received a grade lower than 4 (C) in an English or Maths GCSE or equivalent. If English isn't your first language, you are eligible for the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). You can access the digital course if you have none or little experience of using computers or digital devices. Similar to Essential Skills, you can apply to the Multiply program if you received lower than a grade 4 (C) in your maths GCSE.
How to Apply
The government funded training courses can all be found on the National Careers Service website. You can input your town or postcode and browse through the available courses local to you and you can also search for a relevant keyword to specify the job role or sector.
There are also filters down the left side to further narrow down the options including start date, course type, learning method, course hours and course study time.
Once you have found an appropriate training course for your needs, you can click on the course to expand on the details and find out who provides the course. At the bottom of this page, there is a button that says ‘go to course’ and this will open up a new window on the website of the course providers.
There will be an application form you need to fill out in order to apply for the training course. This application will require proof of identity such as your birth certificate or passport, personal details, your current qualifications and employment and eligibility status which will be assessed. If you are accepted for the training course, the providers will be in touch with the necessary details.
Some training courses will also offer learner support to help with other external costs that you need to attend your course.
This includes:
Materials and equipment
Travel costs
Accommodation
Laptop and wifi
Childcare costs
Comparison of Government and Private Vocational Training Programs
The government training programs are fully funded to help people of all ages develop new skills without having to worry about costs. Private or independent training providers are not managed by the government but the majority are funded for a certain amount of the training that they provide.
As they also receive funding, these private providers are required to receive regular assessments from organisations such as Education and Skills Funding Agency and OFSTED to ensure that everyone receives the same support from government or private training providers.
Private training offers vocational training for apprenticeships, vocational qualifications, study programmes (ages 16-19), traineeships and commercial training and there are currently over 1000 active independent training providers in England. Annually, there are 1.75 million adults in education and training and 30% of these receive independent training.
The government released a publication on the ESFA oversight of Independent Training Providers: operational guidance which highlights the measures taken by the government to ensure the service ITPs provide is up to standard. This includes an assurance regime consisting of apprenticeship compliance checks, funding rules monitoring, control assessments, financial health checks and more.
The government also introduced intervention measures for ITPs that received an inadequate result by OFSTED or those that failed to meet financial health standards. This strategy aimed to eradicate low quality training, protect learners and public funds to ensure ITPs provided high quality training for all learners.
Government funded training programs are available in an extensive range of subjects which are free for everyone aged 19 and over. You can learn new skills and increase your employability and job prospects by taking part in certified training.
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