Government Grants for Retraining

The government now preaches constantly about the need for us to engage in "lifelong learning" to keep up with the changing demands of the modern world and participate in the "knowledge economy". To help make the ideal a reality, a variety of financial assistance programmes are available to help you acquire new skills.

If you're facing redundancy and need help working out your next steps, you might find it useful to try our free Redundancy Action Plan.

Redundancy-Related Retraining Help

If the redundancy is a large-scale one, the Jobcentre is sometimes able to deploy special help through its Rapid Response Service. The help is uniquely tailored to the requirements of each case and can sometimes include financial help to pay for new training.

Adult Learning Grant

The government offers an Adult Learning Grant (ALG) to contribute to the costs of courses (or expenses related to them) which will help you achieve new levels of qualification. This is a significant restriction which you should note. It means that you cannot get funding for ELQ or Equivalent Level Qualifications. For example, if you already have two good A-Levels in English and French and want to retrain for a career in IT by doing A-Levels in Maths and Computing, you would not be eligible for the ALG. The new qualification must constitute progress of some sort.

The Adult Learning Grant can pay out up to £30 per week depending on the overall financial circumstances of your household. It is only available for full-time training courses, and you may be ineligible for it if you are also receiving benefits such as Income Support.

Redundancy Action Plan

Tell us about your situation and get a personalised step-by-step plan for dealing with redundancy. Covers finances, job hunting, benefits, and wellbeing.

Try our Redundancy Action Plan free, here on this site →

Higher Education Grants

If you're planning on going into higher education, government support comes in the form of maintenance grants, which are intended to help with your living expenses, and Student Loans, which can defray both your living expenses and your tuition costs at the institution of learning you attend. Grants do not have to be paid back; loans do. However, interest rates on student loans are now significantly higher than the rate of inflation for many loan types, and can reach over 7% for some borrowers.

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Professional and Career Development Loan

The Professional and Career Development Loan scheme, which was supported by the government and administered by high street banks, closed for new applications in January 2019. The scheme previously allowed borrowers to take out loans of between £300 and £10,000 to cover course fees and related expenses for job-related learning courses lasting up to two years.

If you have an existing Career Development Loan, it will not be affected and you must continue to make repayments as agreed. For alternative funding options for retraining, you can contact the National Careers Service on 0800 100 900 for advice on current financial support available for adult learners.

Government Retraining Grants – Conclusion

Few of us now have the luxury of going through life following only one career path. Periodic retraining in order to acquire new skills has become almost inevitable. Government financial assistance is available to help with some of the costs, but you will also often have to make a substantial commitment of your own.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Redundancy Action Plan lets you tell us about your situation and get a personalised step-by-step plan for dealing with redundancy. Covers finances, job hunting, benefits, and wellbeing. Try it now →