Still Serving
About to Leave
Left Forces
XS Training Ltd provides Electrical Training Courses such as City & Guilds NVQ 2357 Level 3 in Electrical Installation and/or Electrical Maintenance which will enable you to apply for your contractors’ JIB grading (Gold Card).
Nationwide
Funding
If you’re fully active in the Armed Forces and would like to begin some training or gain some useful qualifications while still enlisted – either to enhance your prospects while serving or with a long-term view to what kind of career you might eventually like to move into when you leave – here’s what’s available:
If you’re in, or about to enter, your resettlement period and considering the training and qualifications that will benefit your return to civilian life, here’s what’s available:
If you’ve already left the Armed Forces there are still sources of funding you can draw on to enable you to enrol in training or gain the qualifications you need. Here’s what’s available:
ELC
Higher education: time to step up?
Higher education at a college or university is about more than just degree courses – it offers a range of options, many of which have a more vocational slant. So, if you’re ready to step up to the next level, HE could be the option for you.
ELC
ELC: the basics
All you need to know before you get started …
ELC
The future is soft
Employment patterns are changing, nowadays a job for life is rare and it is expected that in future it will be normal to change career many times during your working life. Do you have the skills to succeed in this new world of work?
ELCLoansIRTCSLC
Get on course to a smoother transition
Your time in the Forces is likely to have been an all-consuming career experience. Despite that, you may yet have many years ahead of you in the workplace, which means it’s important to make the most of the resettlement options open to you. This five-step guide will help you to plan …
ELC
Are you eligible?
Take a look at the ELC eligibility rules below to find out …
ELC
‘Wish I’d done it years ago’
University of Cumbria nursing graduate Derrick Tyson says he has no regrets about leaving the Forces to take a new direction – indeed he wishes he’d changed career years ago!
ELC
Study for an MBA
If your CV includes an MBA, it’s likely to focus employers’ attention. It’s a highly respected qualification, sought after in a wide range of career sectors, and the routes to achieving it are eminently flexible. So what are you waiting for?
ELC
New year, new possibilities
A new year often brings the chance to think about our potential. With that in mind, find out how the Access to Higher Education Diploma opens up study opportunities for those with a Services background …
ELC
Power up your HE options
Throughout your Service career you will have been continually focusing on reskilling and upskilling, but you might need higher-level qualifications or want to try something new and change direction when you make the transition from Service life. The Access to HE Diploma could be just what you need …
ELC
Learning for life Making learning work for you
Speaking at the World Education Conference in January 2019, the English Education Minister, Damian Hinds MP, [1] said: ‘It’s not only that a good education helps you find skilled, rewarding work. It’s that everyone should have a chance to discover the joy that comes through learning.’ Access to Higher Education (HE) Diploma students know from personal experience the joy of learning and the important role it plays in their personal development.
ELC
Already left?
Here’s how to claim your ELC if you are no longer serving …
ELC
The Access to Higher Education Diploma
Opportunities and challenges for students with a Services background
Loans
Loans
Professional and Career Development Loans are designed to help people change direction or increase their skills by providing a deferred repayment loan
ELC
From Armed Forces to civilian life – change your career with NEBOSH!
Stepping into civilian life and finding a whole new career path can be challenging. However, for four Service leavers, this was made much easier with a NEBOSH qualification to their name. Here they tell us about the impact NEBOSH qualifications have had on their new careers …
ELC
It’s never too late!
The Princess Royal, Patron of the Institute of Learning and Work, recently said that adult education is good for people’s health, self-esteem and employability. A report by the funding body for higher education in England says graduates are more likely to feel satisfied with their life, be happier and feel more worthwhile than non-graduates. Good reasons to think about going back to education. Find out how an Access to HE qualification could help …
ELC
Spending options
Once your claim is approved, you’ll find a range of choices available …
ELC
Help yourself – and your Service
Using your ELC wisely while still in uniform won’t just boost your future prospects, it will benefit your Service too.
ELCLoans
Looking for a new start?
Follow your dream with an Access to HE Diploma
ELC
Get ahead … get AHED
The Access to Higher Education (HE) Diploma is designed for adults and is taken by people of all ages and backgrounds – it’s a nationally recognised qualification for people who left school with few qualifications and now want to go to higher education, with many looking to transition to a new career
Sponsorship
Sponsorship
You may be able to access sponsorship through schemes set up to benefit Service leavers, such as that run by X-Forces
ELC
Making university affordable for you
Members of the Armed Forces are just as welcome at university as anyone else, and if you are looking to study at university next year, there are a number of useful military bursaries available …
ELC
Take charge of your transition
How can you approach your resettlement and transition journey in a successful and positive way? ‘The best and most practical advice I can offer is this: ask for help,’ says Ahmed Al-Nahhas, head of the military team at London-based law firm Bolt Burdon Kemp. And he’s here with some sound advice on how to do just that.
ELC
Streamline your application with our list of dos and don’ts
Useful pointers to help you get your claim right-first-time …
ELC
Learn for life and make learning work for you
When you ask young children what they want to be when they grow up they are often very clear: ‘I’m going to be an astronaut … a princess … a doctor.’ Not all of us can realise our childhood dreams, but for some they do come true. Find out how QAA-recognised Access to HE qualifications have helped others follow their dreams and change their lives – many of whom thought higher education wasn’t really for them
ELCLoans
Taking stock, broadening horizons
The Access to Higher Education (Access to HE) Diploma – regulated by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) – is a widely recognised qualification that provides a second chance for adults who left school without the qualifications needed to enter higher education. If that’s you, read on …
ELC
Make your claim with care
Stop queries or rejection slowing down your claim …
ELC
Career Coach: your first step on the path to a new job?
Most adults returning to study choose programmes based on their career goals. Now, for the first time, Career Coach helps users search for Access to Higher Education Diplomas linked to their chosen careers, highlighting the skills and knowledge needed to enter particular job roles and industries
ELCSLC
Make a real difference with a mental health awareness qualification
‘Mental health is just as important as physical health’ is the view of fitness education provider Study Active’s managing director James Luscombe. With this philosophy in mind, Study Active, an established provider of ELCAS-funded health and fitness qualifications, is now proactively encouraging MoD personnel to study for its level 2 Mental Health Awareness qualification. Better still, the course can be funded using Standard Learning Credits (SLC), to which all MoD personnel are entitled …
ELC
Find a new place to belong
Higher education is not for everyone, but it could be your route through transition. Access to HE qualifications have already been the stepping stone to new careers for many members of the Forces family. Find out how the Access to Higher Education Diploma changed the lives of Mark, Tommy and Susan …
ELC
Claims checklist
Keep your claim on track with our step-by-step guide …
IRTC
Individual Resettlement Training Cost (IRTC)
The IRTC grant exists to help towards the cost of resettlement training through the CTP or external training providers.
ELCSLC
Prepared to succeed
Now working as technical developer with CNet, Clint Sherratt’s time in the Forces saw him work hard to accumulate skills and qualifications that he knew would stand him in good stead on leaving …
ELC
Tax exemption measures for those who are no longer serving
Under the ELC scheme, most courses of study undertaken by individuals still serving are exempt from taxation, either as income or as a benefit in kind, if they can be justified as ‘work related’.
ELC
Hands-on higher education success
Barney Polden graduated from the College of Osteopaths in 2017 with a first-class degree and was nominated by the College for the Institute of Osteopathy’s (iO) Rising Star award. Here’s Barney’s back story …
ELCIRTC
Using learning credits with individual resettlement training costs
The MoD has optimised funding for Service leavers so they can use learning credits during resettlement with their individual resettlement training costs (IRTC) grant to pay towards the cost of eligible learning activities.
ELC
Furthering her career
In its first year, the Further Forces programme has helped people from all roles within the Armed Forces to find new careers as teachers of post-16 students. Hannah Payne, currently undertaking a work placement as a lecturer at Hartpury College, is just one of them …
ELC
Useful contacts
Need to know more? Here’s who can help …
Sponsorship
What is Enterprise Learning?
Lt Colonel Ren Kapur MBE (pictured) is CEO and founder of X-Forces Enterprise (XFE) and Chair of the Soldiering On Awards. In this first part of our new series, she explains why enterprise skills are at the centre of everything she does – and, while we are experiencing the fallout from COVID-19, what exactly Enterprise Learning is and why it remains as important as ever …
ELCSLC
Digital infrastructure skills – delivered!
Offering hands-on experience and the sought-after certifications and qualifications needed to enter the network cable infrastructure and data centre sectors (the digital infrastructure industry) – with opportunities to study remotely – CNet has educated thousands of Service leavers. Here, just a few of them tell Quest their stories …
ELC
Life-changing opportunities through lifelong learning
York St John University has been a leading education, training and research institution for 177 years. Equality, ambition and social justice are at the heart of the University’s ethos and this is reflected in its reputation for academic excellence, graduate employability and strong sense of community.
ELC
Think you’re not qualified for a healthcare career? Think again!
There are almost 410 Access to HE courses in health-related subjects and more than 200 specifically designed for progression to a degree in nursing. Each year, around 50% of Access to HE students study Diplomas in health, public services and care. Could you join them?
ELC
HE’s apprenticeship revolution
Apprenticeships are at the forefront of a huge change in the world of higher education – it is now possible to be an apprentice at all levels of learning, right up to master’s
SLC
Standard Learning Credits
The SLC scheme allows personnel to obtain financial assistance for learning costs
ELC
Disabled? Open up to free study
The Open University (OU) recently launched the Disabled Veterans’ Scholarships Fund, offering 50 disabled Veterans, injured in, or due to, military service, access to free OU education. In addition to free study, applicants will be offered further specialist careers and disability support. If this is something that could benefit you, read on …
Sponsorship
Enterprise Learning: gateway to opportunity
In the second part of our new series on Enterprise Learning, Lt Colonel Ren Kapur MBE, CEO and Founder of X-Forces Enterprise and Chair of the Soldiering on Awards, tells us why enterprise skills are at the centre of everything she does. And, despite the current uncertainty we are experiencing, she tells us why Enterprise Learning should by no means be considered a luxury …
Latest Opportunities
Training Courses See all
If you are a member of the Armed Forces, or have recently left, we are ready to help you with your new career. Our Advisors can walk you through the process and tailor a study package to suit your skills and to assist you in finding the perfect career.
International,
Nationwide,
South East
Jelen Premier Wildlife Services are the providers of the largest range of deer-related training courses in Europe, and one of the few Deer Control & Husbandry training providers in the country approved by LANTRA
South West
Skills4Stem is a Global Training Provider with a focus on providing international technical qualifications in Construction, Engineering and Project Management.
International,
Nationwide
The University of Edinburgh offers a range of online courses that can be a valuable resource for academic skills and personal development. Explore our free short online courses, which are available to all or our portfolio of postgraduate online learning opportunities.
International,
Nationwide
University See all
Are you ready to embrace new opportunities? To meet our world's challenges and make a real impact on the extraordinary times we live in? Then get ready to immerse yourself in a different type of place.
Yorkshire and Humber
Edinburgh Business School is the School of Business of Heriot-Watt University. We have been delivering postgraduate management education to our students for over 25 years.
International,
Scotland
The Blizard Institute is home to a lively postgraduate community, and its Postgraduate Taught (PGT) programmes are led by experts and informed by the latest research.
We offer courses both in-house and through Distance Learning, with The Blizard Institute having the largest proportion of distance learning courses found within Queen Mary University of London. We have a wide range of PGT courses run by several of our Centres within the Blizard, which focus on knowledge, theory, research methodology and practical application.
Greater London
Wiltshire College and University Centre has a long association with the military and is a proud supporter of the Armed Forces Covenant.
South West
You can join the 82% of former UK armed force members that find employment with the support of Greater Manchester’s No.1 university.
North West
