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:

Here’s how to claim your ELC if you are no longer serving …

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.

Need to know more? Here’s who can help …

The SLC scheme allows personnel to obtain financial assistance for learning costs

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 …

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 …

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’.

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 …

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 …

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 …

You may be able to access sponsorship through schemes set up to benefit Service leavers, such as that run by X-Forces

Once your claim is approved, you’ll find a range of choices available …

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 …

Using your ELC wisely while still in uniform won’t just boost your future prospects, it will benefit your Service too.

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.

Stop queries or rejection slowing down your claim …

Useful pointers to help you get your claim right-first-time …

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

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 …

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 …

The IRTC grant exists to help towards the cost of resettlement training through the CTP or external training providers.

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 …

Opportunities and challenges for students with a Services background

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

Take a look at the ELC eligibility rules below to find out …

If your future plans call for a higher-level qualification, or you 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.

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 …

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?

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 …

Professional and Career Development Loans are designed to help people change direction or increase their skills by providing a deferred repayment loan

Follow your dream with an Access to HE Diploma

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?

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!

Keep your claim on track with our step-by-step guide …

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.

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.

All you need to know before you get started …

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.

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 …

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 …

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

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 …

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

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 …

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?
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