Further education courses and funding
Further education and adult education courses and funding
CoursesOnline, is a course comparison website for any individual or organisation looking to learn a new skill or improve upon an existing one. These courses are all fully accredited, cover a wide range of topics and mostly can be done entirely from home.https://www.coursesonline.co.uk/
4. Financial help
You may be able to get help with the costs of:
- your course
- day-to-day living costs
- childcare
Depending on your circumstances and the subject you're studying, you may qualify for:
- Discretionary Learner Support
- Residential Support Scheme
- Care to Learn
- Dance and drama awards
- Professional and Career Development Loans
- 16 to 19 Bursary Fund
- a loan to help with the costs of a college or training course if you're 24 or older - called a 24+ Advanced Learning Loan
Funding for essential skills
In most cases you won’t have to pay for Level 1 and 2 English and maths courses at Learndirect. You also might be able to take other courses with them for free.
Funding if you’re on benefits
If you're on income-related benefits you might be able to take certain courses for free through the Adult Entitlement to Learning scheme.
While you’re studying you may be eligible for benefits like:
Funding from a charitable trust
Use the Family Action grant search to check if you can get help from a charitable trust.
Advice
Find out more about courses and what financial help you can get through the National Careers Service.
2. Find a course
Use the National Careers Service course search to find further education (FE) courses by course name, provider or subject.
You can also take courses through the internet or e-mail. Known as distance learning, this is available through many FE colleges and distance learning providers like The Open University.
Comparing FE colleges
You can compare all FE colleges and how they perform on FE Choices.
Advice
You can get free advice from the National Careers Service if you need help choosing a course.
3. If you're 16 or 17
If you're aged 16 or 17 you can study a further education (FE) course:
- full-time at school or college
- while at work
If you're coming towards the end of a school or college course, you're guaranteed a place on an FE course the following autumn if you’re under 18 years old.
Contact your school or local council to find out what’s on offer.
Advice
Get advice to help you decide on the right course from a National Careers Service adviser
1. Overview
Further education (FE) includes any study after secondary education that’s not part of higher education (that is, not taken as part of an undergraduate or graduate degree).
Courses range from basic English and maths to Higher National Diplomas (HNDs). FE also includes technical level qualifications and applied general qualifications, which replace diplomas and vocational qualifications.
Funding
Many courses in reading, writing and basic maths are free, and you may not have to pay for tuition if you’re under 24 and studying for your first qualification equivalent to GCSE or A level.
Find out about financial support, eg with your course or day-to-day living costs.