Government grants for training

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.

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.

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. The interest charged on the loans is equivalent to the rate of inflation, however, so in real terms, the amount you pay back is exactly the amount you borrowed.

Professional and Career Development Loan

If grants aren’t available to fund the training you have in mind, consider a loan. The government supports something called Career Development Loans which can be used to help pay for job-related learning. The loan can pay either for the course fees itself, or related expenses, including living expenses, as long as they are not being supported by any other sources of public funds at the same time. Eligible training courses can last for up to two years, or three if they include a year of practical experience, and they must be offered by an organisation which appears on the official CDL register of learning providers.

You can borrow anything from £300 to £10,000. This should cover no more than 80% of your course fees, unless you have been unemployed for more than 3 months, in which case the loan can cover 100% of your course fees. Repayment must begin within one month of your course ending. The Young People's Learning Agency covers the interest payments on your behalf until then. It’s important to note that you must still repay the loan even if you don’t complete the training course for whatever reason, for example if you decide you don’t like it or your learning provider goes out of business.

Although Career Development Loans are supported by the government, they are actually administered by banks, so pop into your local bank if you want to learn more.

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.

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Grants for training

Grants and bursaries for adult learners

Adult learners can apply for grants and bursaries to help pay for courses and training. Usually, you don’t have to pay this money back.

For most grants and bursaries you apply directly to the organisation that gives them out. They’ll have an application form and will be able to tell you if you qualify.

If you’re a parent, you might also be able to get help with childcare costs while you study.

Search for education grants

Family Action provides information about education grants and has a grant search.

Course-specific grants

City & Guilds offer bursaries to people who study for a City & Guilds qualification.

Dance and Drama Awards are available at some specialist private schools and help with fees and living costs.

The General Federation of Trade Unions Educational Trust has grants for students of economic theory and history, industrial law and industrial relations.

If you’re training:

• for medicine, dentistry or healthcare - you may get an NHS bursary
• for social work - you may get a social work bursary
• to be a teacher - you can get help with the costs of teacher training

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Career skills and training

Search for courses and training online and get advice on qualifications and funding from:

• the National Careers Service (England)
• My World of Work (Scotland)
• Careers Wales
• Careers Service Northern Ireland

Other online services can help with:

• finding and applying for an apprenticeship
• English, maths and IT skills
• agricultural and farming training

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Costs of training

When conducting training, it’s important to know how much it is going to cost you and most organisations will have this information readily available. However, when carrying out an evaluation it’s important to consider all training costs, including indirect, for example, participants’ time. This will ensure you have an accurate and credible view of the potential benefits of the programme in comparison to its cost.

 

Even if you aren’t conducting an evaluation, accurate cost information can give you an idea of how much you spend in comparison to other similar organisations, and to stimulate discussion on how much you should be spending on training.

 

When calculating the it’s obviously important that you use accurate, reliable, and realistic figures so that any resulting costs are seen as credible. The key costs are:

 

• Planning costs

This covers any work selecting the training programme, such as a training needs assessment or stakeholder analysis. This will include any staff time spent on conducting an assessment or external consultant fees.

 

• Programme development and design costs

This includes any time spent researching or designing the programme, the purchase of the training programme or supplies, or the use of consultants.

 

• Delivery costs

Any external instructor or facilitator costs would be included here. However, if an employee ran the training, make sure you calculate their time, including travel and subsistence. You also need to include the cost of training facilities and refreshments or supplies.

The time employees spend out of work completing the training and any pre- or post-coursework should also be included.

 

• Evaluation costs

This would cover the fees of any external evaluators or the time internal staff spent evaluating the training. Include the cost of any evaluation materials, analysis or data collection tools, and the distribution of any reports.

If staff require any training to be able to complete an evaluation, then ensure to include costs such as time and course fees.

 

Costs such as a training needs assessment, programme development and design, and acquisition should be pro-rated and divided across the expected shelf-life of the programme, not attributed fully to the ROI calculation.

 

Once you have calculated the cost, you need to compare this to the benefit. Looking at business impact measures will calculate the monetary benefit of the programme. Some, such as increased turnover, may be readily available in a monetary format, while others will require conversion. As discussed previously, this should only be done for credible measures. The change in the measure over a set period of time should be multiplied by the cost of each unit of change. 

 

For example, a complaint may have an estimated cost of £5,000 to the organisation, and if there have been a reduction of 70 complaints in the year following the training (after isolation), the total benefit from the intervention = £5,000 x 70 = £350,000.

 

What happens if you are unsure of how much a complaint costs the company? This figure can be calculated a number of ways. Consider any direct costs, for example, gift vouchers that are sent to the person who made a complaint. Also consider staff time to deal with the complaint. Now look what the cost will be to repeat business and add all the costs together. If there is no credible data available about the cost of each unit, it’s best not to convert this measure to a monetary value.

 

Once the total benefit has been calculated, this is then compared to the cost of the programme. This is usually done through a ROI calculation:

ROI = (net programme benefits / total programme costs) x 100%

 

The total ROI figure represents what the return is over and above the costs of the programme. For example, a return of 25 per cent means that the costs have been recovered and an additional 25 per cent of the cost gained.

 

Alternatively, you could consider assessing the payback period of the intervention:

 

Payback period = total programme costs / annual savings

 

The resulting figure represents the number of years that it will take for the programme to ‘pay back’ the original investment.

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Benefits of training

A training programme has the following advantages. They are

ADVANTAGES TO THE COMPANY:

 1.      Increased  efficiency of employees: An effective training programme can make the employees of the company work in an effective manner. With training people gain confidence and this confidence is seen in the output  and results.

2.      Reduced supervision: An employee needs to be supervised when he works. When the employee has got sufficient training the amount of supervision  required is less as mistakes are less. This reduces the workload of the supervisor.

3.      Less amount of wastage:  The amount of wastage by an employee is reduced a lot due to training and therefore if we take an account of the amount of wastage we find that the company has saved a lot of money.

4.      Reduced turnover: Proper training improves chances of obtaining promotions and employees are happy because they have better opportunities Due to this their chances of leaving their current job reduces greatly thereby reducing labour turnover in the company.

5.      Helps new employees in the organization: Training always benefits employees whether old or new. In case of new    employees, training helps them a lot . This is because new employees may not be aware of the functioning of the organization and training helps them to gain knowledge and insight into the working of the company.

6.      Better labour –management relations: Labour – management relations are very essential for any organization. When      companies introduce training programmes and prepare employees for future jobs and promotions they  send out a message to the unions that they are interested in employee welfare. Due to this the unions also adopt a positive attitude and labour- management relations improve.

ADVANTAGES TO THE EMPLOYEE:

1.      Self-confidence: Training leads to increase in employee self-confidence. The person is able to adjust to his work environment and doesn’t feel humiliated in front of his seniors. This confidence leads to chances of better efforts in the future from the employees.

2.      Increased motivation levels: Training brings positive attitude among employees and increases the motivation levels of the employees in the organization, thereby improving the results of the organization.

3.   High rewards:  An effective training programme helps an employee to take the benefit of the rewards systems and incentives available in the company . Thus the employee is able to get these rewards , which in turn increases his motivation levels.

4.      Group efforts: An effective training programme not only teaches an employee how to do his     work but also trains him to work as a part of the group. Thus trainingprogrammes improve group efforts

5.      Promotion: Effective training programmes increase performance and increase the chances of obtaining promotions. Many employees even opt for certain programmes so that  they can help the employee to improve his chances of promotions and obtaining higher positions in the organization.

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Benefits of Training

Take a look below at 10 top benefits of ongoing staff development:

• Keep up with industry changesIndustries are constantly changing and so it is important for a business to develop to avoid being left behind. It’s also important to make sure your business is complying with any industry regulations, which can be achieved through ongoing training, making sure your staff’s skills and knowledge are up-to-date.
• Be in touch with all the latest technology developments
  New technology is being developed all the time and so it is not sufficient to run a one-off training session. Regular training needs to take place to ensure that staff are using all the latest technology comfortably and to its full potential. This can be achieved through implementing a customised staff IT training program, and by integrating employee training with IT support.
• Stay ahead of competitors
  Standing still can kill your business, so by making sure your staff are constantly advancing, you will continue to move forward are remain competitive within the marketplace.
• Be able to see weaknesses and skill gaps
  With regular training, a business can more easily identify any gaps in the market and skill gaps within the existing workforce. By identifying these gaps early, there is time to train staff in these required areas so they can fulfil the role effectively.
• Maintain knowledge and skill
  Although one off training may be provided to new starters, or other employees, it’s important that training schemes are put in place to help develop skills throughout their job. To retain knowledge, skills need to be practiced and refreshed on a regular basis so elements aren’t forgotten.
• Advance employee skillsOnce a business has spent money on providing basic level skills, these can easily be built upon and improved to provide much more benefit to the business. Staff that know more can bring more to the table, and your business will reap the rewards.
• Provide an incentive to learn
  If training is provided as part of a longer development pathway, employees will have much more incentive to learn, participate in the session and put their new skills into practice.
• Increase job satisfaction levelsThrough continued investment from the business, staff can have a much higher sense of job satisfaction, which can improve their motivation towards their work. This reduces employee turnover and increases productivity, which directly improves the profitability. It also prevents competitors from taking away your best employees by offering training incentives.
• Provide internal promotion opportunities
  Employing new staff involves high recruitment costs and hiring fees. However, with ongoing training, your existing staff can become more eligible for internal promotions. Unlike new staff, you can guarantee they have a complete knowledge of your business, the correct skill set and are people that you know and trust.
• Attract new talentAll businesses want to have the best employees and so with ongoing training, this will not only mean better staff retention, but the business may also attract better talent from the start, as this gives the business a good image and is a key feature many people look for within their job search.

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Benefits of Training

Skilling your staff is good for your business and good for your workforce.

Good for your business

Training can improve business performance, profit and staff morale. Advantages to your business include:

• you choose what new skills your workforce gains, targeting skills to meet the needs of your operation for now and in the future
• training your staff can result in better customer service, better work safety practices and productivity improvements
• you demonstrate to your workforce that you value them enough to invest in them, improving loyalty and staff retention. In turn, retention is a saving to you.

Good for your workers

Training has many benefits for your staff:

• they acquire new skills, increasing their contribution to the business and building their self-esteem
• the training they do can take them into other positions within the organisation – positions with better prospects and/or better pay
• they’re upskilled to do new and different tasks, which keeps them motivated and fresh
• because they’re being trained on your time, they see that you value them enough to invest in them. A good company is seen as one that retrains rather than churns.

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NVQ

National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) were work based awards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that are achieved through assessment and training. In Scotland the equivalent qualifications are known as Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ). The regulatory framework supporting NVQs was withdrawn in 2015 and replaced by the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF), although the term "NVQ" may be used in RQF qualifications if they "are based on recognised occupational standards, work-based and/or simulated work-based assessment and where they confer occupational competence".^[1]

To achieve an NVQ, candidates had to prove that they had the ability (competence) to carry out their job to the required standard. NVQs were based on National Occupational Standards that described the "competencies" expected in any given job role. Typically, candidates worked towards an NVQ that reflected their role in a paid or voluntary position. For example, someone working in an admin office role may take an NVQ in Business and Administration.

There were five levels of NVQ ranging from Level 1, which focuses on basic work activities, to Level 5 for senior management.

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NVQ and SVQ

What are NVQs and SVQs?

NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications) are based on national occupational standards. These standards are statements of performance that describe what competent people in a particular occupation are expected to be able to do. They cover all the main aspects of an occupation, including current best practice, the ability to adapt to future requirements and the knowledge and understanding that underpin competent performance. 

Within reason, NVQs do not have to be completed in a specified amount of time. They can be taken by full-time employees or by school and college students with a work placement or part-time job that enables them to develop the appropriate skills. There are no age limits and no special entry requirements. 

SVQs (Scottish Vocational Qualifications) operate in the same way as NVQs, but are used exclusively in Scotland. 

How are NVQs and SVQs achieved?

NVQs work by testing your abilities in the workplace. To complete an NVQ you need to prove that you can do certain work-related tasks. NVQs are assessed in a combination of ways: By portfolio - you build up evidence of what you've done at work; and by observation - an assessor watches you work and checks that you can do the tasks.

Candidates produce evidence to prove they have the competence to meet the NVQ standards. Assessors sign off units when the candidates are ready. The assessor tests candidates' knowledge, understanding and work-based performance to make sure they can demonstrate competence in the workplace. 

Candidates compare their performance with the standards as they learn. They look at what they have achieved, how much they still need to do and how they should go about it, until they are assessed as competent for a unit or a whole NVQ. The system is right for candidates who already have skills and want to increase them, but also for those who are starting from the beginning. As the system is so flexible, new ways of learning can be used immediately. 

Vocational qualifications

Progression awards, certificates, diplomas and other vocational awards - we use a number of different names for them but these awards are designed for people who can't take an NVQ (NVQs are only available to you if you're currently employed). 

So, if you're unable to take an NVQ because you're still looking for work, are changing career or just don't feel an NVQ is right for you, then one of these can help. They're classroom-based awards that will help you learn the knowledge and skills you would need to do a job or take and NVQ. They're assessed in a number of ways: assignments, practical tests, written exams or even online multiple choice tests. These are an ideal way to improve your knowledge and get that promotion you're after.

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NVQs

National Vocation Qualification

The NVQ is a work based qualification which recognises the skills and knowledge a person needs to do a job. The candidate needs to demonstrate and prove their competency in their chosen role or career path.

Define competency?

Candidates need to demonstrate that they have the suitable skills, knowledge and understanding to carry out the tasks associated with their job role.

What do NVQ’s cover?

NVQ’s cover a wide range of subjects for almost every occupational area in every business sector.

What are the benefits of undertaking an NVQ?

for the individual:

• A flexible route to becoming qualified in the workplace with no examinations
• A practical demonstration of the individuals skills, knowledge and understanding
• Certification to demonstrate you have met a national standard for an occupational role
• Improved employability and transferability
• Access to recognised qualification for employees with no other formal education

for Employers:

• An effective way of developing staff to a nationally recognised standard which results in improved efficiency
• Proof of the candidate's capability to do their job as it is based on what they can do rather than what they know
• On the job training and evidence gathering, therefore less down time from the employee
• Demonstrates a commitment to quality both internally and externally to customers
• Ensures employees are up to date with industry standards and best practice

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New Deal

Purpose[edit]

The New Deal had as its signature, the power to withdraw benefits from those who 'refused reasonable employment', though it remains unclear what exactly was meant by that, since no government can compel an employer to hire people or create jobs where none exist. Indeed, 'Workfare' in the UK can arguably be traced back to 1986, and compulsory 'Restart' interviews for claimants after a certain period, and as such the first introduction of 'conditionalities' with the possible outcome of 'sanctions' for perceived non-compliance. The 'New Deal' replaced the previous workfare programme of the then-Conservative government of John Major, 'Project Work', which had been launched in the early 90s's.

A further project was introduced in 1999, the Working Families Tax Credit, a tax credit scheme for low income workers which was meant to provide an incentive to work, and to continue in work.

Professor Richard Beaudry, from the Department of Economics at the University of York, defined the New Deal as follows in a 2002 paper, Workfare and Welfare: Britain’s New Deal (pp. 8–9) : "The New Deal reforms promise eventual reform of welfare assistance for all benefit recipients."

New Deal Programmes[edit]

Although originally targeting the young unemployed (18- to 24-year-olds), the New Deal programmes subsequently targeted other groups. These include:[1]

• New Deal for Young People (NDYP) received by far the greatest proportion of New Deal funding (£3.15 billion through to 2002^{[citation needed]} ). It targeted unemployed youth (aged 18–24) unemployed for 6 months or longer.

• New Deal 25+ targeted aged 25+ unemployed for eighteen months or more. In terms of funding, £350 million was allocated up to 2002.

• New Deal for Lone Parents targeted single parents with school age children. £200 million was directly allocated to the program, not including additional assistance for child-care.

• New Deal for the Disabled targeted those with disabilities in receipt of Incapacity and similar benefits. £200 million was budgeted for the program up to 2002 (Peck, “Workfare” 304-305). This was superseded by the 'Work Capability Assessment', introduced by the Brown government in 2008, and administered by Atos Healthcare.

• New Deal 50+ targeted those aged 50+.

• New Deal for Musicians was a little-known element aimed at unemployed musicians.

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New deal and Flexible New deal

Flexible New Deal is now live and delivering across half the country, but it's become evident that lots of people don't know what this means. Therefore, for your enlightenment and edification, we have put together a brief guide of the differences between the old and new support regimes for job seekers. Note that this guide does not include Support for Newly Unemployed Professionals, Programme Centres, or the Young Person's Guarantee. They all have an impact, but we're discussing New Deal in this article.

We've broken down the changes between the two systems into two chunks. The first is the overall process, and the second is how delivery works. Although the structural changes are more obvious, the how is probably more important for customers.

What's happened to the structure?

As the diagram below makes clear, almost every stage of claiming Jobseekers' Allowance has changed compared to the previous system. Support starts much earlier, ramps up gradually through a number of stages, and gives providers a much longer time to do their thing with customers.

So what's the difference, really?

The differences between New Deal and FND go beyond skin deep. They are built on fundamentally different approaches, which should become immediately evident to anyone undergoing the new delivery regime. Some of the changes include:

• Flexible hours and content - FND Providers can deliver services to meet customer needs, without worrying about government diktats on what to deliver, or when and how. There is no minimum hours requirement, as long as the provider delivers at least 4 weeks of work experience to each customer sometime during their first year on the programme. This is known as the 'black box' approach, and is entirely different to the New Deal approach of laying down how many hours customers should attend, what they should be taught, and requiring a sheaf of forms to prove that it all took place
• Looking for long term job outcomes - Providers are no longer paid for each job start. Instead, they're paid when someone enters work and then stays in it for a few months. Under New Deal, there was a strong incentive for providers to push customers into any job going so the outcome fee could be claimed. Now, providers will have to find more sustainable employment and provide some level of support to customers to make sure they stay in work
• Personalised support - It follows from the previous two points that customers should be dealt with more individually, having their specific needs identified and met, rather than sitting in a big room full of other attendees with a couple of knackered computers and some newspapers. In this sense it will be more like Employment Zones than the original New Deal. Having said that, the sheer volume of customers and the extremely tight targets and finances mean that some providers may have to deal with customers in bulk
• Long term support - Instead of a 13 week programme, providers get to spend a year or more with each customer. This gives them time to get to know customers, build rapport, and move them gradually toward work readiness
• Creaming and parking - Although payment on long term job outcomes is firmly in place, there is no mechanism for paying more money for customers that are harder to help. This means that providers have a clear incentive to 'park' customers who would be expensive to help, providing a minimal service while focusing their energies on those who can get jobs without too much support
• Prime contracting - Providers now have bigger, longer contracts and an array of subcontractors to support them in delivery. This may not have much immediate effect on customers, but the hope is that it will increase the availability of specialist support and make delivery more efficient

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