Level 3 Free Courses for Jobs

In September 2020, the Prime Minister announced the Lifetime Skills Guarantee. As part of this, in 2021 the Government announced it planned to invest £2.5 billion in the fund over the coming years. Originally launched as The National Skills Fund, the free courses for jobs offer is intended to help adults gain the skills needed to improve their job prospects, supporting the immediate economic recovery and building the future skills that employers require.

Since April 2021, the Lifetime Skills Guarantee has given adult learners (who will be studying for their first full Level 3 qualification) the opportunity to study without paying course fees.

If the Level 3 course you are interested in studying at Colchester Institute is included in the Lifetime Skills Guarantee then the programme may be free if you meet the eligibility criteria listed below.

If these do not apply, you may need to pay a fee, and the fee is located further down the course information page. You can apply for a loan to cover all of your tuition fees.

• If you are aged 19+ and enrolling on a full level 3 course and you do not already have a qualification at this level*. (In some cases, if you need to enrol on a lower level to be able to progress to Level 3 you may also be eligible for free training)

* This means that you have not previously attained a full level 3 or equivalent (2 A Levels or 4 AS Levels, or QAA Access to Higher Education (HE) Diploma at level 3, or a level 3 Tech level or applied general qualification (e.g. BTEC)).

From April 2022 any adult in England earning under the National Living Wage annually (£20,319) will also be able to access these qualifications for free, regardless of their prior qualification level.