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This section outlines the approval principles for the Level 3 Free Courses for Jobs
In September 2020, the Prime Minister announced the Lifetime Skills Guarantee. As part of this, we have introduced the Level 3 Free Courses for Jobs (previously known as the Level 3 Adult Offer). Adults in England who are 19 and over and does not already have a level 3 qualification (equivalent to an advanced technical certificate or diploma, or A levels or higher) can undertake a level 3 qualification to support them gain new skills and access opportunities and gain employment. In addition, from April 2022, any adult in England earning under the National Living Wage annually (£18,525) in the funding year 2022 to 2023 has been able to access these qualifications for free, regardless of their prior qualification level.
Further details on the Level 3 Free Courses for Jobs can be found on the GOV.UK website.
We identified the sectors for this offer by reviewing the criteria used to identify qualifications for the high value course premium (HVCP), and adding other relevant sectors based on an assessment of economic need and strategic priority. This offer includes qualifications in the following sector subject areas:
We will include a qualification in this offer if it meets all the following criteria. The qualification must:
Final decisions on adding qualification to the offer will factor in the overall affordability of the offer.
You can find the list of qualifications included in the Level 3 Free Courses for Jobs on the list of qualifications approved for funding.
Qualifications in this offer are still subject to the review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below in England.
You can ask us to consider adding technical and vocational qualifications to the Level 3 Free Courses for Jobs where they meet its criteria. We have done this to make sure that the offer stays up to date and relevant to the needs of the economy, and to review qualifications that either an awarding organisation or an authority with devolved adult education functions believes should be included in the list. This facility will be an additional exemption to the moratorium on approving qualifications for funding.
We will also consider adding a qualification outside of the sector subject areas listed above, where it meets all the other criteria and there is robust evidence of wage outcomes. Alongside this, we will also consider evidence such as:
We will only accept these requests from:
Where the primary aim of the qualification, as referenced in the qualification’s specification, is not to support a student to enter a specific job role or directly into employment but is in a sector subject area already included in the offer, we will consider robust evidence of employer need to support the application. For example, we would consider letters of recommendation from three or more employers, operating in the same sector as the qualification is in, indicating substantial demand, submitted via an awarding organisation, an MCA or the GLA.
We will only consider this for technical, occupational, and vocational qualifications in sector subject areas already included in the offer and qualifications already approved for funding. We will use these employer recommendations alongside an assessment of whether the qualification’s content and assessment arrangements are sufficiently occupationally focussed, and whether it can support a student to prepare for a job role or progress through a job role on the occupational areas the qualification is in.
Awarding organisations must complete an AO Level 3 Free Courses for Jobs notification form.
MCAs and GLA must complete an MCA/GLA Level 3 Free Courses for Jobs notification form.
Please use one form for your organisation, which includes all the qualifications you notify to us in that month.
For the remainder of 2021 to 2022 and the 2022 to 2023 funding year, we will consider qualifications consider qualifications in the following review months:
You must email the completed form(s) to [email protected] before 17:00 on 19 April 2022, before 17:00 on 19 September 2022 and before 17:00 on 17 April 2023.
If we decide not to approve a qualification for this offer, we will tell you why.
When we add a qualification to this offer, we will not back date its funding approval start date. The funding approval start date will be the date we add it to the offer.
Don’t include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details.
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