We are very excited to announce that we are now officially registered as a Professional and Career Development Loan (PCDL) provider. Students can apply for PCDLs for any of our 2018 Social Media Management Course cohorts.
This has been a long time coming and we are so chuffed that it’s finally here. We did a public shout-out nearly a year ago now asking whether there was an interest for PCDLs and the response was overwhelming. We’ve been busy ever since registering with the Government and navigating their processes to enrol ourselves with the Skills Funding Agency. We have finally been accepted and at long last we can offer PCDLs!
We know that not everyone can afford our vocational training and this is a big step to making our training as accessible as possible to support even more mums to find their #WorkThatWorks.
So what exactly is a PCDL?
PCDLs are bank loans to pay for courses and training that help with your career or help get you into work. You may be able to borrow between £300 and £10,000 to help support you.
Loans are usually offered at a reduced interest rate and the government pays the interest while you’re studying.
You’re eligible to get all of your course fees paid including VAT if you are registered unemployed, or 80% of the fees including VAT if you're also in employment.
You can also claim expenses for:
Other essential course costs, i.e. books, equipment, travel expenses, childcare and any costs associated with a disability.
Living expenses – cost of food, clothing, housing, fuel, council tax (unless you work more than 30 hours a week).
You cannot receive any other grants or state benefits intended to cover those costs.
How to get one
PCDLs need to be applied for eight weeks in advance of our course onboarding starting, which happens three weeks before the course start date. This allows course fees to be transferred well ahead of lessons commencing, making the process as smooth and stress-free as possible. Don't worry we will be able to provide you with the correct dates to insert on your application.
Once you apply you should expect to receive a response within a working week, providing the loan application has been filled in correctly. You can expect to receive a Course Start Notification Form 2-3 days after that.
Why not the Associate Programme?
In order to register a course to be eligible for PCDL funding with the government’s Skills Funding Agency, we need to firstly be able to demonstrate demand from students. We had a lot of demand for PCDLs from prospective students for the Social Media Marketing Course and so we were easily able to prove there was a demand
If you’re looking to join the Associate Programme and would need a PCDL to do so then please let us know - just drop us an email on [email protected] If we can demonstrate demand for it we can then make an application to the Government to get our Associate Programme registered too.
How do I apply
If you’re interested in hearing more about the process then please get in touch with us and let us know. You can contact us here via email discuss it in further detail with our Admissions Team.
If you’d like more info on financial assistance to support your learning, you can go here to find out more.
We are currently taking applications for both our training courses starting in January 2018.
