Adult Education and Apprenticeships
Adult Skills Fund and eligibility
The Adult Skills Fund (ASF) is a fund set up by the Government to support people aged over 19 with education and training. ASF also funds ESOL provision for non-native English speakers.
There are usually eligibility requirements to access ASF funded courses. This includes:
- Aged over 19 years old.
- Live in England.
- Having been ordinarily resident in the UK for the last 3 years.
However, some refugee and forced migrant groups are exempt from the requirement to have been ordinarily resident in the UK for the last 3 years. This includes, but is not limited to:
- individuals with refugee status.
- individuals with Humanitarian Protection status.
- individuals with Leave Outside The Rules.
- individuals who have arrived on one of the Ukrainian Schemes.
- Asylum Seekers who have lived in the UK for 6-months or more while their claim is considered by the Home Office but no decision on their claim has yet been made.
ASF in Devolved Areas
ASF is devolved in Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region. This means decisions on what to use ASF for are made locally by Mayors and Councils not by the Government. Some eligibility rules may be different in these areas.
If you live in Greater Manchester or Liverpool City Region please go directly to the Combined Authority in these areas.
Apprenticeships and eligibility
Apprenticeships are a paid work placement that provides you with a qualification too. There are no age restrictions but there are restrictions based on how long you have been resident in the UK.
In most cases you will need to have been resident in the UK for at least 3 years in order to access Apprenticeship funding.
However some people who have been in the UK for less time than this are exempt from this requirement. Including but not limited to:
- Individuals with refugee status who have been resident in the UK since the time they have been granted their leave to remain.
- Individuals with Humanitarian Protection status who have been resident in the since the time they have been granted their leave to remain.
- Individuals who have been granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes
For more information on eligibility rules for apprenticeships please see the Apprenticeship funding rules on the Gov.uk website.
More information on the jobs you can get and qualifications you can achieve with an apprenticeship can be found on the Apprenticeships.gov.uk website to learn more.