This is a non-repayable grant from DWP for in work training of both licence upgrading and ‘vocational enhancements’ ADR, Hiab, Tacho etc whether undertaken by employer or yourself. LGV is listed specifically in the qualifying careers.
The CDL was out for me as posted in AdR/CDL thread so I carried on hassling DWP and JC until I ‘found’ this buried in their own web site…
if you’re unemployed (that’s me) AND over 50 years old then instead of the CDL there is a scheme which I have been told by JC adviser and senior manager on Thursday is available and covers LGV licences as well as ADR, Hiab etc etc.
For me it is, 26 weeks unemployed age 56 so: 1500 for training, 50 per week for 16 weeks to get you going again, 250 for signing off the dole and working tax credit that is more than the dole payment was each week. There is also potentially the ‘Advisers discretionary payment’ for more training up to 300 on top of this.
You have to either sign off, or be employed, before training.
No prob for me as this means with the above I am 50 per week better of than the dole and can work any part time legally without being pulled as whatever you earn does not affect any of the above. The first thing to change will be the working tax credit in the next year as it"s dependent on earnings this year.
I found all this out and then went to JC with all their own info, ‘Oh yes, you may be right, let’s check’.
The interesting point which came up in discussion is even if you have not been recently unemployed and returned to work, the principle of the scheme is to help secure your employment with enhanced training.
There are other schemes that are available for training funding whether you are in work or not but if my experience is anything to go by you need to get most of the detail from JC or DWP website and take it to them.
If I can be any more help with detail of the process I went through and the other schemes that were available but not fitted for my circumstance then please contact here or pm
ROG, you’re giving up too easy here, this is the government.
If you read about my situation you can fix it all up for the training and then the day you are ‘in work’ it’s triggered. I went through all this ■■■■ before they gave in. It is there but they don’t want to give any money away, (got duck ponds to clean) just get votes from us idiots but they have ‘promised’, (pm me with what you are trying to achieve), for the first time in 50 years I have spent over a year whilst winding up my companies’ bankruptcies flushing out what they can do both locally and nationally, the key is the ‘precedent set’ . After a year I have some knowledge of how this works, not all but a bit. Rant over.
It’s like collecting a bad debt, got to keep at it, sit in their office and smile, no problem I’ll stay here until the ‘man who needs to sign the cheque’ comes in tomorrow, we’re all working together to achieve the same goal…blah blah. …I know that, but I don’t eat/sleep/go home etc, smile again.
My jobcentre insist on a ltter from an employer with the confirmation of full time work before they will consider looking into any funding - cart before horse !!!
I went through that one ROG for both the discretionary funding and the ‘golden hello’ where they pay 500 to an employer and then 1500 for training then another 500. ( I arranged an employer but it turns out the funding is very restricted in its use, to be almost pointless IMHO)
This one is if you ‘have been’ unemployed recently, that you are now employed and can use training to secure your position. It applies to LGV and it is also covered by being ‘self employed’, so I am able to sign off on the Fri and start training on the Mon. Normally you would be expected to pay the tuition fees and be reimbursed, but in my case they are willing to pay out direct, (this is a good excuse to insist on a letter stating that you qualify for this payment ‘when’ you are in employment)
On their website it says that you will be ‘currently employed’ and according to my JC that is covered the moment you sign off as S/E and therefore does not involve a ‘job offer’.
Why is it with the Job Centre ,the “customers” know more than the advisors ? Everything is kept secret,you might just stumble upon something if you are lucky.Nothing they do is ever nationwide,it all seems to vary region by region.I think I’ll get a ■■■ change and become a single mother.
One will say one thing at the job centre,later somone else will say it different.You get a discretional fund of up to £300,for safety clothing or a new suit,it seems the new suit is given if a job is offered after the interview.They wont pay for a certain mileage for travelling costs to an interview,it has to be a certain amount of miles.If you visit a hospital,it takes up to 3 months or longer to receive a claim for parking/fuel expenses to visit the hospital.
“the new suit is given if a job is offered after the interview.” Why would you get a new suit if you are offered a job after an interview ? Then again it’s the Jobcentre after all and it would go some way to confirm my opinion of them being absolutely useless.
I am at them again on wednesday and will post result, today it is still as said above before.
I think they’re that sick of me with new schemes of their own every other day they might ‘buy me the suit’ just to go away and theycan mark up one more job credit