Tens of thousands of adults will be able to benefit from almost 400 free courses next year, including courses for early years professionals, in the first major development in the Lifetime Skills Guarantee announced by the Prime Minister in September.
The fully-funded courses will be available to adults without a full qualification at Level 3 (A-level equivalent) from April 2021 to help them gain in-demand skills and open up further job opportunities. The list of courses includes a number in child development and wellbeing, such as a Level 3 Diploma for the Early Years Workforce and a Level 3 Diploma in Children’s Play, Learning and Development. A full list of courses on offer at Level 3 is available here.
The offer is backed by £95 million from the £2.5 billion National Skills Fund, which is financing programmes that both support the immediate economic recovery from the pandemic and help meet future skills needs.
The list of courses on offer will be kept under review to ensure it is responsive to need and awarding organisations, Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Greater London Authority will be able to suggest additions to the list.