Skills for Londoners Fund Announced

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced £9 million of Adult Education Budget (AEB) funding will be available for London Adult Education Providers. The Skills for Londoners Covid-19 Response Fund will allow providers to respond to the current needs of adult learners within London. 

The intention of the fund is to ensure that learners are given the opportunity to continue to access learning opportunities whilst other means of classroom learning are unavailable. In particular the fund aims to:

  • Help learners develop skills to access new employment opportunities
  • Allow learners to gain confidence in digital skills as we move to a more online working and learning approach
  • Support the wider social and economic outcomes of participation in learning

The fund is to be used to support providers in meeting the training needs of the following key groups:

  • Those who have been furloughed and the self-employed whose incomes fall below the London Living Wage as a result of COVID-19
  • Those made redundant as a result of COVID-19
  • Key workers requiring additional training to meet the changing demands of their roles
  • Learners who are at risk of digital exclusion

The Fund will have two strands of activity:

  • Strand 1 will support additional provision to meet the immediate demand for learning and skills in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. AEB grant-funded providers will be able to apply for an additional grant allocation of a minimum of £100,000 and up to a maximum of £500,000. The deadline for bids for this strand is 31st May 2020.
  • Strand 2 will support one-off grant allocations to support the costs of building capacity in the London skills sector. This strand is open to applications from both AEB grant funded and procured providers. The value of grants available will be determined based on the provider's AEB allocation/ contract for 2020/21. The deadline for bids for this strand is 30th June 2020.  

All providers who have an existing AEB contract with the GLA or are eligible for an AEB Grant allocation beyond 2020-21 are eligible to apply for this funding.

 For more information on the fund please click here.

Qualifications which support the Adult Education Budget

Education Providers and people like yourself are using the below qualifications with their Adult Education Budget and to support adult learners during this pandemic:

Digital Skills

The below digital qualifications are mapped to the National Occupational Standards:

  • Entry 3 Award in Developing Online Digital Skills
  • Entry 3 Award in Skills for Digital Transactions
  • Level 1 Award in Skills for Digital Transactions

Essential Digital Skills *Coming Soon*

Ready for teaching in the new academic year, we have two brand new Essential Digital Skills Qualifications – Entry 3 and Level 1 Award in Essential Digital Skills for Work & Life. These qualifications are mapped to the new Essential Digital Skills Framework and are ideal for adults with little or no digital skills. These will also be fully funded under the Legal Entitlement Offer for learners aged 19+.

Employability and Progression to Further Learning and Work

These qualifications are designed to help learners develop skills, attributes and values which will enable them to overcome barriers to employment and further study; build self-esteem and a positive attitude to work and study, helping them to take steps into further study and employment.

The most popular qualifications in our Employability suite are our Work Preparation qualifications, available at Entry 3 and Level 1.

Popular qualifications in our Progression to Further Learning and Work suite are:

  • Entry 1, 2 and 3 Award/ Certificate/ Diploma in Independent Living
  • Entry 3 and Level 1 Award in The Importance pf Resilience and Grit
  • Entry 3 Award and Level 1 and 2 Award/ Certificate/ Diploma in Progression
  • Level 1 Award in Induction to a Learning Environment 
  • Level 1 Award in Managing Transitions

Short Online Qualifications

These online qualifications contain practical applications to daily life, work and study, allowing learners to develop a diverse range of life skills.

  • Level 1 Award in Mental Health & Well-being
  • Level 1 Award in Personal Health & Well-being
  • Entry 3 Award in Healthy Living for Well-being and Mental Health
  • Entry 3 Award in Internet Safety for IT Users
  • Level 1 and Level 2 in Healthy Living
  • Level 1 Award in Social Media and Online Safety
  • Level 1 Award in Managing Personal Finance
  • Level 1 Award in Understanding Employment, Business and Enterprise

Coming soon is a brand new Short Online Qualification in Infection Control – Level 1 Award in Promoting Health and Preventing the Spread of Infection

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