Answering Questions

Is the Loan for You?

First of all you must make sure that you qualify for a Career Development Loan and it is suitable for you. To find out this you must check whether you suits to the following items:

You are over 18
You are a resident in England, Scotland or Wales and have unlimited right to stay in the UK
You can’t afford the course yourself
You have an intention to work in the European Union

You can’t use a Career Development Loan if:

Your employer has a possibility to receive a grant for your learning
You have some other type of financial help
You can’t choose a learning provider if you work for him.

Which Courses Are Eligible for the Loan

Let’s find out which courses can a Career Development Loan pay for.

You can use the loan to pay for courses which last two years. Also you can take it for three years of learning only if the third year is practical work. If your courses last longer then this you may use the loan for paying for part of it. With the help of your loan you can pay for different kinds of courses which will help you to improve your job skills. There are some cases in which with its help you can pay for qualification assessments.

One Career Development Loan is for one course. There is a possibility to increase your loan to the maximum amount which can be taken. If you decide not to finish your course you still must repay your loan. You must be confident of what you want. What skills, experience and qualifications do you need?

The courses which can’t be covered by a Career Development Loans

These are some courses which have some restrictions.
1. Careers counseling courses. It’s impossible to use the loan for courses that gives you careers information, advice and guidance.
2. Franchise courses. You can’t use the loan to pay for the franchise or to buy any license from the franchiser.
3. Foundation courses. If the foundation course means the first step to the degree course it can’t be paid with the help of the loan.

How to apply for a Career Development Loan

Now we give you the information about how to apply for a Career Development Loan step by step.
First of all you can call the helpline on 0800 585 to ask for an application pack or to get advice. Also you can send email for a Career Development Loan advisor.

1. Which bank to choose?

Career Development Loans are given in three banks such as:
1. Barclays
2. The Co-operative Bank
3. The Royal Bank of Scotland

Each bank has its length of time to process your application. It is necessary for you to know what repayments will be after you have finished your course.

2. Better time for applying

It is better to apply in advance. In case if you are unsuccessful first time you will have a possibility to apply to another bank. The time of accepting applications differs in bank listed above. For example Barclays and The Royal Bank of Scotland start accepting three months before your course starts and The Co-operative Bank stats six weeks before.

It will last for two or three weeks till you get the answer. You can apply only to one bank at time. In some cases it’s possible to apply after you have started your courses if you have enough time to process the application before your course ends. Acceptance onto the course doesn’t guarantee that the bank will give you the loan. So it’s better not to start the course until you get the loan.

3. Choosing of learning provider

You must investigate the information about several providers to make a better choice:

- check if the learning provider is on the Career Development Loans Register
- ask for an advice from those who have already taken the course
- find out what qualifications you will get
- read some public inspection reports on the provider
- check whether it’s a distance learning course and what costs will you need for it

Providers which are registered on the Career Development Loans Register have their own quirements. Banks are not responsible if the provider you have chosen fails to deliver the education you need to the standard you want. It is you who choose an organisation that will offer the type of learning.