As part of the Lifetime Skills Guarantee, a targeted level 3 adult offer has been developed to support adults aged 19+ (must be 19 on the 1^st of August of the academic year) without an existing full level 3 qualification, and adults who meet the definition of ‘low wage’ or ‘unemployed’. This offer is also known as the “free courses for jobs” (FCFJ) offer.

The offer includes:

• Level 3 qualifications which will support the development of new skills for adult learners and improve the prospects of eligible adults in the labour market. Adults aged 24+ will now be able to access fully funded Level 3 provision from the DfE list of qualifications available through this offer.
• Additional Level 3 qualifications for 19- to 23-year-olds that are not included in the legal entitlements.
• We expect this flexibility to be used where a learner could benefit from a more substantial qualification once they have completed a short qualification.
• We will fully fund individuals as part of the offer where they meet the definition of being unemployed or the low wage criteria and enroll on the level 3 FCFJ qualifications approved for funding, including learners who already have a level 3 qualification or higher.
• We will fund eligible learners to take one ‘short’ qualification, followed by one further qualification in the level 3 FCFJ offer.

Once a learner has been funded by FCFJ in line with the paragraphs above, they will have exhausted their eligibility for the offer and can no longer access FCFJ funding. Learners accessing the low wage and unemployment flexibility cannot be funded if they have previously been funded via FCFJ.

Second Level 3: Second Level 3 courses can be funded for the unemployed or economically inactive, Employed but earn less than £22,500 per annum and require a second level 3 for in-work progression, for entry into growth or foundational sectors.

There is further information about CPCA’s FCFJ Funding rules in the AEB section above.