Redundancy Support
Redundancy Support Available
There are various avenues of redundancy grant funding available to both redundant individuals and employers for skills-based training:
Workforce Development Fund
Successful businesses/organisations require a skilled workforce to realise their growth and profit aspirations.
This can mean re-skilling or up-skilling employees to match the skill set required.
The Welsh Assembly Government helps businesses/organisations to do this by providing a Human Resource Development (HRD) adviser under the ‘Workforce Development Programme’ who will work with the company free of charge.
Whilst the adviser will signpost businesses to existing programmes (outlined below) where training and development needs cannot be met through existing programmes, discretionary funding may be made available.
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Redundancy Action Scheme (ReAct) for Employers
Employer Recruitment Support funds employers who recruit individuals made redundant in the past six months. The award offers up to £2,080 paid in four instalments as a contribution towards wage costs.
Employer Training Support is a separate discretionary fund of up to £1,000 that an employer can put towards the cost of the new recruit’s job-related training.
Employers can choose whether to apply for Recruitment Support alone or Recruitment and Training Support. Employer Training Support can only be used in conjunction with Employer Recruitment Support.
Link: View more information on Redundancy Action Scheme (ReAct)...
Redundancy Action Scheme (ReAct) for Individuals
Support is available for eligible applicants to increase their skills and remove barriers to learning, or returning to work. In order to ensure that this training provides the best possible chance of finding new employment, all applicants will need to have their training needs assessed by Careers Wales. Careers Wales will also advise on suitable training courses and training venues. Under this part of the scheme, the following financial support is available:
- 100 per cent of training costs to acquire new skills (up to a maximum of £1,500)
- Help with the cost of special equipment required for training
- Reimbursement of travel costs to training courses
- Overnight accommodation costs, where appropriate
- A contribution towards the cost of materials required for training
- Reimbursement of childcare costs (subject to limits and conditions).
Find out more
You can get more information on ReAct from the ReAct Team in Swansea or from your local Careers Wales office or from Learning and Careers Advice on 0800 100 900.
GO Wales Graduate Training and Development Fund
Small to medium sized businesses in Wales can claim up to £1,500 towards the cost of training graduate staff members through the GO Wales programme.
It is available to fund training that will provide a clear benefit to a business in Wales. Once an application has been approved GO Wales can potentially fund half of the cost of the course up to £1,500 per eligible graduate.
For courses at NQF level 1-3 or courses which are not qualification bearing; GO Wales can fund 50% of the cost up to a maximum of £500 and the business would fund the remainder.
It can fund training for short courses in the following categories:
- Business, Management & Leadership
- Environmental
- IT
- Science, Technology & Engineering
- Languages
- Equality and Diversity
Link: View more information on GO Wales Training and Development Fund...
RBL Employment Support Funding
The RBL Employment Support Funding is a Royal British Legion managed scheme funded by Leading ex-Services charities. The scheme is designed to assist Service leavers and
ex-Services personnel including eligible dependants into sustainable employment. It has been specifically designed to help people who are unemployed, underemployed and on low incomes and the low-skilled to gain the funding, qualifications and skills they need to take up an available job opportunity.
To be eligible for the scheme, you must be:
- Eligible to receive financial assistance from participating charities
- Unemployed and/or in receipt of income support or a means-tested benefit.
- Have an offer of employment or evidence to support the assistance requested is linked to an available employment opportunity (inc self employment), trade or profession.
For more information and to talk to an Adviser contact the Civvy Street Helpline on 0800 169 4073. The Helpline operator will arrange for one of our Advisers to contact you to discuss the scheme.
Employer Pledge
The Employer Pledge programme has been developed as part of the Welsh Assembly Government’s all age basic skills strategy. It aims to reduce the number of adults with poor literacy and/or numeracy skills. As an estimated 47% of adults with basic skills needs are in work and 75% of the 2020 workforce have already left compulsory education, it is essential that employers and the workplace are engaged in the solution.
The Employer Pledge is intended for all private, public and third sector/voluntary companies and organisations, whatever their size. Signing the Pledge demonstrates their commitment to improving the literacy, language and numeracy of their workforce.
Support is given to the company by the workplace team and/or local basic skills providers who hold the Basic Skills post-16 Quality Mark/Standard. Once signed, the company needs to:
- Produce an action plan identifying how they will raise awareness of basic skills;
- Identify skill requirements and levels for particular jobs;
- Embed good practice in their procedures and ;
- Offer learning (usually in the workplace) to enable employees to improve their skills.
Grants are available to undertake this work in line with specific guidelines and there can be up to a maximum of £10,000 available depending on the size of the workforce. These complement and supplement mainstream funding for basic skills.
The Employer Pledge is supported by, Wales TUC, the Sector Skills Councils and CBI Wales, amongst others. Benefits to the employer of improving basic skills of their employees include:
Quality improvements;
- Increased accuracy and reduced wastage;
- Compliance with health and safety as well as other mandatory requirements;
- Increased willingness of employees to take part in training and achieve qualifications;
- Improved customer relations and;
- Better team performance
For further information regarding the Employer Pledge please contact employerpledge@wales.gsi.gov.uk
Career Development Loans
CDLs are a longstanding programme, available within Great Britain (GB), intended to help remove the financial barrier to learning. Their aims are to increase the amount of vocational learning, encourage more individuals to take responsibility for their own learning, and to encourage financial institutions to view learning as an investment worthy of a loan.
CDLs are available through an arrangement between the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and three high street banks. The key points about CDLs are:
- Applicants can borrow anything between £300 and £8,000 to help fund up to two years of learning (or up to three years if the course includes one year of relevant practical work experience)
- Applicants can apply for CDLs with Barclays, The Co-operative Bank and The Royal Bank of Scotland
- The LSC pays the interest on the loan while learning takes place and for one month after the training is completed
- The loan is repaid to the bank over an agreed period at a fixed rate of interest
Link: View more information on Professional and Career Development Loans...
