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You must have funding approval for your level 3 qualifications in either loans or the level 3 statutory entitlement before you request them to be considered for the level 3 free courses for jobs.

You can ask us to consider adding technical and vocational qualifications to the level 3 free courses for jobs where they meet its criteria. We have done this to:

• make sure that the offer stays up to date and relevant to the economys needs
• review qualifications that either an awarding organisation or an authority with devolved adult education functions believes should be included in the list

This facility will be an additional exemption to the moratorium on approving qualifications for funding.

We will also consider adding a qualification outside of the sector subject areas listed above, where it meets all the other criteria and there is robust evidence of wage outcomes. We will also consider evidence such as:

• robust evidence of shortages in valuable skills
• being identified in a regional skills plan or other strategic skills-based strategies and plans
• support from Skills Advisory Panels, Mayoral Combined Authorities or the Greater London Authority, or a Local Enterprise Partnership

We will only accept these requests from:

• awarding organisations
• mayoral combined authorities (MCAs) that have devolved adult education functions in England and the Mayor of London (Greater London Authority (GLA)

Where the primary aim of the qualification, as referenced in the qualifications specification, is not to support a student to enter a specific job role or directly into employment but is on a sector subject area already included in the offer, we will consider robust evidence of employer need to support the application. For example, we would consider letters of recommendation from 3 or more employers, operating in the same sector as the qualification is in, indicating substantial demand, submitted via an awarding organisation, an MCA or the GLA.

We will only consider this for technical, occupational, and vocational qualifications in sector subject areas already included in the offer and qualifications already approved for funding. We will use these employer recommendations alongside an assessment of whether the qualifications content and assessment arrangements are sufficiently occupationally focussed, and whether it can support a student to prepare for a job role or progress through a job role on the occupational areas the qualification is in.

Awarding organisations (AOs) must complete an AO level 3 free courses for jobs notification form.

MCAs and GLA must complete an MCA and GLA level 3 free courses for jobs notification form.

Awarding organisations, MCAs and GLA should ensure that the qualification for which you are requesting free courses for jobs is already approved in either the Advanced Learner Loans offer or the level 3 statutory entitlement. You can check this by searching for the qualification on our website which lists the qualifications approved for funding. If a qualification is not already approved in one of these offers when you apply, it cannot be approved.

You should use one form for your organisation, which includes all the qualifications you notify to us.

We will consider these applications during our termly funding approval cycles. You must email the completed forms to qualifications.approval@education.gov.uk before 5pm on:

• 21 October 2024 - for the Autumn: November 2024 funding approval cycle
• 17 February 2025 - for the Spring: March 2025 funding a
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