JIB Skills Development Fund reaches £100,000 milestone

  Posted by: electime      27th February 2019

More than £100,000 in training grants has been awarded by the JIB Skills Development Fund since it launched, helping JIB member employees and JIB-registered apprentices to further their career development.

The Fund provides financial assistance to those looking to gain additional industry qualifications. In recent years, the charity has also expanded its work to help the unemployed find a way back into job market by providing financial assistance to upskill.

To date the most popular courses have been HNCs, ONCs and Degrees in area such as Electrical and Electronic Engineering, or Building Services. Following a recent increase in the amount of funding available per grant, from 50% to up to 75% of the course fee, the potential support ranges from £750 for Level 3 qualifications to £1250 for Degrees.

To be eligible for funding, applicants must be directly employed by a JIB member company, a registered apprentice (JIB or non-JIB) or a registered unemployed operative who holds a valid ECS card.

The Skills Development Fund also runs the JIB Apprentice Exchange Programme, and offers a Scholarship Grant of £3000 to an individual studying a higher level qualification in the electrical industry.

“It is great to see there are so many people in our industry who are willing to put themselves through some quite rigorous further education and skills development to improve their knowledge and their standing. We are happy to support them on their journey,” said Mick Tuff, Chairman of the Skills Development Fund.

“Some qualifications can cost thousands of pounds and so it wouldn’t be possible for some to undertake these HNCs or degrees without financial assistance. The other side of this is there are many people out there who never completed an apprenticeship or undertook formal qualifications. We are looking at ways to support them as well with financial incentives to go on to complete their NVQ Level 3 and obtain skilled status such as through the TESP Careers Progression Programme.

“We will now be carrying out further promotion of the Fund to those who may benefit, and working with our industry partners to help those most in need find a route back into employment.”

A report covering recent Skills Development Fund activity is now available on the JIB website. To find out more about the Fund and how to apply visit www.jib.org.uk/sdf