Train to Gain is a UK government funded initiative to deliver vocational training

Training

The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of...

 to employed individuals in the UK, primarily those in the 25+ age band who do not already have a Full Level 2 Qualification, via the Skills Funding Agency, formerly the Learning and Skills Council

Learning and Skills Council

The Learning and Skills Council was a non-departmental public body jointly sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Children, Schools and Families in England...

 (LSC). The initiative was rolled out nationally in September 2006.As of 1 August 2008, Train to Gain will form a part of the Employer Responsive training model. On 24 May 2010 the UK government announced a £200 million reduction in this programme as part of its planned £6.2 billion reduction in expenditure in the 2010-11 government financial year.

Background

Train to Gain was designed to ameliorate the skills deficiency in the UK identified by the Leitch review

Leitch Review

The Leitch Review of Skills was an independent review by Lord Sandy Leitch, the Chairman of the National Employment Panel, commissioned by the British Government in 2004, 'to identify the UK’s optimal skills mix for 2020 to maximise economic growth, productivity and social justice, set out the...

. The purported idea of the service is to offer skills advice and match business needs with Further Education

Further education

Further education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...

 and training providers. The service will also identify any funding or grants that can be used to offset the investment in training. The support and advice offered by Train to Gain is claimed to be flexible, responsive and offered at a time and place to suit businesses.

The supposed appeal to employers is that they receive targeted, quality approved training to upskill their staff in line with their individual and business related needs. The appeal to employees is allegedly that they are invested in, given training to help them in their role and the opportunity to certify their existing skills. In addition to this there is funding available to improve their overall skills and levels of literacy and numeracy. A NAO report published in July 2009 queried whether the tax payer was receiving good value for money from this programme.

The Skills Brokerage service

Train to Gain is designed to maximise on the effectiveness of the Skills Brokerage — Skills Brokers liaise with employers to identify their skill needs and then provide a matching service with appropriate training providers. Thus Train to Gain can also reference the entirety of employer training and liaison.

Learner eligibility

The fundamental criteria for eligibility for Train to Gain core funding are:

• No Full Level 2 or higher (equivalent to 5 GCSEs at A*-C)
• 25 and over
• EU resident for the last 3 years
• Employed (by an English employer)

Learners in the 19–25 age band are eligible for funding through Train to Gain where an apprenticeship

Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...

 would not be considered appropriate, for example where the learner is on a temporary contract. Apprenticeships are the UK government's preferred route for vocational training in this age group. Learners below the age of 19 cannot be funded through Train to Gain.

Qualification eligibility

Qualifications that are eligible for funding via Train to Gain are identified as such in the LSC's Learning Aims Database (LAD). These are primarily NVQs at level 2 or level 3 alongside Skills for Life

Skills for life

Skills for Life is the national strategy in England for improving adult literacy, language and numeracy skills. The strategy was launched by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, in March 2001....

 at levels 1 & 2.

Flexibilities of Train to Gain

During the course of the 07/08 contract year the LSC released several additional "flexibilities" applying to learner eligibility. These allowed volunteers to access the Train to Gain service, as well as self-employed

Self-employment

Self-employment is working for one's self.Self-employed people can also be referred to as a person who works for himself/herself instead of an employer, but drawing income from a trade or business that they operate personally....

 learners. A further flexibility allows exemption from the criteria concerning prior attainment (i.e. no full level 2), for learners coming through the local employment partnership

Jobcentre Plus

Jobcentre Plus was a government agency for working-age people in Great Britain. The agency was formed when the Employment Service, which operated Jobcentres, merged with the Benefits Agency, which ran social security offices, and was re-named Jobcentre Plus on 1 April 2002...

(LEP) route. That is to say, those learners who find work through Jobcentre Plus and subsequently come on to Train to Gain.

The LSC has outlined further enhancements to the Train to Gain service in a recent letter to training providers. These include additional level 2s and level 3s for those who already have them (under specific circumstances), accessibility to Skills for life for those ineligible due to prior attainment and funding for Skills for life at levels other than 1 and 2.