I had an appointment with the LP advisor on Monday. She told me how I can have course fees, transport and childcare paid for me. I have already enrolled for an ECDL course and she said that they could have paid for it, but it was too late because I've already paid. Now I have found out that Filton college haven't actually taken the payment and I have asked them to hold until I can find out it NDLP will pay. I'm waiting for the LPA to ring me back.
She didn't explain to me how it works and I didn't think to ask at the time. Do you find a course, tell LPA, get it approved and then apply yourself? Or find a course and have LPA apply for you? Or do you apply, then tell LPA? It's all so confusing. I asked the lady in the financial dept of the college and she didn't even know what NDLP is.
Also the LPA suggested I take a Sage Accounting course. The only college running it that I can find in Bristol is City Of Bristol at college green and it's on a Monday evening from 6.30 to 9pm. That's no good for me. I live in Yate, I can't drive and although transport would be paid for me, I don't want to catch a bus from central Bristol on my own at that time of night. Plus it's too late to leave my kids. And why not the NVQ? I could do NVQ 2, 3 and 4, be better qualified and the course runs during the day. If the LPA doesn't advise me to do this course does that mean they won't pay for it?
It all seems such a minefield. I just want to get qualified to a level where I can earn enough money to support my family myself.
So, because the money hadn't gone out of the bank for the ECDL course, I got onto the college and they agreed to hold off on taking the payment until I asked the LPA about having it paid for me. That was on Wednesday but I didn't manage to get hold of the LPA until this morning. She said tell the college to take the money and she would have the money put into my account. Hang on. I swear she told me that they couldn't reinburse me after I had paid it.
See if you can keep up with this. When I went to see her the first time and I had booked and paid for the course, they couldn't pay it. But now I have already seen her once and it is on record that we have discussed training and I have contacted her again about the course, now they can pay it. I was flumoxed, so she said it again.
"Yes, I understand what you are saying, you couldn't agree to have it paid the first time, but now you can. I just don't understand why." So she went into again and I'm none the wiser except that I understand that I can tell the college to take the payment and I will get it back from the jobcentre.
That was the first hurdle. Onto the second, the Sage accounting course. The only college offering Sage is City Of Bristol and it's on an evening in the centre of Bristol which is no good to me. Filton haven't offered the course for 2 or 3 years. Both colleges offer the AAT NVQ during the day which I can manage. The only other way I can do the Sage is buying a home learning course. The LPA thought that was a bad idea. Then, hurrah, she suggests I do the NVQ first and then the Sage later on when I have passed my driving test and have a car.
Apparently you can only apply for funding for one course per year. The ECDL is being payed as a one off out of office funds because it is a small amount, local with no transport or childcare fees. I should enrol for the NVQ which starts in February and apply for funding for that. In the meantime I have to ask the college if I can apply for a hardship grant.
So, this morning I'm feeling quite positive, as though I am actually getting somewhere, even though there's a lot of confusion along the way. :lol:
Hey that's really interesting Fiona, thanks for that, hopefully it will encourage others to try an Open University course.
What with all the changes going on for single parents and going back to work, NOW is the time to get trained up.
Bad Luck Rosedragon, it sounds like you are having a frustrating time of it with this, like you say, you are only trying to train so you can support your family. I really hope that the college can hold your fee and the NDLP can cover it.
When your LPA rings you back ask her the questions that you ask here:
- what order are you supposed to find a course, apply for college and get fees support?
- if you don't do the course recommended to you can you still get funded?
I am going to look into it some more, please come back and let us know what you find out and i will do the same.
Good Luck :D