Scottish Government
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Individual Learning Accounts
Changes to the Individual Learning Accounts Scotland Scheme which will be available to learners in the 2009-10 academic year mean that up to 250,000 more people can now be helped to develop their learning when changing jobs or facing redundancy.
The changes are:
- the income threshold will be increased from £18,000 to £22,000 with nearly half the adult workforce now employed
- the minimum study requirement for the ILA £500 grant will be reduced from 50 per cent of a full-time course to 40 SCQF Credits
- eligible students studying part-time taught postgraduate courses (SCQF level 11) will be supported through the ILA500 scheme
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Fiona Hyslop announced the new criteria for the ILAs at a visit to the Open University in Edinburgh.
"Supporting individuals and businesses throughout the current economic climate is a vital component of the Scottish Government's six point Economic Recovery Plan. The changes the Scottish Government have made to the ILA programme are central to providing that support.
"More individuals than ever before will be able to benefit from Government support in developing their skills and undertaking training to help them in employment.
"Increasing the income threshold to £22,000 extends eligibility for ILA support to an extra 250,000 people - covering nearly half the adult workforce.
"This Government fully recognises the pressures on people and fully understands the importance of ensuring people continue to train and develop themselves throughout the current downturn. This will enable the country as a whole to contribute to Scotland's future economic success.
"The changes I am announcing today demonstrate that this Government is committed to doing all that we can to help individuals and businesses through the downturn and ensure Scotland's future economic recovery and growth."
Peter Syme, Director of the Open University in Scotland, said:
"Today's announcement opens up opportunity for thousands more Scots to refresh and upgrade their skills.
"It carries forward and extends a process begun last year to help people in work take up the growing range of part-time learning available in Scottish higher education, including the Open University, without breaking hard-pressed family budgets.
"Especially in a recession, we must as a nation be prepared to support people taking the initiative in preparing themselves for the future and adapting their skills to new circumstances, if we are to be internationally competitive. Particularly welcome is extension of the scheme to postgraduate study, promoting essential higher level skills."
The Alliance of Sector Skills Councils also welcomed the changes :
"By increasing the threshold of eligibility for funding, a greater number of individuals who currently see funding as a barrier will be able to access entry level training.
"These changes will undoubtedly lead to an increase in the number of people able to seek further education, resulting in a greater level of re-skilling and up-skilling. This is crucial at a time of recession, as it will help individuals to access training that will enable them to gain employment through updating their skills or learning new ones.
"The changes to ILA500, which reduces the length of programme that can be supported, will enable individuals to access shorter training courses and still be eligible for funding. This is an important step, as employers across many sectors have highlighted the need for training as vital at this time.
"These are important changes which will help support the Scottish Government's vision of having a highly skilled and productive workforce."
Mary Howden, Head of Education and Workforce Development at the Scottish Social Services Council said:
"This announcement is excellent news for learners, employers and training providers right across the social services sector. Learning and development is an integral part of working in the sector and these changes will help ensure hundreds more employees will be able to access the benefits that the ILA scheme offers."
Gurjit Singh, NUS Scotland President, said:
"We welcome the announcement that the eligibility to ILAs will be extended to include more students. Many part-time students are struggling to find enough money to pay their fees and some are dropping out as a result. In the current economic climate, many people will be entering education in the coming year to retrain, and these changes will go some way towards making this easier."
Purnima Tanuku, Chief Executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), added:
"NDNA Scotland is pleased to see these developments in the ILA500 scheme. NDNA Scotland hopes that raising the qualifying salary threshold and reducing the intensity of study will mean many more nurseries in the private, voluntary and independent sectors can access the benefits of this funding. We are also pleased to see that it now covers post-graduate study, and we believe this will help nurseries support their teams further. It is important that nurseries develop their workforce for the benefit of children and families, and to help deliver initiatives such as the Early Years Framework. We will be communicating these developments to our nursery members and believe it will ultimately support the qualification levels of the workforce."
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