advice on financial support for retraining

[MaeveW]

I was very interested on the recent thread about people who have switched careers and retrained after becoming parents.

I was just wondering if anyone knows of any grants or financial support available for people who are looking to retrain after having children. Having 2 small children and a mortgage, it seems like the idea of going back into education is out of reach at the moment...

[Lochie]

I am doing a Masters via distance learning and though I am very lucky in that my work is paying for it, there are ways you could retrain and fund yourself maybe. Have you looked into OU or Birkbeck as they allow evening/distance study so you could earn a bit of extra cash in the day then study at times convenient for you.

[Lochie]

also direct.gov useful

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/ChoicesAfterYouGraduate/DG_10012463

[bluesuperted]

NHS related courses (SLT, OT, midwifery, nursing etc) have various modest bursaries attached. Teaching did but very few subjects still offer a bursary this year and fees have gone up.

Arts and business subjects/courses/retraining tend to be expensive and without financial support. It really depends on what you want to retrain in plus your expected expenses. My husband and I worked out we needed (in the year we both retrained) the equivalent of earning ?18k each - so about ?12k without worrying about tax. We saved for the shortfall between the bursaries we received and money we could earn whilst on the course.

Hope this helps, it takes a fair bit of planning!

[MaeveW]

Thanks for that - yes I think I am going to have to think carefully about this one - and I'm sure it will take a bit of planning

[Pugwash]

Daughter doing OT Degree gets an NHS bursary however she does not qualify for children's allowance as her partner earms ?500 a year more than allowed. he is self employed and has fewer jobs this year so she hopes that they may qualify for her 3rd year.

When she started her OT Training - it was a Jan - Dec Academic Year. On Year 2 they Changed in to April - March.

She has taken a year out due to a bereavement but rejoins in Jan 12 to resit her 6 weeks placement ( which was curtailed 2010 due to the death) and then joins Year 3 in April. She heard that many NHS courses are being reduced and some scrapped from this year. Out of the OTs that qualified in March 2010 (25) only 5 have managed to find permanent jobs.

If you retrain in a skills shotage area you could be lucky.

Youngest daughter was telling me that in West Sussex where she lives, teaching posts in both primary and secondary were being cut and larger classes brought back. Originally you could get on the Graduates Teacher Training Course run by the Government and get a wage around ?12 - ?15 k- do not know if that is still running

[sillywoman]

Means tested bursary only for Midwifery, based on household income. Also, sadly, no academic holidays. Have a friend currently doing the OT degree at St Georges. No bursary for her either (also means tested) but she does get academic holidays. Really something to factor in if you have school age kids.