Personal Learning Account

What is the Personal Learning Account?

The Personal Learning Account provides you with a way of accessing a wide range of free and flexible training.

These courses allow you to gain new skills and qualifications that employers want – helping you to progress in your current career or open up new job opportunities.

You can study these courses around your current job and family commitments with a range of locations and dates available.

Am I eligible?

To be eligible for training through the Personal Learning Account, you must meet at least one of the following criteria, and be:

employed (including self-employed) and earning under £29,534, or
on a zero hours contract, or
an agency staff, or
at risk of being made redundant

You also must be over the age of 19, live in Wales and be able to travel to the college venue, if required.

You are ineligible (at the point of application) if you are:

under the age of 19, or
attending school or college full-time as a pupil or student, or
in full-time higher education, or
in Welsh Government-funded work-based learning, or
an ineligible overseas national, or
in receipt of an Assembly Learning Grant or Education Maintenance Allowance, or
unemployed i.e. does not have a contract of employment

Note: We now have a range of 'Digital' and 'Net Zero' courses available that have no maximum wage eligibility criteria.

How much will the training cost?

Nothing, the cost of the training is 100% funded by the Welsh Government. However, you will need to pay for your travel and ensure you have sufficient time to be able to commit to attending and completing the course.

Do I need any prior skills or qualifications?

Some courses require you to have prior experience or qualifications, this will be highlighted in the individual course information below.

The programme is aimed at individuals who would like to change their career and so most courses can be accessed with no specific skills or qualifications. You will have the opportunity to discuss the course requirements with the college when you have a pre-admission assessment.

Can I access more than one course?

Yes, but please note – you are only able to enrol on one PLA course at a time. If you apply for more than one course at a time, we will contact you to check which course is your preferred first choice.

What courses are available? When do they start?

We have a wide range of courses that cover a variety of different sectors.

Alongside courses taught at the college, we also have a range of online courses available. These may be a mixture of online and social-distanced practical work, and some courses can be started at any time.

More courses are being added all the time, so bookmark our page and keep checking back for new opportunities.