Accessing free training

Training and courses often cost money, but there are ways to find free training and improve your skills.

Benefits of training and courses

Whether you’re out of work and looking to add new skills to your CV, or you want to improve what you bring to your current role, there’s training out there to suit your needs.

Doing a course or training can help you to:

progress in the workplace
get a new job
improve your skills, which can also benefit the workplace
adapt to new roles
make changes to your current role
be satisfied in your role

There are many more benefits and every person may get something different from doing training.

You can read more about understanding and developing different skills to identify which areas you want to develop.

Different types of training and courses

When you’re looking to do some training, you should consider the different types available to see which will best suit your needs and preferences.

Some of the types of training include:

online courses
in-person training
face-to-face classes
formal qualifications (such as Vocational Technical Qualifications)
doing your own online research or study

Sometimes training is available with less structure or direction, which may suit your situation better.

Some online courses can be fully self-directed, which means you can take the time and approach you need to get the most out of it.

Find out how to get the most out of online learning to see if it would suit you.

Finding free courses and training

It’s important to check what you’re signing up for with any training or course. Make sure there are no hidden costs which you’ll be expected to pay at some point.

Free training does exist and it’s a good way to improve your CV and help you find a role or career you want.

Sometimes for the training to be free, it depends on eligibility criteria. This can be an age limit, a benefits-based criteria or your work situation.

Free online courses and training

You can find a course on the National Careers Service website, including Skills Bootcamps, which can be fully funded dependent on your location.

Some larger organisations and training sites across different sectors offer free training. This training is usually online and can be different lengths to suit your preference.

You can find these by visiting their websites or using a search engine. For example, you could search for “free courses in HTML coding online”.

There are some courses that you’d need to pay for. Be careful to read all of the information available before you sign up and do not add any payment details for anything you think is free.

Free Courses for Jobs

If you’re over 19, there are free courses available to gain a level 3 qualification in a variety of subjects.

You can find out more about Free Courses for Jobs, or you can view a list of these courses and filter to those available near you.

Eligibility and entry requirements

You might be eligible for some free training. All courses have an age restriction, but most courses are available to anyone over the age of 16.

Some training may only be available if you meet the age requirement and are also unemployed or earning under a certain amount. It’s important to check or ask the provider if you’re not sure.

Paid courses and training

There are courses available which cost money and cover a wide range of skills and subjects which could be an option for your situation.

There are also qualifications which are free if you’re under the age of 19, but if you want to do the training after this age, you’ll need to pay.

If you’re in work, you could ask your employer if there is any budget available to help cover costs if you find a course you’d like to take.

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