Discounted training for women in London

Women working in London who want to break into one of the many 'men's worlds' of work can now ask their employer to sponsor appropriate level three training for the subsidised price of no more than £585.

This represents a discount of between 67 and 78 per cent, and any further discount that can be negotiated with the provider can come off of the employer's contribution.

The offer is part of the Train To Gain* programme, resulting from recommendations made by the Women and Work Commission.

• Who is entitled?
• Who might benefit?
• What training is covered?
• Contact information

Who is entitled?

You must be:

• a woman
• over 19 years old
• resident in the EU for at least three years
• employed (i.e. not a volunteer)
• working in an industry or job where women are currently under-represented, for example agriculture, business, construction, cultural and creative, manufacturing and engineering, health, hospitality, ICT*, retail, transport (NB women are under-represented in management in almost every industry)
• capable of completing a level 3 qualification - BUT it doesn't matter what other qualification you already have.

Who might benefit?

• Mary is a supervisor in a large bakery in London.

She is fully qualified for the job that she is doing, and always makes sure she knows about latest developments in the industry. She keeps seeing vacancy notices for junior managers but she knows that women are hardly ever appointed and doesn't have the confidence to apply for them.

If Mary was to study for the NVQ* level 3 in management she would significantly increase both her confidence and her chances of success.

• Susan has recently returned to work after maternity leave. She has a degree in business and administration, and works full time at the central London head office of a major retail company.

Susan would like to work closer to her home and knows that there are often management vacancies in her local store. She has the necessary management skills but no retail experience, so an NVQ level 3 in Retail Skills would help her achieve this objective.

What training is covered?

Examples of courses on offer in London that would qualify for this discount are:

• NVQ Customer Service
• NVQ Management
• NVQ Retail Skills
• ITQ*

Accessing the subsidy

Let your employer know that there are women in your workplace who could benefit from this programme. Make sure they realise they will have to pay up to £585 per person

Contact local providers to see if they will give you an additional discount or one of the London Train to Gain brokers:

Exemplas t: 0845 60 20 101
Triangle Fusion t: 020 8570 4433 or 0870 950 1177
Prevista Ltd t: 0207 6198300

Contact information

For further information contact: Patricia Raftery at unionlearn* e: praftery@tuc.org.uk, t: 02074671398, m: 07880558 693 Download leaflet

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