Education

Throughout your Army career you will have been given appropriate training and education for both personal and professional development and opportunities to gain nationally recognised qualifications that are valued by civilian employers.

While Functional Skills qualifications are widely recognized there are provisions to translate other Army courses such as your own trade courses and Command Leadership and Management (CLM) through accreditation process.

The Army encourages all soldiers to take part in their personal development and there are various sources of funding available to assist you in this process and the two most commonly known are:

Standard Learning Credit (SLC)

The SLC scheme allows personnel to obtain financial assistance for learning costs. You are able to claim 80% of your course fees, up to a maximum of £175 per financial year. To qualify for SLC funding, the course of study must lead to a nationally recognised qualifications, have substantial development value and directly benefit the Service.

The Enhanced Learning Scheme (ELC)

The MOD and the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills offer eligible Service Leavers free Further/Higher Education (FE/HE) Access support for a first level 3 or Foundation Degree qualification.

To be eligible, Service Leavers must have:

• Registered for the ELC scheme while in Service and complete a minimum of four year’s service
• Complete a minimum of four years ELC scheme membership, thus qualifying for the initial lower-tier support
• Or eight year’s membership, qualifying for the higher-tier level support
• You can claim ELC up to 10 years after leaving the Army

Other options

Distance learning allows you to study at your own pace, no matter where you are. A range of schemes and courses are available but it requires discipline to organise your study time. Many Gurkha soldiers have studied with the Open University which offers hundreds of courses ranging from Certificates to Degree level qualifications.

You may prefer to attend a part-time class or short courses at a local college. Your education officer may have this information to hand and most colleges publish a brochure.

The Defence Learning Environment  (DLE) has a large amount of high quality learning material including:

• IT skills
• Health and Safety
• Language skills
• Business skills

Army eLearning Centres located within Army Education Centres can provide support and information for both soldiers and their families.