This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Cash incentive to learn computing skills
01/08/2005
Every adult in Scotland will be offered up to £100 to
improve their computer skills.
The initiative is part of the Executive's Individual
Learning Account (ILA) Scotland scheme which offers low
income learners up to £200 a year to pay for courses to
help them get back into work.
This has today been extended to provide funding of up to
£100 a year for basic skills Information and Communications
Technology (ICT) training to everyone in Scotland over 18,
regardless of income.
Deputy Minister for Lifelong Learning Allan Wilson
said:
"The roll-out of ILA Scotland is good news for adult
learners in Scotland, all of whom can use ILA Scotland
funds to pay for courses that will help develop their
skills, interests and opportunities.
"ILA Scotland has already opened up opportunities for
thousands of people on lower incomes who previously would
have faced financial barriers to learning. However, the
Executive recognises the benefits of learning for everyone,
regardless of their age or social background.
"We want to ensure that help is available for people to
undertake the type of learning best suited to them. So,
from today, the practical support of ILA Scotland is
extended to all adults in Scotland.
"We have chosen ICT training for the universal offer
because learner research showed us that even where people
might consider themselves to have basic ICT skills,
relatively few have any formal qualifications as proof of
their expertise.
"We also know that there is demand from employers for
formal accreditation of ICT skills, so we are focusing ILA
funding where it can have the biggest practical impact.
"Scotland's economy is growing and it is our top
priority to ensure this growth continues. We have to ensure
that individuals are equipped to meet the ever-changing
skills needs of the modern economy. ILA Scotland help lead
to a more skilled workforce by helping assisting people to
develop their existing skills as well as learning new
ones."
The roll-out of ILA Scotland has been welcomed by a
range of organisations, including the Scottish Trades Union
Congress (STUC).
STUC Deputy General Secretary Grahame Smith said:
"This will bring much needed funding for learning
opportunities to many individual trade union members in
Scotland. It will also strengthen the role that many trade
unions and union learning representatives have in the
promotion and support for learning in workplaces throughout
Scotland."
The new Individual Learning Account (ILA) Scotland
scheme was announced by the then Minister for Lifelong
Learning Jim Wallace on December 13 2004. £19.3 million has
been allocated for the ILA scheme for each of the financial
years 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08.
ILA Scotland provides the learner with up to £200 per
learner year. How the learner uses these funds is up to
them; they might want to use it for one single course or
for several smaller courses throughout the year. A learner
year runs for 12 months from when an individuals learning
account is set up. Since the targeted ILA Scotland scheme
was launched last December, over 9,000 learners have signed
up to the programme.
All the learner has to do to access these funds is to
call free on
0808 100 1090 to request an ILA Scotland
application pack, choose the learning they want to do and
then pay to their chosen learning provider a minimum
personal contribution of £10 pounds towards each piece of
learning they undertake. Their ILA Scotland funds will be
paid direct to their chosen learning provider.
Learners earning more than £15,000 per year can choose
from a range of basic skills ICT courses. The £100 may be
put towards the cost of a single computer course or can be
used to help pay for several smaller courses throughout the
year.
All ILA Scotland-registered learning providers must
satisfy rigorous quality standards, which should ensure
that all learners have a positive and productive learning
experience.