The Adult Skills Fund is how the government pays for adults in England to gain nationally recognised qualifications. Ours are awarded by NCFE and regulated by Ofqual, so what you earn is a real qualification that employers and colleges recognise, not just a certificate of attendance. Funding is arranged area by area, so the first thing we do is check what is available where you live.
Plenty of adult education courses teach useful skills. These NCFE courses go further: you finish with an accredited qualification that stays on your record. Four things back that up.
NCFE is one of the UK's largest awarding organisations. It sets the standard, moderates the assessment and issues your certificate.
Our qualifications sit on the Ofqual register, the government's official list of regulated qualifications in England.
Every accredited qualification carries a QAN (qualification number) you can look up on the official register. Ours are listed on each course page.
Each qualification has a set number of guided learning hours with an instructor: 110 hours at Level 2, so you know the commitment before you start.
Our Level 2 Cyber Security qualification is one of the few accredited IT courses at this level to focus entirely on cyber security, and you can take it without any technical background.
Fully funded if you earn under £26,800 a year or are unemployed, subject to where you live.
Level 2
110 learning hours
QAN 603/5853/1
An accredited, Ofqual-regulated introduction to cyber security: what attacks look like, how organisations defend against them, and the foundations of a career in one of the UK's fastest-growing fields.
The Adult Skills Fund also backs our community learning courses, practical programmes like Build, Brand and Balance that focus on skills you can use straight away, with no exams and no formal qualification at the end.
Explore Community LearningIf you're after intensive, employer-focused training for a new digital role, our Skills Bootcamps are a stream of their own, with their own funding rules.
Explore Skills BootcampsFor eligible learners, yes: genuinely free, with no course fees and no hidden costs. But eligibility has two parts and we would rather be straight about both. The personal criteria, which differ by qualification. Cyber Security Level 2: if you earn under £26,800 a year or are unemployed. And your area. Adult Skills Fund delivery is contracted region by region, and we do not hold funding everywhere in England. Tell us your postcode and we will tell you where you stand in one conversation. If neither fits your situation, get in touch anyway: there are usually other routes and we will talk you through them.
Not always, and it is worth checking before you get your hopes up. The Adult Skills Fund is national policy, but delivery is contracted area by area, and providers hold agreements for specific regions. We deliver funded places in the areas we are contracted for, which does not cover all of England. The quickest way to find out is to send us your postcode. If we can fund you we will tell you what is available and when it starts. If we cannot, we will say so plainly and point you towards a provider or a National Careers Service adviser who can help.
No. The Level 2 Cyber Security qualification doesn't ask for any prior qualifications or technical background. You'll want to be comfortable using a computer for everyday tasks.
Yes. Our qualifications are awarded by NCFE, one of the UK's largest awarding organisations, and regulated by Ofqual, the government regulator for qualifications in England. Each carries a registered qualification number you can look up on the official register, which means it's the same national standard whichever provider you study with.
These courses award a regulated qualification with a certificate from NCFE, which Skills Bootcamps don't. Bootcamps are intensive, employer-focused training programmes with their own funding rules and commitments. If you're weighing the two routes, our team will help you work out which fits your goals.
The same way as everything we run: live, instructor-led sessions with a real cohort, built around hands-on practice rather than pre-recorded videos. You can ask a question the moment you're stuck.
Apply now and our team will check funding for your area, talk you through eligibility and start dates, and be straight with you if we cannot help.
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