Changes to ILA Scotland Scheme

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Secretary, has announced changes to the ILA Scotland scheme that will increase support for individual and workforce development.

The changes include:

• Increasing the income threshold from £18,000 to £22,000
• Reducing the minimum study requirement for ILA500 from 50% of a full time course to 40 Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework (SCQF) credits
• Widening the range of courses eligible for ILA500 funding to include part time taught postgraduate courses at SCQF level 11, initially for academic year 2009-10 only, with a review at the end of the first year in light of economic conditions.

The income threshold will change at the start of July, and the changes to the ILA500 criteria will be in place before the autumn 2009 term. 

Commenting on the changes, Fiona Hyslop said:

"Increasing the income threshold to £22,000 extends eligibility for ILA support to an extra 250,000 people - covering nearly half the adult workforce.

"This Government fully recognises the pressures on people and fully understands the importance of ensuring people continue to train and develop themselves throughout the current downturn. This will enable the country as a whole to contribute to Scotland's future economic success."

The move will also benefit ILA Registered Providers.  If you want to become an ILA Provider, you can find further information and application forms on the registration pages of the ILA Scotland website.