The funding stream we work with is the Workplace Literacy and Numeracy Fund which is administered by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC). Under this fund, literacy providers, such as ourselves, have pre-approved places they can allocate to businesses they are working with. This funding method allows us to engage with businesses and get programmes up and running without a massive time delay. For businesses, it means that the initial financial investments into setting up support for employees is lower. Other investments such as release time or cover for learners, learners’ wages for training times, still need to be met.
It is also possible for larger organisations to apply for their own Workplace Literacy and Numeracy funding. To follow this route, see more information on the Skills Highway website. Application windows open from time to time through the year so it pays to be planning ahead and have an application ready for when one of these windows opens – they close again pretty quickly and the fund tends to be oversubscribed. We’d be happy to help any businesses put together an application.
See this TEC web page to find out more about the fund and to see if your learners and programme could be eligible.