Free Courses for Parents

Coming soon…….

Free part-time courses for parents and carers (with a child under 18 living at home) with an income below £33,000.

Trending courses

About

The Scottish Government has committed £21 million to a skills and employment programme delivered in partnership with Scotland’s colleges. The initiative aims to help more parents move into employment, while supporting those already in work to develop new skills, progress their careers and increase their earning potential.

The funding is focused on supporting low-income parents and carers, disabled people, care-experienced individuals, and young people in employment. By working closely with employers, the programme helps create opportunities for training, upskilling and career development.

Three funding opportunities are available, each tailored to meet different learner and workforce needs. Find out more about each fund and submit an enquiry using the form below.

RISE Fund

The Raising Income through Skills and Education (RISE) Fund is designed to help parents and carers build new skills with training that fits around family life.

To be eligible for the RISE Fund, you must:

·       Be living in Scotland full time (including those with refugee status or asylum seekers)

·       Be a parent or carer

·       Have a child at home who is under 18 years old

·       Earn an individual income of below £33,000.

Register Your Interest

Training Access Fund (TAF)

The Training Access Fund (TAF) helps in-work parents and carers access free skills courses to help them progress in their careers.

To be eligible for the TAF Fund, you must:

·       Be living in Scotland full time (including those with refugee status or asylum seekers)

·       Be a parent or carer

·       Have a child at home who is under 18 years old

·       Earn an individual income of below £33,000.

Register Your Interest

New Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF)

The New Flexible Workforce Development Fund (New FWDF) aims to upskill parents, carers and young people in employment.

It also aims to encourage businesses to offer training opportunities that meet employers' needs while helping their teams gain new skills and progress in their careers.

Funded training opportunities are only open to workers with an annual income below £33,000, who are either:

·       Parents or carers of a child aged under 18 living at home

·       Aged under 24

·       Care-experienced or disabled and aged under 30.

The Fund is available to all employers operating in Scotland who implement (or are working towards implementing) Fair Work Practices.

The current funding programme runs from August 2026 to December 2027.

To find out more about any of these funds email XXXXX or register via the fund links.

Register Your Interest