Enhanced Learning Credits Administration Services (ELCAS) is a scheme devised by the Ministry of Defence to ensure military service personnel can pursue new career opportunities once their time in the forces is nearing or has come to an end.
Often referred to as army resettlement training, or army resettlement courses, ELCAS has been designed to promote and enable lifelong learning amongst members of the armed forces by providing funding towards a nationally recognised qualification of Level 3 or above with an accredited training provider.
What does ELCAS cover?
ELCAS can be used across a variety of industries, as long as the training is delivered by an ELC-approved provider and the course is Level 3 or above (or an international equivalent).
Financial support can be provided over a maximum of three separate years. There are two tiers of funding available — £1,000 per claim year for those who have completed six years of service, and £2,000 per claim year for those who have completed eight years and above.
You can only make one claim per financial year, however, if you have served between six and eight years you may be eligible to aggregate all three lower-tier claims, subject to meeting the criteria detailed in the ELCAS JSP 822 document.
Who is eligible?
Those who have completed at least six years of military service are eligible to make an ELC claim. If you completed four years of qualifying service before 1st April 2017, different eligibility rules may be in place. You can read more about this here.
Only service accumulated since 1st April 2000 will be deemed eligible for the ELC Scheme. In all instances, you can refer to the ELCAS website for the latest criteria and eligibility requirements.
How to claim
You can use the ELCAS website to search for ELC-approved training providers and courses. There are instances when an eligible course might not be listed, in this case, you may wish to contact the provider directly and ask them to make an application to become an ELC-approved provider.
Once you’ve found the right course, you must complete an online claim and submit it to your Education Staff a minimum of 25 working days before your course start date.
When accepted, you will receive a Claim Authorisation Note (CAN) that you must present to your chosen Learning Provider before the course is due to start.
You can find more information about ELCAS and different eligibility criteria here.
At Able Skills, we’ve been delivering high-quality, expert-led construction training for more than two decades now, and we’re proud to be an ELC-approved training centre. Several of our courses are now eligible for ELC funding, you can read more about these courses and the potential career paths they can lead to here.