Skills for Care and CWDC urge applications for PQ bursary

By Corin Williams on December 11, 2008 in Workforce

Independent social workers and those employed by voluntary organisations have been urged to take advantage of a bursary to help pay for their post-qualifying education.

The bursary scheme, run by Skills for Care and the Children’s Workforce Development Council, offers up to £750 per year to cover tuition fees for post-qualifying programmes approved by the General Social Care Council. The funds will be available to individual applicants up until March 2009 or until money runs dry.

Voluntary organisations have until 22 December 2008 to submit applications and single applications can cover up to 30 social workers.

Eligibility criteria extended

The eligibility criteria for the bursary was extended in July this year to include social workers who work for one or more employers on contracts of 12 hours or fewer, excluding those who have a permanent contract with a local authority. As a result funding has already been granted to an additional 39 candidates.

Social workers who have already started a post-qualifying course in 2007-08 or the current academic year will also able to apply retrospectively.