The Flexible Workforce Development Fund (WFDF) provides eligible employers with workforce development training to upskill and reskill their existing workforce.
What is the Flexible Workforce Development Fund?
Launched in September 2017] by the Scottish Government, it is funded through contributions to the UK Apprenticeship Levy. Now in its fourth year, in 2020/21 the fund will provide £20 million of training to employers in Scotland.
The aim of the FWDF is to provide eligible employers with workforce development training to upskill and reskill their existing workforce. This training will enable employers to address skills gaps within their workforce and allow them to become more productive and efficient, as well as helping with post-Covid recovery.
The fourth year of the fund was launched in October 2020, with applications open until 31 July 2021.
Key Facts
- Intended to help employers train their existing workforce by addressing identified skills gaps
- Allows employers to become more productive, more resilient, and better able to recover quickly post-Covid
- The fund is open to employers based, or operating, within Scotland that pay into the UK Apprenticeship Levy as well as SMEs
- FWDF is open for applications up to 31 July 2021. Training programmes must commence by 31 August 2021 and be complete by 31 March 2022
- Demand is extremely high, applications are on a first come, first served basis
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Phase one of the FWDF is open to levy-paying employers and has maintained maximum funding of up to £15,000 per application from previous years
- Under phase one, levy-paying employers can allocate some, or all, of their funding to up to two of their supply chain companies
- Phase two of the FWDF is open to non-levy paying SMEs that can now apply for up to £5,000 of funding per application.
- Levy payers can allocate some, or all, of the fund to up to two supply chain companies or can include supply chain company employees in their training programmes
- Non-levy paying SMEs can now apply for up to £5,000 of funding under the FWDF in 2020/21 to help address skills gaps in their workforce
How to Access the Fund
These programmes can be delivered in partnership with your local college, The Open University in Scotland (OUiS) or an independent training provider. The Scottish Funding Council administers the scheme on behalf of colleges and OUiS, while Skills Development Scotland (SDS) administers the scheme on behalf of independent training providers.