Get up to £200 towards the cost of a training course with an SDS Individual Training Account (ITA).
Use the money to build the skills you need for a job. Or get some training to take your career to the next level.
Whatever you want to do, there's a wide range of ITA approved courses on offer. Because it's not a loan, you don't have to pay it back.
Applying for your ITA
This year SDS will fund 10,000 Individual Training Accounts.
The scheme re-opened on 13th January 2020 to new applicants.
Start searching for an ITA approved course and apply online.
Search for a course
Is an ITA right for me?
You could receive up to £200 towards a single course or training episode per year. ITA funding could be right for you if you're:
- Aged 16 or over
- Not in education or involved in any other SDS funded programme
- Unemployed and looking to get back into work
- Employed, earning less than £22,000 per year and looking to progress in or change your job
- Resident in Scotland
How to apply
Individual Training Account are now open for application.
If your application is approved, you must book onto a course within four weeks of receiving your confirmation email.
To book a place, you'll need to prove your income. Your confirmation email will list a note of the documents accepted as proof.
Remember, you'll have four weeks from the time your application is successful to make a booking.
Read our ITA privacy statement.
Courses costing more than £200
We’ll pay up to £200 towards the cost of your ITA approved training course. You’ll pay any outstanding balance direct to the training provider.
Accessibility
We want to make sure ITA is accessible to all learners.
If you have a special requirement or a disability and would like some additional help, please contact our helpline on 0800 917 8000. We have a Textphone service for customers who are deaf: 0141 573 4883.
You can also email us at ITA@sds.co.uk.
In the forces?
Under the temporary non-resident arrangements, forces personnel are treated as being resident at the establishment where they are based.
If they are ordinarily resident in Scotland but are serving overseas, they would be eligible.
Learn more about support for veterans
(*Ordinarily resident means that you live in Scotland year after year by choice, apart from temporary or occasional absences such as holidays or business trips. Living here totally or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education may not count as being ordinarily resident. If you are not a UK national, you must be settled in Scotland (as set out in the Immigration Act 1971) immediately before the date on which you made your application.)
Four easy steps to getting your ITA
- Search for an approved course
- Apply online for funding
- Receive confirmation
- Contact a training provider to book