Advice

1. If you are already studying at a college or university:

Contact your student services or welfare rights advisors.

2. Information & guidance for adults: 

Is available from educational guidance services. You can find your local service from learndirect (or telephone free, tel: 0800 100 900) or from Learndirect Scotland.

For information on learning in Northern Ireland, you should find useful information from the Educational Guidance Service for Adults, Northern Ireland.

Online information & advice is available from Careers Portal.

Careers advisory services & Connexions services or Careers Scotland may also be able to advise you but it is worth checking with welfare rights advisers in your college or local authority or at your local Citizens Advice service.

Which might apply to you, contact the EGAS (Educational Grants Advisory Service) which provides a guide to student funding & maintains a database of trusts and charities that assist studentsThis service is only available to UK & other EC students, for post -16 courses, 1st and 2nd degrees (e.g. MA, MEd ) only.

Applying to a Charitable Trust or Foundation is advice from access-funds.co.uk.

Funderfinder provides good information & software, including software to help apply for funds.

SKILL (The National Bureau for Students with Disabilities) has some excellent factsheets & answers to Frequently Asked Questions on finance & lists of organisations & contacts

6. If you are an adult, unemployed, working, self-employed or an employer:

Learndirect (or telephone free, tel: 0800 100 900) or Jobcentre Plus. For up to date information. In Scotland contact your local         Careers Scotland Centre.

Jobcentre Plus will be able to offer you some support. They may also refer you to local specialists & it is always useful to check with local welfare rights advisers & with other educational advisers to be sure that you know all the relevant information & can choose the direction most suitable for you.

8. Finance for studying in another country

This is very hard to find. If careers advisors can't help, try information from:

• Careers Europe
• UKCOSA

• Local Chamber of Commerce
  
  
• Local Business Link

Employers may also be able to develop training courses for their employees through partnerships with colleges & universities, local authorities & community organisations using European funds & government funds including SRB (Single Regeneration Budget), regeneration, social exclusion & widening participation schemes . Contact your local college or local authority economic development section. There is also more information in our regeneration section.

Can also bid for a range of training funds from Europe & participate in local and regional economic development programmes, designed to develop access to learning and to provide appropriate learning opportunities for local people. Most funds involve partnership working & it is worth contacting your local authority for more information on regeneration & partnership opportunities.

General advice

• Dial UK - disability advice network, find your local DIAL, news, information & links to wide range of related websites.
  
  
• The Telephone Helplines Directory - search for a telephone helpline relevant to you, includes sections on finance & employment in 24 subject areas, also includes newsletter & forums.
  
• Contact trained welfare rights or money advisers in your local authority.
  
  
• Talk to welfare rights or money advisers in your local Citizens Advice Bureau - (contact NACAB (National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux) for your local office or look in your telephone directory).
  
  
• Some community organisations also have money advisers and some college or universities have welfare rights advisers. Contact student services in your college of university for more information.
  
  

• CAMPAG - training & standards for advice & guidance staff.
  
  
• CESI - Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion - resources, updates by email, training, conferences and  research.
  
  
• Child Poverty Action Group - advice, publications & training.
  
  
• Community Legal Service Quality Mark - information about the standards for organisations providing information, general help & specialist help.
  
  
• Disability Alliance - advice, publications & training.
  
  
• FEDPAG (Federation of Professional Associations in Guidance) - includes ethical principles, news, consultations, events and links.
  
  
• Greater Manchester Welfare Rights Advisors Group - information on training, articles online, events and useful links.
  
  
• lasa - London Advice Services Alliance - excellent resources for advisers.
  
  
• Legal Action Group - provides information & training on welfare benefits & range of other social action legal issues.
  
  
• Manchester Advice - as well as offering a series of advice services, also have some leaflets & factsheets.
  
  
• Money Advice Association - key organisation for money advisers mainly in the public sector, voluntary sector & education.
  
  
• Money Advice Scotland - the national voluntary organisation for money advice in Scotland. Membership information, information on training including self-study & distance learning options & SVQ in Advice, research reports, including difficulties faced by homeless people, publications, conferences and links.
  
  
• NACAB (National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux) - resources, training & local networks.
  
  
• National Money Advice Training Unit - provides money advice training & publications.

• Ethical, environmentally friendly financial advice and services of a greener nature - useful links to companies and non-profit organisations.
  
  
• Find an ifa - contact details for Independent Financial advisors for consumers and for businesses and will be able to provide a list of 6 local advisors in your home or work area. Check that your advisor is trained, whether they work on commission or for a fee, which areas they specialise in and how much research they can do for the best products. Site includes small number of factsheets and brochures and links to other relevant sites
  
  
• Financial Planning - offers suggestions for financial planning for different life stages including a student section on avoiding or managing debt, a quiz, forms to help with identifying your own situation, news and links
  
  
• National Debtline - providing free confidential and independent telephone advice and support to people in debt in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to national standard level. Tel: 0808 808 4000 - Freephone The National Debtline also produces an information pack "Dealing with your Debts" and factsheets on a wide range of financial issues, including business debt, how to avoid debt at Christmas, housing issues, HP issues, free to individuals.
  
  
• TaxAid - information, advice, news about tax issues, making it simpler to understand if you don't have an advisor

• FIND - Financial Information Net Directory
  
  
• FTyourmoney - includes useful guides and information on savings, loans and other aspects of personal finance.
  
  
• Guardian Unlimited Money - articles and factsheets on student finance, credit and debt, ethical money, insurance, investments, pensions, property, savings and banks, tax.
  
  
• Moneyextra - personal and investment finance.
  
  
• This Is Money - personal and investment information (student information out of date).