FE and VET Funding

Your organisation
The Applicant(s) for an FE and VET study and traineeship Mobility Project must be one or more of the following organisations:

• an FE college, school, sixth form college or special post-16 institution (SPI) active in the field of FE and VET
• a local or regional public authority, mayoral combined authority, coordination body or another organisation with a role in the field of FE and VET
• a company or other public or private organisation hosting, training or otherwise working with Participants and apprentices in FE and VET
• a company, charity or other public or private organisation applying on behalf of a consortium of FE and/or VET providers.

Where an Applicant is not a Direct Education Provider, evidence of a partnership with an education provider must be provided as part of the Grant Application.

Mobility Consortia
For Applicants applying as part of a Mobility consortium, it must include at least one Direct Education Provider active in the field of FE or VET studies.

A Mobility consortium can include organisations that provide administrative support to other Consortium Members.

Organisations may be included as part of more than one consortium application, provided that the Mobilities undertaken relate to different aims and objectives.

The role and obligations of supporting administrative organisations must be formally defined in the application form. All contributions of supporting administrative organisations must comply with the scheme rules. Subcontracting to third parties not identified in the application form is not permitted. If subcontracting rule breaches are identified during a Project lifecycle, then funding may be withdrawn.

Eligible receiving organisations
FE and VET providers in the UK can send their Participants to the following receiving organisations outside of the UK (or in the case of Applicants in British Overseas Territories, outside of the British Overseas Territory in question):

• any public or private organisation active in the field of further education or vocational education and training
• any public or private organisation active in the labour market or in the fields of education and training. For example, such an organisation can be:
  • a public or private, a small, medium, or large enterprise (including social enterprises)
  • a public body at local, regional, or national level o a social partner or other representative of working life, including chambers of commerce, craft, professional associations, trade unions and research institutes o a foundation
  • a school/institute/educational centre (at any level, from primary school to upper secondary education, and including vocational education and adult education)
  • a non-profit organisation, association, non-governmental organisation (NGO)
  • a body providing career guidance, professional counselling, and information services.

Eligible Participants
The Turing Scheme will offer Mobility funding for:

• Participants on recognised UK FE or VET courses, apprenticeships, and T-Levels • a Recent Graduate of a FE or VET provider
• those not in permanent education or training, who may be re-training or upskilling, if their training is taking place through colleges or schools, or through government-funded training
• persons accompanying FE or VET Participants abroad for safeguarding purposes.

Mobilities
An FE and VET Project must comprise of one or more of the following Mobilities:

• studies in FE and/or VET providers and/or companies abroad
• traineeship in FE and/or VET providers and/or companies abroad
• non-participatory attendance at skills competitions abroad.

Duration
The following durations apply for FE and VET Mobilities:

• Studies and traineeship mobility in FE and/or VET providers and/or companies abroad from 2 weeks (10 work/study days) to 12 months
• Where duly justified in the application form, mobilities for five days can be run for participants with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• non-participatory attendance to a WorldSkills skills competitions abroad, from one to 10 days
• Placements outside of Europe should have a minimum duration of 15 days excluding travel time.

There are a number of steps to take before you apply. This section outlines those steps, such as reviewing your eligibility and project planning.

1. Check the eligibility criteria and funding rules

Read the programme guide in detail to make sure you fully understand the rules around project duration, budget and eligible participants.

2. Plan your project

Prepare a project proposal for your organisation based on the funding criteria. You should consider the aims, objectives and impact of your project. For more details on the objectives that Turing Scheme projects must focus on, visit the About the scheme page.

While you are not required to provide specific details of your partners at application stage, you will need to detail the type of partnership you intend to establish. The programme guide explains how the qualitative criteria will be scored, so ensure you have read the section on international engagement and provide details on your partnership in line with this.

3. Check the deadline

Carefully check the application deadline. We recommend submitting your application early to avoid any last-minute technical issues that may affect your application.

4. Use the application resources

Ensure you make full use of the application resources provided, including FAQs, Q&A webinars and the email helpline (once available).

Once you have applied, we will work with you to perform financial due diligence checks. We are working hard to ensure the administrative burden of the Turing Scheme is kept as low as possible and we will work with you throughout the process.

Download the 2023 to 2024 Programme Guide (2 MB) for full details of the Turing Scheme

You can also contact our Service Centre by emailing Turing-scheme@capita.com

Under the Turing Scheme, UK organisations with successful applications  receive funding towards delivering placements and exchanges. This includes providing participants with grants to help cover travel expenses and costs of living and administrative funding for delivering the projects.

An initial outline of what is available has been provided below. Further guidance regarding eligibility for specific elements of funding and a comprehensive list of destination country/territory groupings for cost of living can be viewed in the programme guide. 

Organisational support will be made available and covers the costs directly linked to the administration and implementation of a placement. Under each project, £315 will be provided per participant for the first 100 participants. From the 101st participant onwards, £180 will be provided per participant.

An amount of funding will be provided to go towards the direct costs of travel for a placement. This will be dependent the on distance between the home and destination provider and will support the cost of the round trip. This will be available to all participants in FE and VET. All amounts available have been outlined below:

• 10 to 99km: £20  
• 100 to 499km: £165  
• 500 to 1999km: £250  
• 2,000 to 2,999km: £325  
• 3,000 to 3,999km: £480  
• 4,000 to 7,999km: £745  
• 8,000 to 12,000km: £905  
• 12,000km+: £1,360 

The scheme also provide financial assistance towards expensive travel by exception. If the original amount provided does not cover at least 70% of the actual costs, up to 80% of the actual costs will instead be covered.

Cost of living

An amount of funding will be provided to go towards the general cost of living for each participant. This will vary depending on sector and destination country/territory. Destination countries/territories will be grouped into three categories: Group 1 (high cost of living), Group 2 (medium cost of living), Group 3 (lower cost of living).

For learners on an FE and VET placement, they will receive:

• To Group 1 destinations: £109 per day for the first 14 days, £76 per day after the 14th day  
• To Group 2 destinations: £94 per day for the first 14 days, £66 per day after the 14th day  
• To Group 3 destinations: £80 per day for the first 14 days, £56 per day after the 14th day

To find details of which countries/territories are listed in each group, visit our cost of living groups page.

These grants will be in addition to any student finance that participants may already qualify for or are in receipt of.

Additional support for those from disadvantaged backgrounds

FE and VET participants from defined disadvantaged backgrounds will receive actual costs for additional travel expenses, including costs of visas, passports, and health insurance. We see this as crucial because travel related expenses can often be a deterrent to potential participants. To find out more about what we define as disadvantaged groups, visit the Widening access page.

Additional support for those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

For participants with SEND, the scheme will fund up to 100% of actual costs for support directly related to their additional needs.

This funding will also cover preparatory visits by the sending organisation to carry out risk assessments and ensure participants will be able to equally access and take part in all elements of a placement.

Pre-visits can be for a maximum duration of three days, and funding can be used for both learners and accompanying staff. Pre-visits are not available for any other purpose.