Investing In Your Career – The Cost Of Training & Payment Explained

No matter what it is you’re paying for or buying, you want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth. That is something that is even more important when it comes to investing in your career. With continuing uncertainty and lack of job security, now more than ever, it’s essential to do what you can to future-proof yourself, your career and your earnings.

For some, that can mean working harder and earning extra qualifications in their current field, but for others, it’s means something new altogether. Investing in a new career has a whole host of benefits. Not only does it mean you’re trying something new and taking on a new challenge, but it can provide the protection and earning potential you need.

“From increased lifetime earning power and unimagined opportunities, to protecting yourself from unemployment and the satisfaction that comes from personal growth and success, the returns are enormous”. Source: Monster

We never know what life may throw at us, which is why it’s important to be ready for anything. Learning a trade means learning a skill for life. As the housing-marketing increases, so does the demand for electricians, gas engineers and more.

The process of gaining qualifications via university is pretty well known. Apply to student finance, they cover your course fees and student loan for the 3-4 years you’re there and when you leave, you owe £40-50,000, which you’ll spend years paying off with each pay-check. Trades training is different, in more ways than one.

Why Pay For Training?

The few benefits previously mentioned are just the tip of the iceberg. We’ve covered in more detail the reasons to join the trades industry in another blog post – Why Consider A Career In The Trades Industry. But to sum up, training is more affordable, you can earn as you’re learning, the industry as a whole is one of the most supportive out there and the opportunities are endless.

When compared to university, trades training costs a fraction of the price. For instance, at Options Skills, our full courses range from £4000 – £8000. That’s the equivalent to the cost of just one year of university.

What You’re Paying For:

Our courses such as Domestic Gas Training and NVQ Level 3 Electrical Training are split into three steps. The first step is centre-led training.

A portion of the money you’ve invested in your training course is put towards this first step. During this stage, you are taught by qualified trainers. Our trainers not only have years of experience working in the trades industry but also in the training sector. For eight weeks, you’ll work closely with your trainers, taking in their knowledge and expertise.

The workshops and classrooms are fully equipped with high-quality tools and materials to enable you to get the most of out the training experience. You don’t need to bring any equipment or resources to the centre with you, we provide it all from tools to workbooks.

Throughout your time training with us and beyond, you can call on our student liaison managers for support should you need it. They’re also the team dedicated to matching gas students with the local mentors they’ll complete their portfolio stage of training with.

As well as the student liaison team, we also have our central support team. They’ll be your first port of call for just about anything. Whether you need another copy of a book, to make a payment or simply have a question, they can help.

Over the last few years, we’ve been working hard to create new ways to help our students. From this came Job Club.

Job Club is available for NVQ Level 3 Electrical students during week seven of their training. As employment is an essential part of the course, we deliver job club to help students with job hunting. This includes CV tips, interview techniques and discovering the hidden job market.

What Are The Payment Options?

So now that you know what you’ll be investing your money in, how exactly can you pay?

Firstly, we ask for a small deposit to secure your place once you’ve decided to train with us. As we keep class sizes to a maximum of ten, spaces do get booked up quickly. Putting down a deposit is a way of ensuring you can keep a spot on the course for your chosen date.

Paying for a course in full is dependent on your financial situation. Although we do encourage it, we know it’s not possible for everyone. Usually, we find those who have recently received a redundancy package, have a savings fund or friends and family to call upon prefer to pay off the fees in full. The benefit of doing so is peace of mind. Your course is paid for and you don’t have to worry about a monthly direct debit.

However, we have also partnered up with Funding Falcon to allow students to pay their course fees over time. Splitting the cost of training into smaller chunks, you can pay off the fees over a time that suits you. This payment option is preferred for those who don’t have the full cost upfront.

Investing In Your Career

Whatever your reasons for investing in a new career, Options Skills can help. As one of the UK’s leading training providers, Options Skills helps hundreds of students each year earn industry-recognised qualifications. No matter what course you undertake with us, we guarantee to deliver high-quality training and plenty of support. Helping you to launch a new career in the trades.