Think that getting back into study would boost your job prospects? Planning to change career, but need to retrain? Already studying, but want to build your skills further by doing an additional course? A Professional and Career Development Loan could help you pay for learning that improves your career prospects.

A Professional and Career Development Loan is a bank loan. You make an agreement with a participating bank to borrow an amount between £300 and £10,000. Then once you’ve stopped studying, you pay it back in the normal way.

The difference with a Professional and Career Development Loan is that the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) pays the interest on the loan while you’re studying – and for one month afterwards. After this, you’ll pay interest at the rate fixed when you took out the loan. Interest rates on the loans are set so they’re competitive with other "unsecured" personal loans that are commercially available.

Currently, banks offer Professional and Career Development Loans at a reduced customer rate of 9.9% per annum, equivalent to a typical APR of 5-6% over the lifetime of the loan. However, interest rates may vary from bank to bank. For further information, consult the participating banks.

Eligibility

To be eligible, you’ll need to be:

• aged 18 years or over
• "settled" in the UK (i.e., having either indefinite leave to enter or remain or having the right of abode in the UK) and have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least the three years prior to the start of your learning programme
• intending to work in the UK, the EU or the EEA when the course finishes

Please note though that even if you meet these conditions, the decision on whether you’ve been successful in your application remains with the bank. The bank’s decision will depend on you meeting their specific lending criteria.

Further Advice and Applications

For an application pack or for any enquiries relating to Professional and Career Development Loans, please call Next Step on 0800 100 900.

You can also email a Next Step careers adviser, or book a call back at a time that suits you:

• Email a Next Step careers adviser
• Book a free call back from a Next Step careers adviser

Once you’ve completed the application pack, return it to the bank you’ve chosen to apply to.