探花直播

Employer Funding

Employer Funding Image

Employer Funding

Thinking about an undergraduate degree? Great news! It may be possible to get funding from your employer. Sound good? keep reading.

This guide should tell you everything you need to negotiate with your employer and start studying an undergraduate course at 探花直播!

Do your research

If your employer is going to help you fund your course, they are going to want to know how it will benefit the company. To persuade your employer, it鈥檚 important that you identify the benefits and potential struggles that studying for a postgraduate degree might involve.

Find out about your employer's sponsorship policies

Is there a specific criteria you have to meet? What are the terms and conditions? If there is a policy, find out what it asks of all the parties involved. What commitments do you have to make and what is your employer鈥檚 commitment to you? This may be in your employee handbook but it is advised to speak to someone from Human Resources to get a comprehensive view of the opportunities on offer.

What if my company has no employer sponsorship policy?

If your company doesn鈥檛 offer any kind of employer sponsorship it shouldn鈥檛 stop you from considering an undergraduate course! Student Finance loans are now available.

Even if your company isn鈥檛 funding your course, you might still require their support, even if a little understanding. This is where your business case will be useful.

Know your course inside out

The 探花直播 course pages will have all the information you need concerning:

  • Course content
  • Any professional accreditation
  • Entry requirements
  • Fees, workload and contact time can be found via .听

The information on the course pages should give you and your employer an idea of what both of your commitments might be. Higher contact times, for instance, may mean you need flexible working hours or the option to work a four-day week if needed.

Making your request

After you鈥檝e done your research you鈥檒l be in a great position to make a business case to your employer. Your business case could be an informal meeting with your manager or part of your application (if there is a sponsorship policy in place), but whatever form it takes you should address the following concerns:

How will your course benefit you?聽

Consider factors such as drive, motivation, increased knowledge and awareness of the sector, application of modern theories, meeting a previous appraisal target etc.

How will your course benefit the company?

You might include reasons such as:

  • The ability to pass on your knowledge to other employees
  • The company gaining publicity as a company that invests in its employees
  • Increasing the skills in the office and cultivating internal talent
  • Addressing performance needs, bringing up-to-date technical and specialist knowledge or adding accreditation to the office.
How will your expertise fill gaps within the company?

Your new course might be one that comes with a specialisation in an area of the business that is currently lacking. You could also earn a degree that is accredited by a professional body, which is something the business can advertise. You may have noticed business-wide issues that your postgraduate degree can help remedy etc.

Top Tip
The best way to find out about employer sponsorship is to ask. Don鈥檛 be afraid. Sponsorship is not something that all employers offer but a good business case might sway them. Either way, it鈥檚 not an inappropriate question.

The terms and conditions

One of the biggest fears facing an employer in this situation is the retention of the employee once they have completed the degree. It is not unusual for employers to tie you into a contract, ensuring you don鈥檛 immediately take your new knowledge elsewhere. Be sure to ask about the terms and conditions and think about what you鈥檙e comfortable with. Pay close attention to the repercussions if you cannot complete the degree (in the case of illness or special circumstances). Is there a repayment agreement, for instance?

Prepare your own questions

  • 听听听听听听 What assistance will I receive?
  • 听听听听听听 Will I be allowed certain study days away from work? (for tests/assessments)
  • 听听听听听听 Will I be measured by any KPIs based on my course?
  • 听听听听听听 Will there be an annual review of my progress?

Ask anything you think might be relevant and ensure your employer knows you鈥檝e thought about the decision.