What is a Career Development Loan?
CDLs are available through a partnership arrangement between the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) and four major banks - Barclays, Clydesdale, The Co-operative and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
What can you borrow?
You can apply to loan between £300 and £8,000 to pay for up to two years of training (or up to three years if the course includes work experience). The loan can cover:
How do you apply for a CDL?
To apply for a CDL you should obtain an application pack and then apply to one of the participating banks. You should apply in good time as applications usually take two to six weeks to process and may take longer for residents outside the country.
To obtain a CDL application pack, ring the CDL information line on FREEPHONE 0800 585 505 (8am - 10pm). You can contact us regarding the CDL HERE, or by calling the School on 0161 833 4722
How does the loan work?
The Department for Education and Employment pays the interest on the loan while you're training and you do not have to start repaying until one month after the end of the training period.
You then repay the loan to the bank over an agreed period (between 6 and 60 months depending on the rate bank) at a fixed rate of interest.
You may then be able to defer the start of your repayments if, when you are due to start repaying:
Provided any of the above conditions continue to apply,you may be able to defer the start of your repayments for a maximum of 17 months.
What course do you take?
Any full-time, part-time, or distance learning course as long as it is vocational (vocational means it gives you the skills needed for an occupation, trade or profession).
The loan can help to pay for up to two years of training (or up to three years if the course included work experience). If your course lasts longer than this you may still be able to use a CDL to pay for part of it. It's best to arrange your loan to fund the final two years so that you don't have to start making repayments while you are training.
Who can apply?
Anyone who is employed, self-employed, or unemployed, a student, or returning to work after a period of non-employment providing you:
People who are not EU nationals and who are not permanent UK residents will need to have gained Home Office approval to study, train or work in the UK at the time of application. You are unlikely to qualify for a CDL if there are any restrictions on your stay in the UK.
You cannot use a CDL to pay for anything that is being funded by another source. For example, you cannot use a CDL to pay for living expenses if you are entitled to a student loan or non-means tested NHS bursary.
You will not be entitled to a CDL if you have a job and your employer will be receiving a grant for your training.
A CDL is a bank loan. When assessing an application, the bank will check that you meet the eligibility criteria and will also want to feel confident that you will be able to repay the loan.