Workforce Development Fund

 

Funding for qualifications

We are delighted to announce that we have secured a new Workforce Development Funding (WDF) contract with Skills for Care.

If you’re an adult social care employer in England, funding can now be claimed towards the cost of eligible social care qualifications and learning programmes, up to a maximum of £2,000 per learner per funding year (April to March).
Learn more about what is available to claim through WDF.

Everything you need to know about ASC-WDS

The Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set, or ASC-WDS for short, is an easy-to-use online service that helps you manage your team and makes sure your voice is heard by the Government and other key sector decision-makers. Skills For Care have produced a brand new three-minute video which details the benefits of using ASC-WDS and how the data within the system can be used by the Government and other stakeholders to make informed decisions about the care sector.

» Take a look at the video

How to claim

1. Complete your Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) and regularly update (at least yearly in April).
For more information, or help with completing ASC-WDS email ascwds-support@skillsforcare.org.uk or call 0113 241 0969.
2. Complete and submit your completed Members Declaration Form (23/24)
3. Complete and submit an HCPA Payment and Claim Form (23/24) along with a copy of your employees qualification certificate.
4. HCPA will review your claim, contacting you about any issues, and submit all accurate claims to Skills for Care, disbursing funding to you if the claim is successful. Please note: Skills for Care pay claims once per month. Depending on the date your claim is submitted, it may take up to 8 weeks for HCPA to receive funding to disburse.

Why we use electronic claims

We believe electronic claims provide you with a more efficient service, reducing administrative costs and environmental impacts.

  • Claims can be processed quicker
  • Claims will be more accurate, resulting in less rejections
  • Prevents duplication of claims
  • Creates an audit trail
  • Saves postage costs
  • Evidence will not get lost in the post
  • Reduces carbon footprint

Please note

HCPA will support members when claiming, however, claims can only be processed if the information submitted is accurate and complete.  Your claim may be delayed if inaccurate or incomplete information is sent to us, this may even result in non-payment.

HCPA cannot guarantee funding claims as they are approved by Skills for Care prior to any funding being released to HCPA. Funding is limited and for qualifying periods only. Providers should always ensure they have the funds to cover the cost of the qualification or learning programme.

Important information if you are claiming WDF for qualifications that are already funded?

WDF is a contribution to the cost of employees completing vocational qualifications and learning programmes from Skills for Care’s list of acceptable learning programmes. This funding allows employers to claim from more than one source, for example the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) or the Education & Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).

There are some important points to note:

  • Where employers are claiming from more than one source of public funding, or Apprenticeship levy, they must ensure that they do not claim the same cost from more than one source e.g. if the course fee has been covered from one source of public funding, or paid by the Apprenticeship levy, it cannot be claimed via WDF.
  • It is an employer’s responsibility to ensure that they do not claim more funding than the cost to them of the employees undertaking training. Direct costs such as course fees, employees’ salaries and backfill if required (i.e. wage replacement costs) can be included for this fund. Costs must be incurred before WDF is claimed.
  • Employers must ensure that they have records in place to evidence the costs of any funding claim they make.
If you have any questions or would like more information about Workforce Development Funding call us on 01707 536020