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Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) at level 4 and 5 are approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) against approved occupational standards and allow learners to enter their chosen profession or progress onto higher education. Read an overview of HTQs, IfATEs information on HTQs and the list of approved HTQs.

From August 2023, we will identify HTQs at level 4 and 5 which are available in advanced learner loans in our list of qualifications approved for funding. We will automatically approve HTQs for advanced learner loans where they meet loans criteria and have already been approved by IfATE.

From 2023 to 2024, approved HTQs can be designated for higher education student finance funding where they meet the necessary eligibility criteria. Some Ofqual regulated qualifications that do not meet the higher education student finance funding criteria will be approved and available through advanced learner loans only.

For a transitional period only (2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025) ahead of the introduction of the lifelong loan entitlement (LLE) in 2025 to 2026, certain HTQs that meet higher education student finance criteria may also be approved and available through advanced learner loans. Where an HTQ is eligible for funding through higher education student finance and advanced learner loans, and the provider delivering the qualification already holds Office for Students registration and has a contract with the ESFA for advanced learner loans delivery, the provider must determine which funding route will apply for their HTQ course. Only one funding route can be selected. Advanced learner loans and higher education student finance may not be mixed for an individual HTQ course within a single provider.

IfATE offers:

• further information on dual eligibility in IfATEs information on HTQs
• a list of approved HTQs in:
  • cycle 1 for delivery from 1 September 2022
  • cycle 2 for delivery from September 2023

In March 2023, we published our response to the consultation on the LLE. The LLE will be introduced from 2025, providing individuals with a loan entitlement to the equivalent of four years of post-18 education to use over their working lives to train, retrain and upskill. It will be available for full years of study at higher technical and degree levels, as well as, for the first time, modules of high-value courses, regardless of whether they are provided in colleges or universities.

From the 2025 to 2026 academic year, the LLE will fund a wide range of courses, including all full courses formerly funded by higher education student finance, as well as some qualifications previously funded through advanced learner loans. However, not all qualifications approved for advanced learner loans will transition to the LLE.

To ensure that high value provision is funded through the LLE, the following transitional arrangements will be implemented for advanced learner loans qualifications to be in scope for LLE funding.

Qualifications which have been approved for advanced learner loans funding at levels 4 to 6 for a period of 3 consecutive years (from 1 August 2020) will be reviewed for demand. This review will take place during December 2023 and the outcomes

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