College offers business training with second phase of funding

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Did you know that West Highland College UHI plays a key role in supporting businesses and their employees in our communities around the West Highlands by offering CPD, bespoke training and a variety of business initiatives?

We're offering FREE training through the Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF) to Small and Medium Enterprises.

I am happy to recommend West Highland College UHI to deliver our FWDF Training needs. We have worked in partnership together over the past 3 years and found the service to be excellent and extremely professional in developing our workforce.

Donald Waring

Learning and Development Manager, Mowi

MOWI logo

Are you an SME?

During Phase 1 FWDF funding was only available to businesses paying the Apprenticeship Levy.  However, for the first time, SMEs could be eligible for up to £5,000 of free training through the Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF). The application can be made through the College and the fund can be used to cover the cost of training completely, or partially. 

  • Eligible businesses can access up to £5,000 of training delivered by West Highland College UHI. You are advised to make an application as soon as possible as access to the fund will be on a first come first served basis.
  • This second phase of the FWDF in 2020-21 is available to all SME employers in Scotland across the private, public and third sector. Employers must be based or operate within Scotland. 
  • For the purpose of the FWDF, an SME refers to any business with less than 250 employees. 
  • Employers are required to provide evidence of their business status as part of their FWDF application to West Highland College UHI
  • Employers are required to submit evidence of their eligibility status as a SME business with their Phase 2 FWDF application. This should normally take the form of one of the following: 
  • A business bank account
  • VAT registration
  • PAYE registration
  • Companies House information (latest accounts etc)
  • Registration for self-assessment tax return to HMRC

An employer that is both a Levy-payer and an SME can access FWDF from either Phase 1 or Phase 2, but not both. This should be confirmed through the application process.

Application Dates

An application template is available from the College and must be submitted via the College. Training must be contractually agreed by 31 July 2021 and will commence by 31 August 2021.  It must be delivered and completed by 31 March 2022.

Next Steps

The College has been appointed to managed funds on a case by case basis so contact our team for some friendly help and advice on accessing the Flexible Workforce Development Fund.

For more information on this, or any other business support we can help with, please contact

Email Nigel Patterson or call him on 01397 874000 or 01397 874241,

You can also find more information here.