For those not in one of the advertised local authority areas you should join and apply for the Workforce Development Fund (WDF) through a partnership.
To make a claim from the Workforce Development Fund (WDF) through an employer-led partnership, there are a few simple steps you'll need to follow.
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Take a look at our guidance for employers accessing the Workforce Development Fund through a partnership.
Choosing a partnership to join
Download the documents to find a partnership in your area. If your organisation has services operating in several different areas, you might want to join a national partnership.
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To join a partnership you must complete a member’s declaration form. Your completed form should be sent to the grant holder of your chosen partnership before 29 February 2024.
Within each partnership there is a ‘grant holder’ who is responsible for the disbursal of the funding within the partnership and supporting their members to access the fund.
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Find out more about the requirements that grant holders and their partnerships should exercise in disbursing WDF.
Have you previously claimed WDF through a partnership?
You won't need to complete another declaration form unless you’re joining a new partnership.
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By making a claim, employers are bound by the current terms of claiming WDF. Please read this document before submitting a claim.
If you submit a declaration form to a new partnership and it is accepted by Skills for Care, any previous partnership agreement that was in place will be immediately terminated.
Employers must join and liaise with the partnership directly. A third party, such as a learning provider, can’t do this on an employer’s behalf.
Complete your ASC-WDS data
You’ll need your Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) account number to complete your declaration form. If you haven’t got an ASC-WDS account you’ll need to set one up. Find out how to create an account.
To claim WDF for your organisation you must complete or update both the workplace record and 90% of your staff records in your ASC-WDS account(s) on or after 1 April 2023 and by 31 March 2024.
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Review the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set requirements for the Workforce Development Fund 2023-24 to see the full information which you need to complete.
Log-in or create an account
Evidence - learner certificates
The evidence requirement to claim funding is a copy of the learner’s certificate and is issued following completion of the learning. The learner certificates must contain the following information:
Qualification certificates, including the apprenticeship diploma certificate
Final apprenticeship certificate
Please note: the certificate must be issued by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE)
- candidate name
- unique learner number
- name of apprenticeship
- apprenticeship code - this can be written on the certificate
Learning programme certificates
Digital learning modules
- candidate name
- date of birth
- name of digital module
Making a claim from the WDF
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Once your learner has completed their qualification, learning programme or digital learning module, complete the employer claim submission form and submit this with a copy of the learner’s certificate(s) to your partnership.
The partnership has to submit final claims to Skills for Care by 28 March 2024 so please allow sufficient time for them to review and submit your claim.
Did you know?
As an employer, you’re responsible for maintaining a clear audit trail of funding received and spent. We recommend you keep evidence of learning and development funded through WDF as you may be asked to confirm details.
FAQ's
FAQs for employers applying through a partnership