You are correct it can seem like a minefield, but we hopefully can guide you through the confusion. Before being eligible to make an ELC claim, All individual scheme members must have completed not less than six years of eligible service to claim the lower tier.  If you have completed four years of qualifying service before 1st April 2017, you need to read the JSP 822. The lower tier of funding is up to £1,000 per claim instalment. The higher tier (eight years’ service) is up to £2,000 per claim instalment. Only service that is accumulated since 1st April 2000, may be counted as eligible service for the ELC Scheme.

You are entitled to make three ELC claims in total. You can only make one claim per financial year (1 April- 31 March), however, if you have served between 6 and 8 years you may be eligible to aggregate all three lower-tier claims together, subject to meeting the qualifying criteria as contained within the JSP 822.  The expiration date of your claims is dependent upon many factors, again refer to the JSP 822.  If you are claiming in the last year of your scheme eligibility, you must commence your course studies before your scheme expiry date.

For the full details and to check the eligibility rules, please view the JSP 822.

How long will it take me to get set up as a Gas Safe engineer?

Conventional routes such as apprenticeships for NVQ Qualifications are available but can take two to three years to achieve, this method is very dependent on your availability and application to studies. More a thing of the past, this course of action is ok if you are a young school leaver with no family commitments. Even with the Government’s small incentive scheme to assist smaller businesses and sole traders to accept recruiting apprentices, it is not a very appealing route for the more mature students to undertake.

If you’re looking for a speedier result, Gastec training offers the new IGEM (Institution of Gas Engineers & Managers) Managed Learning Program which adheres to the standards and guidelines for all gas training within the UK to ensure that methods and results are consistent and to the high standards expected of Gas Safe engineers.

The MLP is designed specifically for new entrants to the Gas industry and will give you the new learner the very best start by offering the skills and confidence you need. This is achieved by a combination of classroom studies and hands-on experience working on equipment in our state-of-the-art workshop facilities. Every learner will gain the skills to work safely on a variety of gas appliances and heating systems.

This MLP program will be followed by a period of work placement (actual live working experience) this will culminate in the successful development of the required portfolio, following that you will undertake the Accredited Certification Scheme (ACS) assessments which are fully certified by UK Certification, All New Entrants need to achieve the CCN1 gas safety qualification plus appliances before they can join the registration body “ Gas Safe Register “ All this if you are successful should take approximately 18 weeks in total most of which will be absorbed by your work placement and portfolio building.

How many MOD service leavers have you dealt with?

For over 28 years, we have been training New Entrants and we have seen over 1500 MOD service leavers and over 1000 civilians through our New Entrant training programs. we have achieved a very high pass rate of successful students

going onto further employment or self-employment with many glowing testimonials to confirm our dedication to the high levels of training we at Gastec give to all attendees.

Is there anything that could go wrong in the process?

Provided you consult with your service resettlement officer the process should be stress-free, if you encounter any hiccups please let me know as soon as possible so we can address any issue you may encounter. Whomever you decide to go with for your training, please ensure they are ELCAS approved and have a good track record of successful student testimonials on ELCAS and Google, and ensure they can back up any promises made. We at Gastec have seen and helped many unfortunate students that have been ill-advised and sold a course not offering the correct qualifications, which in turn left them high and dry seeking any fulfilment of their false promise. With Gastec’s promise, what we say, you will achieve, given your successful input.

If you would like, simply call Gastec on 01908 587665 and ask for maria!  I am always available to assist anyone transitioning into civilian life, always a pleasure.