This information is taken from the www.direct.gov.uk website. A full entry on Professional and Career Development Loans is included in the PostgraduateStudentships.co.uk Funding Database.
You can use a Professional and Career Development Loan to fund a variety of vocational courses with a range of organisations. You can take out a PCDL whether you are employed, self-employed or unemployed. PCDLs are available through an arrangement between the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and three high street banks.
In summary:
- A Professional and Career Development Loan is a bank loan. You make an agreement with a participating bank to borrow an amount between £300 and £10,000. Then once you’ve stopped studying, you pay it back in the normal way.
- The difference with a Professional and Career Development Loan is that the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) pays the interest on the loan while you’re studying – and for one month afterwards.
- After this, you’ll pay interest at the rate fixed when you took out the loan. Interest rates on the loans are set so they’re competitive with other ‘unsecured’ personal loans that are commercially available.
- Currently, banks offer Professional and Career Development Loans at a reduced customer rate of 9.9% per annum, equivalent to a typical APR of 5-6% over the lifetime of the loan. However, interest rates may vary from bank to bank. For further information, consult the participating banks.
- At present the two banks participating in the scheme are: Barclays and The Co-Operative.
Remember that a PCDL is a personal loan between you and the bank, and you are responsible for repaying it to the bank. Before taking out a loan, check how much your monthly repayments will be, and that you feel confident that you will be able to make them.
