From January 2027 the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) replaces student finance in England. Use it for tech courses at Tech Industry Gold providers, in full courses or single modules, at any stage of your career.
Six quick questions and a plain answer on whether the entitlement could fund your course.
Start the checkerMove a slider to see roughly how much of your four years you could have left.
Try the estimatorSearch 31 Tech Industry Gold providers. 15 are approved for single modules.
Search providersSeven questions to copy and send before you apply.
See the questionsFact-checked 3 November 2026
For courses and modules starting from 1 January 2027 in England, it takes the place of higher education student finance loans and advanced learner loans at levels 4, 5 and 6. If your course started before 1 January 2027, you carry on under the current system.
New learners can access up to £39,160, equal to 4 years of study. Use it in one go or in pieces, now or years from now. If you have used student finance before, you have less.
Full courses at level 4 to 6 are covered when they are eligible. Single modules are covered at approved providers, for designated modules in subjects that include computing, so you can build up a qualification over time.
At Tech Industry Gold providers
Because the entitlement replaces student finance, you can use it for eligible full courses at our providers, whichever one you choose. 15 of them are also already approved for single modules.
A note on apprenticeships
Many Tech Industry Gold programmes are apprenticeships. Those are funded through your employer, not through student finance, so the entitlement does not pay for them. It does not use any of your entitlement up either.
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It can help with tuition fees and, for in-person courses and modules, living costs. It is a loan, not a grant, though some targeted grants exist for dependants and travel for full-time new learners.
£39,160
about 4 years of study left
New learners can access up to £39,160, equal to 4 years of study, based on the maximum tuition fee for 2026 to 2027.
Showing 31 providers
Birmingham
Approved for modular funding
Single modules are approved here, and the entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses.
Tech courses here
Blackpool & Fylde, Lancashire
Approved for modular funding
Single modules are approved here, and the entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses.
Tech courses here
City of London / Clerkenwell
Approved for modular funding
Single modules are approved here, and the entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses.
Tech courses here
Newcastle upon Tyne
Approved for modular funding
Single modules are approved here, and the entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses.
Tech courses here
Mile End, London
Approved for modular funding
Single modules are approved here, and the entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses.
Tech courses here
Milton Keynes (UK-wide distance learning)
Approved for modular funding
Single modules are approved here, and the entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses.
Tech courses here
Chester
Approved for modular funding
Single modules are approved here, and the entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses.
Tech courses here
Docklands, London
Approved for modular funding
Single modules are approved here, and the entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses.
Tech courses here
Streatham Campus, Exeter, Devon
Approved for modular funding
Single modules are approved here, and the entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses.
Tech courses here
Cheltenham & Gloucester
Approved for modular funding
Single modules are approved here, and the entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses.
Tech courses here
Greenwich (Old Royal Naval College), London
Approved for modular funding
Single modules are approved here, and the entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses.
Tech courses here
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Approved for modular funding
Single modules are approved here, and the entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses.
Tech courses here
Leeds
Approved for modular funding
Single modules are approved here, and the entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses.
Tech courses here
Salford, Greater Manchester
Approved for modular funding
Single modules are approved here, and the entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses.
Tech courses here
Stoke-on-Trent (plus London campus at Here East)
Approved for modular funding
Single modules are approved here, and the entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses.
Tech courses here
Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
Ask about modules
The entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses here. Ask the provider whether it offers single modules.
University Centre Peterborough is a different provider.
Tech courses here
Wilmslow, Cheshire (North West & Yorkshire coverage)
Ask about modules
The entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses here. Ask the provider whether it offers single modules.
Tech courses here
Uxbridge, London
Ask about modules
The entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses here. Ask the provider whether it offers single modules.
Tech courses here
High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
Ask about modules
The entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses here. Ask the provider whether it offers single modules.
Tech courses here
Cheltenham & Gloucester, Gloucestershire
Ask about modules
The entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses here. Ask the provider whether it offers single modules.
South Gloucestershire and Stroud College is a different college.
Tech courses here
Greenlands, Henley-on-Thames (part of University of Reading)
Ask about modules
The entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses here. Ask the provider whether it offers single modules.
Part of the University of Reading.
Tech courses here
Lancaster
Ask about modules
The entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses here. Ask the provider whether it offers single modules.
Tech courses here
Leeds
Ask about modules
The entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses here. Ask the provider whether it offers single modules.
Tech courses here
Loughborough, Leicestershire
Ask about modules
The entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses here. Ask the provider whether it offers single modules.
Tech courses here
Devon House, London (part of Northeastern's global campus network)
Ask about modules
The entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses here. Ask the provider whether it offers single modules.
Tech courses here
Slough, England (HQ); training delivered UK-wide
Ask about modules
The entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses here. Ask the provider whether it offers single modules.
Tech courses here
Bay Campus, Swansea
Ask about modules
The entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses here. Ask the provider whether it offers single modules.
Swansea is in Wales. The LLE is run by Student Finance England, so ask the university how it works for your situation.
Tech courses here
Edgbaston, Birmingham
Ask about modules
The entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses here. Ask the provider whether it offers single modules.
Birmingham City University and University College Birmingham are different providers.
Tech courses here
Bolton, Greater Manchester
Ask about modules
The entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses here. Ask the provider whether it offers single modules.
UCEN Manchester (LTE Group) is a different provider.
Tech courses here
Ipswich, Suffolk
Ask about modules
The entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses here. Ask the provider whether it offers single modules.
West Suffolk College is a different provider.
Tech courses here
Ealing, West London
Ask about modules
The entitlement replaces student finance for eligible full courses here. Ask the provider whether it offers single modules.
Tech courses here
Checked on 3 November 2026 against the government's list of 130 approved providers, Providers approved for Lifelong Learning Entitlement modular funding (published 15 May 2026). A second round of provider applications closes on 30 November 2026, so more may be added. A course counts only if it is designated, so always confirm with the provider.
May 2026
The government publishes the first list of 130 providers approved for modular funding.
September 2026
Applications open through Student Finance England.
30 November 2026
The second round of provider applications closes, so more providers may be added to the list.
Coming up
1 January 2027
The first courses and modules start. The entitlement replaces student finance for courses starting from this date.
31 July 2027
The latest start date you can apply for at the moment.
It replaces student finance everywhere in the UK.
It replaces student finance in England only, for courses and modules starting from 1 January 2027. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own systems, and anyone already funded for a course that started earlier carries on under the current one.
GOV.UK, Department for EducationIt is free money.
It is a loan, not a grant. Some targeted grants exist, for dependants and travel, for full-time new learners, but the tuition and living-cost support are loans.
GOV.UK, Department for EducationYou can use it at any age.
Tuition loans are available to people up to 60 at the start of their course. At 60 or over you may still get maintenance support, but not a tuition fee loan.
GOV.UK, Department for EducationYou can study any module, anywhere.
Only designated modules at approved providers. They are modules of Higher Technical Qualifications at level 4 or 5, and modules from full level 6 courses in priority subjects such as computing.
GOV.UK, Department for EducationIt pays for apprenticeships.
Apprenticeships, including degree apprenticeships, are funded through the employer and the apprenticeship system, not student finance, so the entitlement does not pay for them. Not using it on an apprenticeship does not use any of it up.
GOV.UK, Department for EducationIt covers bootcamps and short courses from training companies.
It funds qualifications and modules at approved universities and colleges. Bootcamps and short courses are funded through other government routes, such as Skills Bootcamps.
GOV.UK, Department for EducationApplications do not open until January.
Applications are open now, through Student Finance England, for courses and modules starting between 1 January 2027 and 31 July 2027.
Student Finance EnglandStart with what you want to do in tech. The provider finder below shows our providers and the courses they deliver.
Ask the provider whether the course or module is designated for the entitlement. The questions below are ready to copy.
Sign in or create an account with Student Finance England.
Apply for a course or module starting between 1 January 2027 and 31 July 2027.
Make sure your place, start date and funding line up, then you are ready to start.
It is the government's new single funding system for study after 18 in England. It gives new learners up to 4 years of funding, worth up to £39,160 based on the maximum tuition fee for 2026 to 2027, to use across their working life, in full courses or in smaller modules.
Yes, in England, for courses and modules starting from 1 January 2027. It replaces higher education student finance loans and advanced learner loans for level 4, 5 and 6 qualifications. If your course started before 1 January 2027, you carry on under the current system. Apprenticeships are funded through the employer, so they are not part of it.
Yes. Computing is one of the subject areas in scope for modular funding, and full courses at level 4 to 6 are covered when the course is eligible. Whether a particular course or module counts depends on the provider and on the course being designated, so confirm with the provider before you apply.
Because it replaces student finance, you can use it for eligible full courses at our providers. Single modules are available at the providers already approved for modular funding. The guide shows which of ours are approved, and the others can tell you what they offer.
No. Degree apprenticeships and other apprenticeships are paid for through the employer, not through student finance. Using an apprenticeship does not use up any of your entitlement.
No. Modular study is designed to fit around work and childcare, and you can build modules up into a full qualification over time, sometimes at different institutions. Living-cost support applies to in-person courses and modules only.
Applications are open now through Student Finance England for courses and modules starting between 1 January 2027 and 31 July 2027. The official pages we checked do not yet give dates for later starts.
Every fact on this page comes from the official government pages below, read on 3 November 2026. The rules can change, so confirm on the official pages before you apply. We update this page when they do.
What we have not been able to confirm
Start with where you are now, then explore the tech routes and accredited programmes that fit.
