ReAct Funding

You could get up to £1,500 of grant funding for training courses

If you’ve been made redundant you could be entitled to ReAct funding to retrain or update your skills.

You can get funding to learn or improve your English language skills at Celtic English Academy for in-person or online courses.

What is ReAct Funding?

The Redundancy Action Scheme (ReAct) is funding provided by the Welsh Government for training for people living in Wales who are facing redundancy or have become unemployed, for whatever reason.

You can receive a training grant of up to £1,500 to help you get the skills and qualifications you need to improve your CV and make yourself more employable. You can train while you are job hunting and you can go on courses to get the skills you need even if you plan to become self-employed eventually.

Who’s Eligible?

The ReAct scheme is available for individuals who:

▸ Have become unemployed on or since 1 January 2020 as a result of redundancy or for other reasons

✚ are currently unemployed

✚ have not been in continuous employment for 6 weeks or more between the date they were made redundant and the date of the ReAct grant application

━ Or ━

▸ Are currently under notice of redundancy

In any of these cases they also:

▸ Have not undertaken any publicly funded training since being made redundant or unemployed, including the work-based learning suite of programmes, such as an apprenticeship.

━  And ━

▸ Have been resident in Wales both at the date of redundancy/unemployment and at the date of the grant application.

Applicants must also be able to provide evidence that they have the legal right to live and work in the UK.

What can you use the ReAct funding for?

1. Cover training costs

• You can cover 100% of training costs to acquire new skills like learning or improving your English level (up to a maximum of £1,500)

2. Get Extra Support with your study expenses

• the cost of travelling to training courses
• overnight accommodation costs, where appropriate
• help with the cost of special equipment to remove barriers to training
• The maximum Extra Support grant is £200

3. Get help with childcare costs

• Get a contribution towards childcare costs whilst training up to a maximum of £2,600 (subject to limits and conditions)

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Study English with the ReAct funding grant

You can take English lessons to learn or improve your language skills and broaden your opportunities to get a new job. You can find Celtic English Academy’s courses listed in the Careers Wales website:

General English

In-person or Online

• Improve your day-to-day use of English for educational, professional or personal reasons.
• Improve your level of English before, or at the same time as preparing for an exam.
• Increase your range of grammar and vocabulary as well as your ability to communicate in English.

Click here to read more information about this course.
Click here to go to our General English course listed on the Careers Wales website.

English for Work

In-person or Online

• We support professionals, trainees or students to improve their English skills for the workplace.
• The core skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening are covered with content focused on business vocabulary, fields of work and practical workplace skills e.g. interview techniques, preparing CVs and participating in meetings.
• Gain confidence in using Business English to a high standard, for your job.
• Take the LanguageCert CEFR level exam at the end to gain a qualification for your CV or future job application.

Click here to read more information about this course.
Click here to go to our English for Work course listed on the Careers Wales website.

IELTS Exam Preparation

In-person or Online

This course helps you improve your level of English and provides you with the strategies and techniques you need to succeed in the IELTS exam so that you can progress to study at university in the UK, or demonstrate your level to future employers.

• We will help you to develop strategies and techniques for dealing with each aspect of the IELTS examination.
• You will be given regular IELTS practice questions, followed by feedback and advice on how to improve to help prepare you for the exam.

We recommend taking Exam Preparation courses with General English, to make the full study programme (21 hours/28 lessons) to give the best chance of level progression.

Click here to read more information about this course.
Click here to go to our IELTS Exam Preparation course listed on the Careers Wales website.

Cambridge Exam Preparation

In-person or Online

This course combines language development with exam techniques, study skills and exam practice. This should help prepare you for the B2 First or C1 Advanced exam. Cambridge Exams are recognised internationally and are a great way to prove your level of English to an employer on a job application. They have a lifetime validity.

• We will help you develop strategies and techniques to deal with each aspect of either the B2 First (FCE) or C1 Advanced (CAE) exam.
• You will take regular practice tests.
• After these tests, your teacher will give you feedback and advice so that you can improve.

Employers and more than 15,000 higher or further educational institutions, government bodies and ministries, as well as companies, accept these Cambridge Exams.

We recommend taking Exam Preparation courses with General English, to make the full study programme (21 hours/28 lessons) to give the best chance of level progression.

Click here to read more information about this course.
Click here to go to our Cambridge Exam Preparation course listed on the Careers Wales website.

How much will my English course cost?

You can receive up to a maximum of £1500 ReAct funding for training costs. Our courses are dynamic, with weekly start dates and you can decide how many weeks training you want to follow. With the maximum grant, you could study an English course for up to 4-6 weeks approximately.

If you would like to continue studying or take additional courses over the value of £1500, you will need to pay the difference yourself.

We can also advise you which exams you could take at the end of your course, to give you a further qualification for your CV and future job applications.

COVID-19 and ReAct online training courses

You can study during the lockdown, whilst you are applying for jobs and taking care of yourself.
You can take all our courses online including; General English, English for Work, Exam Preparation (IELTS, Cambridge, LanguageCert).

Online classes are:

• Live and interactive
• Reliable – with the same experienced Celtic English Academy teachers as in-person courses
• Enjoyable – with access to the Academy’s range of online activities and services
• Connective – joining you with other learners from our local and global community

How to apply to the ReAct Scheme?

There are two parts involved in the application.

The first one is with Careers Wales, the independent and impartial career information service of the Welsh Government. All applicants must contact Careers Wales first to make the application.

The second part goes through the Welsh Government’s ReAct Team. They are the ones that must approve all grant applications before you start training with your chosen provider and before you make any payment.

But don’t worry, your first step is to contact the Careers Wales Team. They are really helpful and knowledgeable and will help you understand and complete the paperwork needed for your application

Also, the ReAct Team states that they “will not ask you to provide any documents which you don’t currently have or ask you to spend unnecessary time or expense to obtain them”.

Applying for the ReAct funding step-by-step

STEP 1: Contact Careers Wales

Contact Careers Wales on 0800 028 4844 to get an appointment with one of their advisors. During the appointment, you will discuss your work experience, career goals and preferred courses with your adviser.

STEP 2: Choose a course

It is up to you to decide what course you would like to take. Celtic English Academy’s courses can help you to learn or improve your English language level to get more opportunities for your CV and applications to help with your job hunting.

STEP 3: Funding Application

Your Careers Wales Advisor will help you complete the relevant forms. Then you will have to send your completed forms to ReAct for their funding approval. You could get up to £1,500 to use towards your training costs.

STEP 4: Start your English learning course

If your grant is approved you can commence your training courses with Celtic English Academy. We will be waiting for you!

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How can Celtic help you in your application process?

You can contact us if you:

• Have doubts about the ReAct funding scheme
• Want to know what courses you could fund with the grant
• Want to seek advice about the right English course for your needs
• Just feel more comfortable speaking to us before connecting with the Careers Wales’ team

We prepared this PDF document with our eligible courses in case you want to take it with you to show to the Careers Wales team. You can download it here.

Do you have any questions about the ReAct funding or Celtic English Academy courses?
You can email us at [email protected] or write to us on the website chat.