Digital Entitlement and Free Digital Skills Courses: 2026 Employer Guide

Last reviewed: 15 July 2026 against the published 2026 to 2027 Adult Skills Fund rules.

What the digital legal entitlement covers

In England, the Adult Skills Fund fully funds an eligible learner for an approved Essential Digital Skills Qualification (EDSQ) or Digital Functional Skills Qualification (DFSQ) up to and including Level 1 when the learner:

• is aged 19 or over;
• meets the applicable residency and funding rules; and
• is assessed as having digital skills below Level 1.

Eligible employed adults are included. Prior qualification level in an unrelated subject is not the digital test: the provider must assess the person's current digital skills. Approved courses build practical skills such as using devices, handling information, communicating, transacting and staying safe online.

The funding body is now the Department for Education for nationally funded Adult Skills Fund provision. The Education and Skills Funding Agency closed on 31 March 2025. In devolved areas, a strategic authority can publish local funding and delivery rules, so the provider must identify which authority applies.

How free Level 3 courses are actually funded

A digital subject can appear on an approved Level 3 list, but that does not create a separate entitlement for every adult. The provider must apply the Level 3 decision rules and use the current approved qualification list.

• Aged 19 to 23 with no full Level 3: an approved first-full-Level-3 entitlement or Free Courses for Jobs qualification can be fully funded, subject to the rules.
• Other adults: Free Courses for Jobs funding normally depends on the approved offer plus earnings or unemployment eligibility; an Advanced Learner Loan may be the alternative where full funding is unavailable.
• Devolved delivery: local strategic-authority rules and lists can differ from the national DfE-funded position.

Do not promise that named marketing, data, cyber or cloud qualifications are free without checking the exact learning aim in the DfE qualification service and the provider's allocation. Approval lists and local flexibilities can change.

Who can deliver and how employers find a course

Further-education colleges, adult and community learning services and independent providers can deliver when they hold the relevant Adult Skills Fund or strategic-authority funding. Approval to deliver apprenticeships does not by itself authorise Adult Skills Fund delivery.

Use the government's free courses and additional training service, or contact the local college or adult learning service. Ask the provider to confirm in writing:

• the qualification title and learning-aim reference;
• the funding year and authority paying for it;
• the learner eligibility and assessment evidence needed;
• whether any fee remains; and
• delivery dates, attendance and completion requirements.

Digital entitlement, Bootcamp or apprenticeship?

For full-apprenticeship starts from August 2025, the overall minimum is eight months, but the selected standard and version can require a longer planned duration and a specific off-the-job minimum. There is no universal six-hours-per-week or 20% rule for new plans.

Build progression without assuming “stacked” funding

An EDSQ or DFSQ can give an employee the foundation needed for a more advanced occupational course. The next route might be Free Courses for Jobs, a Bootcamp, an apprenticeship or later higher-level study. Each stage needs its own eligibility and non-duplication check; completion of one course does not guarantee funding for the next.

For modular higher-education finance and provider preparation, use the Lifelong Learning Entitlement 2027 guide. For an apprenticeship progression step, use the rules in force on the actual start date and keep every price above the funding band separate.

Employer action checklist

• Identify employees who may have digital skills below Level 1
• Let the funded provider complete the formal digital assessment
• For Level 3, record age, prior attainment, earnings/unemployment and the exact approved qualification
• Confirm whether DfE or a devolved strategic authority funds the learner
• Obtain written confirmation of fees before enrolment
• Agree suitable study time, device access and manager support
• Recheck the rules when a start moves into a new funding year
• Assess the next progression route independently rather than promising a funded stack

The legal entitlement is valuable precisely because it removes a real access barrier for adults below Level 1. Accurate assessment and product-level funding checks make that promise credible.