Adult courses in the Liverpool City Region are funded through Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, which controls a £56.8 million adult skills budget for 2026/27. You can usually get a fully funded course if you are 19 or older and earn under £35,864. There are currently 1,174 funded courses listed at centres in the Liverpool City Region.
Embed this chart on your site
Copy the code below. Free to reuse with the credit link.
Who qualifies for a free course in the Liverpool City Region?
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has not yet published its 2026/27 funding rules. Its last published earnings cut off is £35,864 (from its 2025/26 rules (figure human-verified 2026-08-01) rules), and that figure stands until new rules appear. People who are unemployed or on certain benefits usually qualify too.
The provider confirms eligibility when you enrol. The quickest way to check is the eligibility checker, which uses your postcode.
What is different in the Liverpool City Region?
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority sets its own rules, but has not yet published a 2026/27 rulebook. Everything shown here is its last published position. This page updates when new rules appear.
The core offer follows the national pattern: a free first full Level 3 for adults without one, free English, maths and digital skills, and full funding under the earnings cut off above.
What can you study free in the Liverpool City Region?
The 1,174 funded courses listed at the Liverpool City Region centres are led by functional skills / esol (289), adult social care (157), construction (109), beauty / hair / nails (83), hospitality / catering (75). Around 3,400 more funded online courses are available wherever you live.
Embed this chart on your site
Copy the code below. Free to reuse with the credit link.
Browse free courses or search the full course directory to see what is running near you.
Who delivers funded training in the Liverpool City Region?
72 training providers run funded courses at the Liverpool City Region venues. The largest by listed courses:
- St Helens College (187 funded courses)
- The City of Liverpool College (177 funded courses)
- Riverside College (176 funded courses)
- Hugh Baird College (113 funded courses)
- Wirral Met College (96 funded courses)
See all 72 funded training providers in Liverpool City Region.
What does Liverpool City Region Combined Authority say its priorities are?
Construction = ‘the local and national priority’ (s83427).
The area’s employer led skills plan (the LSIP, led by Liverpool Chamber of Commerce) names: Construction, Manufacturing, Logistics, professional services, green + digital emerging.
How much funding does the Liverpool City Region control?
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority receives £56.8 million in adult skills funding for 2026/27, through its Integrated Settlement. See how that compares to every other area in our adult education funding guide.
Embed this chart on your site
Copy the code below. Free to reuse with the credit link.
Sources: the authority’s own published funding rules and committee papers, gov.uk grant determination letters and Integrated Settlement tables, and the JobYay course directory. The eligibility estimate is JobYay analysis of ONS ASHE 2025 earnings data. Full figures and sources: adult education funding in England.
Page last updated: 4 August 2026. Course counts refresh with the directory; funding facts refresh when rules are published.