back to education allowance please help!

bindi

i have inquired about btea so i know alot about it.problem is I have got a place at college but my dole ends late August & the course begins early september.theres a gap of 2 weeks exactly. I will not qualify for jobs seekers allowance because I have a husband. the allowance doesnt take into account our mortgage or loans its based on his gross income! I must be in receipt of dole or jobs seekers allowance in order to then change to BTEA.And I wont be in receipt of anything by early september.My heart is broken at this stage and I'm worried sick. i just want to do well for myself but all the odds seem to be against us. I thought maybe if i can get part time work I might be able to extend my job seekers benefit. I've rang multiple social welfare offices for advice and nobody seems to have an answer. I'm really scared about what to do. As I said earlier I really want to do well for myself thats all. Any help would be greatly appreciated
Bindi

Michelle_H

I dont think you'll be eligable for it then i myself am unemployed & got a letter about BETA i was wondering can you apply for any course at any college & do you need cao points for that course no one ive bein to has bein any help im so confused. I'm 21 years of age.

Medievalist

Bindi, have you thought of applying for a city/ county council grant? These grants are independent of social welfare payments and are based on income and not whether you are employed or not. Check out their website, they should have more info there. You may qualify to have your entire course paid for. Worth a look!

Hope it all turns out well for you.

bindi

Heres a link for you to check out http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Schemes/BackToEducation/Pages/default.aspx

You need to be unemployed for 12months or 9months and get recommended by a facillitator (whatever that is!)..most of the info i got was from this link.. warning you need to have a degree in social welfare entitlements in order to understand what your entitlled to! Just joking... It does take a serious amount of digging to get the full info on this though so be prepared but dont give up. I'm going to keep trying...

SuperTyper

Hi there, not sure how long you have been in receipt of welfare but have you thought of VTOS. I'm unemployed (lone parent allowance) since Jan 08 and I do not qualify for BTEA (as I already have a diploma) but I do qualify for VTOS and you continue to get your welfare. My course is a CDVEC course though.

Good luck.

Michelle_H

ya im in receit of it 14months i do qualify for BETA, VTOS all dem but i would love to do psychology in University of Limerick im 21 & want to no do i need the cao points for it if im entitled to BETA or is that for mature studants 23 & over & can i apply for any course in any college coz i realy want to do the psychology citezans advice were no help any1 no let me no tanx

Mickeroo

Michelle_H wrote: »

I dont think you'll be eligable for it then i myself am unemployed & got a letter about BETA i was wondering can you apply for any course at any college & do you need cao points for that course no one ive bein to has bein any help im so confused. I'm 21 years of age.

I think you have to be 23 to get it no? They'll look at your points too because you're under 23 as far as i know.

I just finished first year as a mature student, I dont get anything, they said i cant get a grant because i was in college for 3 years before(even though i didnt get a grant then either), they also made me pay tuition and no BTEA cause i wasn't on the dole. OP, because you've been on the dole the past while i would have thought you'd be entitled to it?

Laydee

Sorry for hijacking but can you not get BTEA if you have a diploma?
What about a certificate?

SuperTyper

Hi there, the way I understand it is you can get BTEA if you are progressing to a higher level ie diploma or degree but you wont get it if the course is the equivalent level of study as your certificate.

robert18

hi bindi as far as i know you have to be on A SOCIAL WELFARE payment to get the btea so if i was you i would go on the sick and no matter what stay on it just say to the doctor that you are suffering from stress which you are and that might bridge the gap of 2 weeks , also for the grant which is 3400 per year if you have been on a social welfare payment in the last year it goes up to 6950

bindi

You can get a grant if there is a 5 year gap from when you last studied... Have you tried to apply for grant? One thing I have learned is that you need to know as much or more info than the grant authorities. Sometimes they can get it wrong...

paperclip2

The best place to go for information on your VEC/ County Council grant entitlements that I have found is the DES section responsible for implementing policy in this area. The section is 'Financial Assistance for Students in Further & Higher Education', its based in Tullamore, Tel: 057 9325317.

Have all your information to hand, dates, levels of exisiting qualifications, info on the course you want to study, whether you received a grant previously, etc. Also write down your query before hand and make sure that you stick to this as there are often lots of issues you can get sidetracked into.

Be politely persistent.

bindi

Hi,
here is some advice for everyone in my situation. I am on jobseekers benefit(JB). It ends middle august and my college starts early september. i have gotten conflicting advice form social welfare but after much digging here is my thoughts and solutions to our problems.

i have a few options as follows.

A) go on illness benefit for a couple of weeks then go back on JB
go to prison for a couple of weeks (I'd rather not)
C) get a letter from the college saying I am starting earlier. (dont want to lie it could be dodgy)
D) get a part time job for 2 days a week for 6 weeks. This would extend my benefit by 14 days..

I think (D) would be the best thing to do. Its impossible for me to get a job with a company never mind a job working for 2 days a week exactly. So i am going to try get work self employed eg painting decoration gardening for people etc. And I will declare this to social welfare..

Here is some interesting notes from the BTEA booklet thats important for people in my situation and similar.

If anyone has any helpful ideas or questions please reply. Maybe with each others help we can all get somewhere...

bindi

Note
If you already hold a third level undergraduate
qualification, you can only apply for a BTEA to take
an equivalent undergraduate course in very
exceptional cases.
The postgraduate option of the BTEA scheme is only
for people who wish to take:
• a postgraduate course of study that leads to any
Higher Diploma (H. Dip.) qualification
or
• a Postgratuate Diploma in Education (Primary or
Secondary teaching).
Other postgraduate qualifications including a
Master’s degree are not recognised for BTEA
purposes.
You will not get the BTEA if you already hold a
postgraduate qualification.
• *You may qualify for BTEA for an approved third
level course of education if you are getting an
unemployment payment for 9 months (234 days).
This is provided you are a participant in the
National Employment Action Plan (NEAP)
process and the third level course you intend
pursuing is recommended by a FÁS Employment
Services Officer as part of your NEAP process.
• Time spent on BTEA, VTOS, FÁS/Fáilte Ireland
Training course, Youthreach, FIT, Community
Employment Schemes, Social Economy
Programme, Rural Social Scheme, Back to Work
Scheme, FÁS Job Initiative or Job Assist may
count towards the qualifying period. You may go
directly from one of the above schemes to Back
to Education Allowance provided you were
getting one of the qualifying social welfare
payments listed on pages 6 to 8, before you
started the scheme. You must start your
approved course of study within four weeks of
leaving the scheme. Otherwise you must be
getting a qualifying social welfare payment
immediately before starting an approved course
of study.
• Time spent on Supplementary Welfare
Allowance (SWA) or Direct Provision from the
Health Service Executive can count towards the
qualifying period for BTEA provided an
entitlement to a relevant social welfare payment
is established before starting the course of
education.
• Time spent on Illness Benefit can count towards
the qualifying period, as long as at least 50% of
the qualifying period was spent on the relevant
social welfare payment that actually qualifies you
to take part in the BTEA scheme.
• Time spent in prison can be taken, or count
towards the qualifying period for BTEA, provided
an underlying entitlement to a relevant social
welfare payment is established prior to
starting an approved course of education.
• You must meet the qualifying conditions before
the start of the first year of course of study.
• If you qualify for ‘credited contributions’, you will
continue to get ‘credits’ while you are on BTEA.
• We do not count Sunday as a day of
unemployment and we disregard it when
counting the number of days of unemployment.

pablodublin07

Bindi:

Is there any way that you can put on "hold" your JB payments for a month?Maybe you can tell S Welfare that for some reason you wont be able to "be actively seeking work" or able to work for a few weeks. If that it's possible then you can get those 2 o 3 weeks you need.

Paul

fifibibi

No wonder the country is in the state its in. :eek:

Jobseekers allowance and benefit are for people actually seeking work ??? i severyone missing that point!

The rules and regulations have been changed to enable people who are genuinely seeking work and cant get it the option of going onto a course of education.

Bindi, your husband works full time and gets a salary. If your payment stops and you are not on time to qualify then you are going to have to work part-time i have heard of students doing this from time to time,:rolleyes: and they dont have husbands at home to support them!:mad: But they want an education so bad that they work for it.

You more than likely wont get any allowance if your husband works. Even if they grant you a payment it wont be the full 204 euro because your husbands income will be assessed.

Local authority and higher education grants assess your income from the previous tax year so if you were married and working last year then both your combined income from last year will decide whether you get a grant or not.


BTEA is a payment to help people with few qualifications to get out of the dole queue..not for people who wish they had gone to college and now expect the government and taxpayers to pay their way to an education. Even though you are not entitled to it you are looking for loop holes.:rolleyes:

You are trying to rip the state off for a degree, 4 years of it thats alot of money.

I wish i knew your pps, when is the last time you went job seeking ?

Why cant you try harder to get work and then study part time ? Do you expect your husband to keep you in college for the next few years, if you were my spouse i would be none too pleased.

Get even part-time work, and pay for your education! for god's sake

fifibibi

bindi wrote: »

Hi,


i have a few options as follows.

A) go on illness benefit for a couple of weeks then go back on JB
go to prison for a couple of weeks (I'd rather not)
C) get a letter from the college saying I am starting earlier. (dont want to lie it could be dodgy)
D) get a part time job for 2 days a week for 6 weeks. This would extend my benefit by 14 days..

i think D is an excellent idea

At least you will contribute something to the economy before you rob it blind :rolleyes:

Onion11

But wouldn't there be a cut off point for his earnings?

bindi

Hello,

Thank you for the unhelpful reply.

It would be more beneficial to everyone on boards if you were to keep your bad attitude to yourself!

You dont know the complete facts. I am and have being continually seeking work. I'd rather have a job again. I have been to college for a few years. So I dont take this lightly! I have also supported myself through this whole process. I do plan on working part time this time also.

I can only presume from your reply that you have a chip on your shoulder and a bad attitude towards people like me who wish to improve their chances of getting work. It would be best if you didnt reply to messages on boards since you dont seem to have the capacity to understand that there is more to these people like me posting these queries.

And as for my pps number. It is so sad for you that you have to be like that...

I would doubt very much that you have a spouse with that attitude.

fifibibi wrote: »

No wonder the country is in the state its in. :eek:

Jobseekers allowance and benefit are for people actually seeking work ??? i severyone missing that point!

The rules and regulations have been changed to enable people who are genuinely seeking work and cant get it the option of going onto a course of education.

Bindi, your husband works full time and gets a salary. If your payment stops and you are not on time to qualify then you are going to have to work part-time i have heard of students doing this from time to time,:rolleyes: and they dont have husbands at home to support them!:mad: But they want an education so bad that they work for it.

You more than likely wont get any allowance if your husband works. Even if they grant you a payment it wont be the full 204 euro because your husbands income will be assessed.

Local authority and higher education grants assess your income from the previous tax year so if you were married and working last year then both your combined income from last year will decide whether you get a grant or not.


BTEA is a payment to help people with few qualifications to get out of the dole queue..not for people who wish they had gone to college and now expect the government and taxpayers to pay their way to an education. Even though you are not entitled to it you are looking for loop holes.:rolleyes:

You are trying to rip the state off for a degree, 4 years of it thats alot of money.

I wish i knew your pps, when is the last time you went job seeking ?

Why cant you try harder to get work and then study part time ? Do you expect your husband to keep you in college for the next few years, if you were my spouse i would be none too pleased.

Get even part-time work, and pay for your education! for god's sake

blue shimmering

fifibibi wrote: »

No wonder the country is in the state its in. :eek:

Jobseekers allowance and benefit are for people actually seeking work ??? is everyone missing that point!

The rules and regulations have been changed to enable people who are genuinely seeking work and cant get it the option of going onto a course of education.

Bindi, your husband works full time and gets a salary. If your payment stops and you are not on time to qualify then you are going to have to work part-time i have heard of students doing this from time to time,:rolleyes: and they dont have husbands at home to support them!:mad: But they want an education so bad that they work for it.

You more than likely wont get any allowance if your husband works. Even if they grant you a payment it wont be the full 204 euro because your husbands income will be assessed.

Local authority and higher education grants assess your income from the previous tax year so if you were married and working last year then both your combined income from last year will decide whether you get a grant or not.


BTEA is a payment to help people with few qualifications to get out of the dole queue..not for people who wish they had gone to college and now expect the government and taxpayers to pay their way to an education. Even though you are not entitled to it you are looking for loop holes.:rolleyes:

You are trying to rip the state off for a degree, 4 years of it thats alot of money.

I wish i knew your pps, when is the last time you went job seeking ?

Why cant you try harder to get work and then study part time ? Do you expect your husband to keep you in college for the next few years, if you were my spouse i would be none too pleased.

Get even part-time work, and pay for your education! for god's sake

I think this is so unfair, this girl was working to have got the Job Seekers Benefit and must have lost her job through redundancy, whatever:mad:......she now wants to upskill to hopefully improve her chances of getting a job:D! She has her heart set on going to college now at this stage rather than continuing to look for a job THAT IS NOT THERE:eek:! Believe me I have been trying all summer to get a job and it is impossible! Why are you so hard on her?:(

I am on BTEA - starting 3rd year in September in College and would encourage her 100% to go for it:). Once on the BTEA it will carry on to honours degree level....unless government makes changes to this:P - can't really see them doing that with so many out of work. I think it is better to have people out trying to improve their prospects, rather than sittin down on their a**ses doing nothing!:rolleyes:

Go for it and good luck!

LeotheLion

Hey, Has anyone seen Fifibibi's post's cheeky bitch she and her boyfriend are on the Dole,she was complaining she only got 34.10 Jobseeker allowance thats all she deserves.at least other people are trying to get an education for themselves.

Put down the crack pipe Fifibibi.

PYRO#1

Hi

Im recently made redundant and have been offered a college place. Im hoping to get BETA. If you have worked, you have paid tax so i feel your entitled to get it. If anyone is living near limerick i recommend the Downtown Centre for info and advice about going back to education. Also anyone on social needs to get a facilitator to access BETA so find your local one asap they are really helpful;)

bindi

Cheers guys thanks for sticking up for me. I was really disgusted by fifibibi's reply. I'm glad the vast majority of yous know and understand all I want is to do well in life etc..
thanks again...
Bindi

Guys I've deleted one post - other unhelpful and harsh posts will be deleted/edited if needs be. bindi came on looking for help so try to be helpful/constructive. If anyone wishes to argue the merits of the grant/fees/back to education allowance scheme, I would suggest that it is done in a different forum, such as College or preferably Student Finances.

Dónal

DubShooter

Hi,
I have been accepted into a course which starts at the end of Sept.
By then I will have been on Job seekers for 9 months so I will fit the criteria to get the btea.
I have been offered work on several occasions but refused incase it screws up the btea as I cannot afford to go back to college unsubsidised because I will be living away from home and have to pay for food,rent etc.

Just wondering is there any way I could work part time or at least even the odd day when a job comes up.I would really prefer to be working as opposed to unnecessarily getting the Dole.

I think its a stupid idea having to be unemployed to get the btea.

Hope sombody has a solution,
Cheers
Richie.

blue shimmering

DubShooter wrote: »

Hi,
I have been accepted into a course which starts at the end of Sept.
By then I will have been on Job seekers for 9 months so I will fit the criteria to get the btea.
I have been offered work on several occasions but refused incase it screws up the btea as I cannot afford to go back to college unsubsidised because I will be living away from home and have to pay for food,rent etc.

Just wondering is there any way I could work part time or at least even the odd day when a job comes up.I would really prefer to be working as opposed to unnecessarily getting the Dole.

I think its a stupid idea having to be unemployed to get the btea.

Hope sombody has a solution,
Cheers
Richie.

Yes it is a stupid idea that you have to be unemployed for 9 months to get the BTEA allowance but as far as I know this is the case. Seems really annoying when we don't have jobs, apply for a place, get it and then are not allowed to work for the few months before going to college, BTEI or VTOS.

Once you are in college you can work to your hearts content, during the year and during the summer holidays - it will not affect your BTEA! During the summer months when not in college you will not get the Job Seekers (for the days you are working) or the BTEA either!

This was the case in 2007 when I started in college, I asked everyone, including Social Welfare, Citizen Information, VEC and got the same answer from all of them - you can not work BEFORE commencing your first year! The VEC also have a very good career guidance section that may help answer questions, usually held locally - just ring them up and ask for your local career guidance counciller and make an appointment! Very much worth the bother, I think, they will also help with doing out CV's, CAO applications, questions about VTOS and BTEI etc....

Hope this helps you and others, go for the course, look for as many supports as you can get, the millenium fund, access fund are options too for extra funding - so look around and see what is in your area!

Good luck , I hope you do well.

DubShooter

Yeah thats what I thought alright.I'll give the VEC a call.

Thanks for the reply:)

bindi

I applied for the BTEA and I got news of it today. My application was successful!!!! I am so relieved!!!
Finally I can be doing something constructive with my life instead of feeling bad because of the lack of jobs. Now I can improve my chances of getting a job by going back to college...Words cant describe how relieved i am.
thanks for all your help guys and if I can be of assistance please let me know.

bindi

mumtoe&e

hi bindi,
congratulations
can i ask you how long it took for them to make a decision from the time u handed your form in??
I am leaving my form around tomorrow and am so anxious about it
thanks a lot

peanuthead

bindi wrote: »

Heres a link for you to check out http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Schemes/BackToEducation/Pages/default.aspx

You need to be unemployed for 12months or 9months and get recommended by a facillitator (whatever that is!)..most of the info i got was from this link.. warning you need to have a degree in social welfare entitlements in order to understand what your entitlled to! Just joking... It does take a serious amount of digging to get the full info on this though so be prepared but dont give up. I'm going to keep trying...

Well I was just about to start up a thread wondering if I would be eligible for this payment. It seems not though, reading this information.

I have worked solidly since I was 15 (Like alot of people, I'm sure) I, or my parents brought myself through every year of my education, except my final year in college, when my circumstances changed dramatically.

Since that year, I have been working - bringing money into the economy (again, like a lot of others I know) I have never abused the system. Then I decide to go back to college. No wait, I don't even decide, its a necessary part of my career to do this course, and I would get a pt job if it was possible, but the course requires college and teaching practice - hence no room for working except for the weekends, which I am going to try.

However a part time job at the weekends is not going to cover the petrol costs/bus fares, 6200 fees and everything else that comes along with it.

So I suppose my big question is .... WHY do I bother contributing to this society when I get nothing back from it???? Hell, I shouldn't have bothered my hole working last year and then I'd be fine this year. Should have taken up a drug addiction or something.

STUPID SOCIETY


sorry for the rant - but im really angry at this.
And even more angry at the thought of them getting more tax off me when I am fully qualified and earning more. No thanks to them.

Bindi - aapply for the county council grant and check if there are any other organisations around you can ask.

For example here in Clondalkin we have the 'Clondalkin Partnership' and they give out small, very small grants. But, its better than nothing.

bindi

mumtoe&e wrote: »

hi bindi,
congratulations
can i ask you how long it took for them to make a decision from the time u handed your form in??
I am leaving my form around tomorrow and am so anxious about it
thanks a lot

hi,

It took about 2 weeks. I think i was lucky though. I know they are swamped in most offices. So hang on in there... hope you get good news too.

bindi

peanuthead wrote: »

Well I was just about to start up a thread wondering if I would be eligible for this payment. It seems not though, reading this information.

I have worked solidly since I was 15 (Like alot of people, I'm sure) I, or my parents brought myself through every year of my education, except my final year in college, when my circumstances changed dramatically.

Since that year, I have been working - bringing money into the economy (again, like a lot of others I know) I have never abused the system. Then I decide to go back to college. No wait, I don't even decide, its a necessary part of my career to do this course, and I would get a pt job if it was possible, but the course requires college and teaching practice - hence no room for working except for the weekends, which I am going to try.

However a part time job at the weekends is not going to cover the petrol costs/bus fares, 6200 fees and everything else that comes along with it.

So I suppose my big question is .... WHY do I bother contributing to this society when I get nothing back from it???? Hell, I shouldn't have bothered my hole working last year and then I'd be fine this year. Should have taken up a drug addiction or something.

STUPID SOCIETY


sorry for the rant - but im really angry at this.
And even more angry at the thought of them getting more tax off me when I am fully qualified and earning more. No thanks to them.

Bindi - aapply for the county council grant and check if there are any other organisations around you can ask.

For example here in Clondalkin we have the 'Clondalkin Partnership' and they give out small, very small grants. But, its better than nothing.

I understand you fully.... its a **** system made up by idiots! I cant stand being unemployed and at home. I've even worked for free this year just to feel like I can contribute something back into the world..

As I say it seems like if you try to get somewhere in this country (take a couple of steps up the ladder) by being in a good job paying your tax or buying yourself a house and paying tax you struggle all the way unless you are seriously rich that is. The people as I say who stay off the ladder completely are creaming it! I dont believe I am creaming it though. Through a chain of events it has lead to me being in this position so I've picked an option of going back to education so I can get back on the ladder so to speak. I'm sure there are people out there who are taking advantage of the BTEA and then theres people like yourself who really deserves it. You've every right to be anoid! Too many people get rewarded for sitting on their bum in this country.....

bindi