14-19 year olds
Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA)
The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) can give you up to £30 a week to help you get more qualifications or vocational skills after 16. This includes full-time further education courses at college or school, an LSC-funded Entry to Employment (e2e) programme, or a Programme Let Apprenticeship.
The extra cash will come in handy and because it's paid directly to you, you'll be a bit more independent and you won't have to rely so much on your parents or carers. We want to encourage you to continue learning because skills and qualifications mean you're likely to earn more money when you get a job. Learning can also help you work out what you enjoy, what you're good at and what you might want to do in life.
Having at least five good GCSEs or their equivalent, like an NVQ level 2, really helps you get on in life - research proves it. Thanks to EMA, money need not be a barrier to helping you do well, and your hard work and success will be recognised by cash bonuses too.
For further information please visit the Education Maintenance Allowance Website or ring the EMA Helpline on 0808 10 16219.
