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How you repay your Professional and Career Development Loan

Repayments start one month after you’ve left your course. You’ll agree a schedule of monthly repayments with the bank when you take out the loan.

Remember to keep the bank up to date with any change to your personal details or financial circumstances.

Interest on Professional and Career Development Loans

Real experiences: showing drive

For one woman, a qualification was the first step in building her own business...

"[It] truly changed my life... I have been able to develop a successful career I love as a driving instructor"

- Ann Logan

The Skills Funding Agency will pay the interest on your Professional and Career Development Loan while you’re studying – and for one month after you’ve left your course.

After this, you’ll pay interest at the rate fixed when you took out the loan. Interest rates on the loans are set so they’re competitive with other ‘unsecured’ personal loans that are commercially available.

Currently, banks offer Professional and Career Development Loans at a reduced customer rate of 9.9% per annum, equivalent to a typical APR of 5-6% over the lifetime of the loan. However, interest rates may vary from bank to bank. For further information, consult the participating banks.

Checking that you can afford repayments

It’s vital to think carefully about how much you need to borrow and how much you can afford to repay.

Get together details of what your income and outgoings are likely to be once you’ve finished your course, and use them to work out a budget. Be realistic about how much you’ll have left over each month to make repayments. You must start repayments one month after your course has finished.

You’ll find interactive tools to help you set up a budget in ‘Budgeting’.

• Budgeting (money, tax and benefits section)

If you’re having trouble making repayments

It’s important to speak to your bank early on if you think you’ll have difficulty making repayments on your loan.

Depending on your circumstances, the bank may be willing to let you postpone repayments – but you’ll need to agree this with them before repayments are due to start.

• Managing debt (money, tax and benefits section)

If you don’t complete your course

Even if you don’t complete your course, you’ll still be responsible for paying back the loan. This applies whatever the reason you don’t finish – even if it’s not your decision (for example, because the course provider goes out of business).

So it’s important to make sure the course is right for you – and to check out the course provider.

See ‘How to apply for a Professional and Career Development Loan’ for help deciding whether a Professional and Career Development Loan is right for you.

Get an application pack

• How to apply for a Professional and Career Development Loan

More useful links

• Unsecured loans and other ways of borrowing money (money, tax and benefits section)