Rise in Springboard courses that improve job prospects

Applications have opened for courses on which more than 8,000 jobseekers and working people can improve their prospects of changing careers or beginning new ones.

There are 245 courses available to applicants, an increase of 37 on last year, on the Government-funded Springboard+ programme.

The expansion of some existing courses is contributing to an overall 25% rise in the number of places available, from less than 6,500 to 8,088.