A service leaver can move into controls engineering by combining three things: resettlement support from the Career Transition Partnership (CTP), training funded through the Individual Resettlement Training Cost (IRTC) grant and Enhanced Learning Credits (ELC), and the technical experience many forces engineering trades already provide. ELC pays up to £1,000 or £2,000 a year, for up to three years, towards a qualification at RQF Level 3 or above with an ELCAS-approved provider, and for people who left on or after 1 April 2016 it can be used for five years after discharge.
What is the Career Transition Partnership and who runs it?
The CTP is the official Armed Forces resettlement service. gov.uk describes it as a partnering agreement between the Ministry of Defence and Reed in Partnership. It offers workshops, career guidance, training courses, a jobs portal and access to employers through Reed in Partnership and the Forces Employment Charity.
What you get depends on how long you served:
- Core Resettlement Programme (CRP): more than six years' service. Available from two years before discharge, including up to 35 days of Graduated Resettlement Time, and for two years after.
- Employment Support Programme: four to six years' service, from two years before to two years after discharge.
- CTP Future Horizons: for those leaving before four years, with support for two years after discharge.
- CTP Assist: for people on recovery duties and others facing significant transition challenges, regardless of time served.
Start early. Two years sounds long, but booking courses, sitting assessments and building a CV around civilian job titles all take time.
How do ELC, IRTC and SLC pay for training?
They are three separate schemes, and the rules on combining them matter.
| Route | What it pays for | Eligibility (as of 30 October 2026) | Where to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| CTP resettlement | Workshops, guidance, CTP courses, jobs portal | CRP over 6 years; ESP 4 to 6 years; Future Horizons under 4 years | gov.uk: Career Transition Partnership |
| IRTC grant | Contribution to resettlement training costs, up to £534 (JSP 822) | Service leavers in resettlement; ask your SRA | Your SRA and JSP 822 |
| ELC Lower Tier | Up to £1,000 a year for up to 3 years, Level 3+ | 6 years' qualifying service (4 years if completed before 1 April 2017) | ELCAS |
| ELC Aggregated Lower Tier | A single award of up to £3,000, Level 3+ | 6 years' qualifying service on or after 1 April 2016, no earlier Lower Tier claim | ELCAS and Education staff |
| ELC Higher Tier | Up to £2,000 a year for up to 3 years, Level 3+ | 8 years' qualifying service | ELCAS and Education staff |
| Standard Learning Credits | 80% of fees, up to £175 per financial year, refunded on completion | Serving personnel, through Education staff | Discover My Benefits |
The ELC rules come from JSP 822 Volume 9. ELC funds up to 80% of fees, and you pay at least 20% yourself; for resettlement only, you can use your IRTC to cover that 20% when the course is with an approved ELC provider. ELC must lead to a nationally recognised qualification at RQF Level 3 or above (SCQF Level 6 or above in Scotland), and the course must start before your entitlement ends: five years after discharge if you left on or after 1 April 2016, ten years if you left earlier, and ten years for some medical discharges. Registration is not automatic, so check with your Education staff or SRA that your ELCAS account exists. SLC cannot fund parts of a course that ELC is already funding.
How do you check whether a provider is ELCAS-approved?
Use the provider search on the ELCAS website, which lets you search by provider name, subject and delivery method. JSP 822 says each provider and each course has to be approved, and that ELC and IRTC cannot be combined for courses from a non-approved provider. Ask any provider for its ELCAS provider number and the approved course title, then check both yourself.
To be plain about us: EDWartens UK is not, as far as we know, an ELCAS-approved provider, and our courses are not regulated Level 3 qualifications. Check the ELCAS provider list rather than taking any provider's word for it, including ours.
Which forces trades map best to controls and maintenance?
The trades closest to civilian controls and maintenance work are the electrical, electronic and mechanical engineering trades in each service. Examples include REME electronics and vehicle trades in the Army, Engineering Technicians (marine and weapon engineering) in the Royal Navy, and aircraft technicians (mechanical and avionics) in the RAF. Their daily work, fault finding on complex systems under procedure, permits and isolation, and planned maintenance, is the core of a civilian maintenance or controls technician role.
What varies is how that experience is recorded. Look at what you hold in civilian terms: apprenticeship standards, Level 3 diplomas, NVQs and any professional registration. The IET, for example, runs a registration scheme for REME: for EngTech it asks for an NVQ Level 3 in your trade or Class One status and a suitable qualification at Level 3 or above, and applications are possible up to twelve months after leaving with agreement. The IET runs similar schemes for the Royal Navy and RAF; contact its armed forces team before you leave, while endorsement is still easy to get.
Be careful with one assumption: forces electrical experience does not automatically give you an ECS card or JIB grade. If you want installation work on construction sites, read our ECS, JIB and AM2 guide; the Experienced Worker Assessment may be the route.
What do UK controls employers ask for?
Read the adverts rather than generic lists. In maintenance and controls adverts you will often see an electrical or electromechanical background, fault-finding experience, PLC knowledge (often Siemens or Allen-Bradley), BS 7671 or the 18th Edition, shift patterns, and sometimes a security clearance. Treat that as a pattern to test, not a rule.
Pull 20 adverts from our maintenance jobs board and PLC and automation jobs, and tick off which requirements you meet. Use the UK Engineering Pay Index and salary pages to see median advertised pay by role before you negotiate. If the adverts ask for the 18th Edition, our 2382-26 exam guide compares prices. For funding outside the forces schemes, see funded PLC training in England.
How do you start with free courses and the Lab?
Do the low-cost groundwork before resettlement time runs out, so that funded training goes on the qualification that matters:
- Translate your CV. Replace service terms with civilian ones: "planned maintenance", "fault diagnosis", "permit to work", "safe isolation".
- Learn PLC basics free. Start with the free Siemens TIA Portal course and the PLC troubleshooting and maintenance course.
- Practise in the browser. The EDWartens 3D Lab runs PLC and panel exercises without software installs.
- Try the job. The Maintenance Electrical Engineer job simulation and PLC Programmer simulation are practice, not employment, and show you what the day looks like.
- Then spend ELC and IRTC on a Level 3 or higher qualification from an ELCAS-approved provider that your target adverts actually ask for.
The career changers hub collects free courses for people starting over, and our how to become a PLC engineer guide covers the wider route. Each free course has an optional £19 certificate, which is not a regulated qualification. If you later want live instruction, our five-day live online Professional Module covers Siemens TIA Portal, HMI and WinCC SCADA; it is self-funded or employer-funded and not ELCAS-funded.
