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Citizens Advice Specialist Support training

Information in this section

What Specialist Support does

Citizens Advice Specialist Support runs a programme of training courses taking place across England and Wales. We teach in three subject areas: employment law, welfare benefits and money advice.

We also provide a consultancy service in welfare benefits, money advice, housing and employment law plus training and other support services from offices in Cardiff, Leeds and Wolverhampton. This includes producing Adviser magazine.

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Who our training is for

Our training courses are open to everyone and designed for people currently working or volunteering as advisers.  Every year we train 1000s of delegates from solicitors firms, trade unions, voluntary organisations, MP’s offices, charities and private companies. We ensure that learning includes practical examples and case studies that are highly relevant and can be applied as soon as you return to your workplace.

Course levels

Within the three subject areas, we offer training at different levels:

Which course you attend will depend on your own experience and needs, and those of your staff and colleagues. Before booking, you can contact us for help finding a course that best meets you objectives or to find out any information you may need.

All of the courses delivered in our programme carry Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours, with 5 hours CPD for a one day course. For more information please see course details and / or visit the course accreditation section.

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The form the training takes

Unless specified, all of our courses are one-day courses. A training day starts at 10.00am and finishes at 4.00pm. Our courses offer a mixture of tutor-led sessions and case studies with group exercises for attendees. Most courses are accompanied with a handbook for your reference.

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Course locations

Our training is mainly delivered from city centre venues in Birmingham, Cardiff, Exeter, Leeds, London, Manchester, and Preston. If you have any specific requirements please do let us know when you book.

We can also provide in-house training at a location of your choice.

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Course costs

We have a range of charges depending on the type of course and the nature of your organisation. If you are not sure what type of  organisation you are, please contact us.

We offer a 10% discount on any bookings made 3 months or more in advance of the course date.

Costs per person for courses within the current terms (October 2012 - March 2013)

Type of organisation1 day2 day3 dayHalf-day*
Citizens Advice Bureaux£80£130£200£50
Other voluntary sector£100£180£260£65
Public sector, housing associations and other registered charities£150£290£390£95
Solicitors/other private bodies£235£430£640£150

* The half-day tariff is for our Welfare reform for non-benefit advisers course.

We offer a range of ‘Tax credits, child benefit and employer-paid benefits' HMRC courses free of charge to the voluntary and community sector organisations.

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Booking a place

Choose the course you want to book. Complete and submit you booking request using our online booking form no later than two working days before the required course date.

We will email you a booking confirmation, venue map and directions within 48 working hours of receipt. An invoice will follow within five to ten working days. You should bring the booking confirmation to the course.

Before booking a place on any of our courses, please view our terms and conditions (Microsoft Word 43kb) (43kb).

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Cancellations and transfers

What if a course is cancelled?

Please note that Citizens Advice reserves the right to cancel courses at short notice. In these circumstances we would offer a full refund of the course fees. We also reserve the right to change venues, trainers and the programme if necessary. You will be informed of any relevant changes to the advertised programme by e-mail. If you have a confirmed place on a course and that course has been cancelled, we will also attempt to contact you by telephone and e-mail.

If you have any queries please contact us.

What if I need to cancel?

If you need to cancel your place, you must inform us in writing by letter, email or fax. If we receive your cancellation more than 10 working days before the course delivery date, we will refund your course fee, minus a £25 administrative fee. If you cancel your place with less than 10 working days notice, you will be charged the full course fee. Cancelling a place on one course more than 10 working days before its delivery date and transferring onto another course will also incur a £25 fee. It is not possible to transfer onto another course at less than 10 working days notice.

Please note, there is no charge for you to change the name of the delegate booked on a course, so in these circumstances we would encourage you to send a colleague in your place.

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Contact us

For more information about our training courses, please contact us

Citizens Advice