If you're looking to apply for an Individual Learning Account and can't wait for the post, BlueU have an online form which you can complete.

It's doesn't completely remove the legwork involved, though - BlueU will send you the completed form to sign with an envelope, which you'll then need to send on to the Individual Learning Account Centre.

One thing to note is that because the government is particularly keen to encourage the growth of IT skills, IT courses such as those offered by BlueU are being offered at a substantial discount to those setting up an Individual Learning Account.

All blueU courses are eligible for a subsidy with some attracting an additional 80% discount (see the full list on the site), which does mean that once an additional contribution of £25 has been made, some courses will effectively be free. If buying online, the site is set up to calculate the discounted price the student needs to pay.

Subsidised learning for ILAs will be only available to the first million people to register, so it's well worth considering for anyone planning to sign up for some formal learning over the next few months.

Read about our experiences of setting up an ILA in 'A tale of Individual Learning Accounts: chapters one and two'.