Becoming a certified NDT engineer from scratch, or indeed advancing your experienced NDT career to Level 3, can be a costly business for a self sponsored individual. There is first of all the training, examination and certification fees, then add on to this the cost of NDT reference books, and also do not forget the travel and accomodation expenses whilst you are on a course, plus the fact that you are not earning a wage whilst you are studying. The combined cost of gaining these extra qualifications could be enough to prevent you from going ahead and coming certified, it may even dissuade you from entering the industry. However help is at hand, there are a number of sources through which financial help is available.

Once such source is the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). They offer a service known as a Career Development Loan, which can be used to borrow enough money to pay for all the costs of certification (including training, examination, accomodation, reference materials, travel etc.). Loans between £300 and £8000 may be taken, and DfES pay the interest on the loans whilst studying is taking place, and for one month afterwards. The loan may then be repaid over an agreed period with a fixed rate of interest. The loans are available through Barclays, The Co-operative, and Royal Bank of Scotland.