8.—(1) The conditions referred to in regulation 6(3)(b) are that—
(a)the person concerned is an eligible trainee, that is to say he is undertaking an approved course of training;
(b)his status as an eligible trainee has not terminated; and
(c)he is not a gap year student or undertaking a sandwich course.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1) and subject to paragraph (3), a course is an approved course of training if it is—
(a)provided by an institution pursuant to arrangements made by the Department for Employment and Learning under and for the purposes of section 1 of the Employment and Training (Northern Ireland) Act 1950(1);
(b)one which leads to a recognised qualification for employment or employment of a particular type;
(c)of at least one academic year’s duration; and
(d)a course where persons undertaking it are normally required by the institution providing it to attend (whether at premises of the institution or elsewhere) for a period of at least 24 weeks in each year thereof and in each week that person is required to attend he is expected to undertake periods of study, tuition or work amounting to at least 21 hours on average.
(3) A person’s status as an eligible trainee terminates—
(a)at the end of the academic year in which the trainee completes the approved course of training;
(b)when the trainee withdraws from his course; or
(c)when the trainee abandons or is expelled from his course.