BAE CWMBRAN - CAA regulated course. If you get through you will have the same Student ATCO licence as anybody else from a CAA approved course.
As for looking for jobs. It better to write to the unit/s you want to work at. Its difficult out there at the moment anyway (especially with un-validated ADC), but the fear is someone coming to 'just' validate and leaving afterwards with a valid ticket and going to the place they wanted to go in the first place, the moment a vacancy arises.
Forget anyone allowing you to validate without actually employing you. This is being discussed on another thread, and insurance prevents this is most if not all cases.
The colleges quite often hear of who maybe looking at any particular time.
Good luck. Its a long road, and as a self funder a financially risky one. I assume you have tried NATS?