Hi mate I'm in the same boat as you minus the degree, but I used up my level 2 funding on plastering. I've been through hours of trying to workout options, I've spoken to colleges, national careers service, and the skills funding agency. So here's what I know sorry in advanced but they make it so complicated that you just give up and don't even bother lol.
You may be okay on the funding part because colleges and uni's are seperate but I would check just to be safe.
Now if you go to college only (2 days a week) you would only come out with a bog standard diploma 6129 (classed as plumbing studies), now colleges will tell you that this is a proper qualification, it's not!!!! it is classed as a theory based qualification/certificate and is half of what makes up a full NVQ, they tell you what you want to hear because that means funding for them. I'm sure that people have done these courses and gotten jobs out of them but ask anyone on here they will tell you that it's an NVQ that you want.
Now apprenticeships (1 day college 4 days working) as it stands only 17-19 year olds get fully funded apprenticeships anyone older then your employer has to pay half the course fees (prices vary from college to college) also your employer has to take you on fulltime contract on their books and they have to be registered with the skills funding agency. As you can imagine no employer would be prepared to take anyone on they have to pay for, let alone train up when they can take on a fully funded 18 year old and get a possible grant out of it aswell.
can you pay for it yourself? Nope! I got told that your employer has to pay and you can't.
can you give money to your employer? Nope! if your employer is a small business they would have to account for the money appearing then dissapearing from their account, otherwise they would have to pay tax on that money.
saved the best till last, like I said the NVQ and apprenticeship in general is worth a hell of alot more than just a college diploma, if your 24 and over when you do level 3 you can get a funded loan (that you pay back over time) for the college diploma, yet you can not get the same +24 loan to pay for the NVQ level 3 even though you would be more employable at the end.
Sorry if this isn't what you want to hear but it's the way it is, feel free to traul through countless websites/phone calls and waste your time like I did. You could go talk to your local college see what they say but always aim for the NVQ, weigh up your options mate try get on with someone and get invaluable real world experience.
Best of luck with it
down but not out