Applications for Ufi's 2021 VocTech Challenge are opening on 29 June, in which people across the vocational skills and training provision can collaborate with tech enthusiasts to tackle problems within their community.
Ufi supports the delivery of adult vocational skills through digital technology. Its aim is to use funding to catalyse change across the UK, so that significant scale can be achieved in digital vocational learning for adults.
In November 2020, the big challenge Ufi foresaw was that the communities who are not traditionally well served by mainstream vocational skills and training provisions, were more at risk than ever from being excluded from education and training, and being able to access employment.
In response, the 2021 VocTech Challenge is being launched to explore where Ufi can best use its resources to make change happen.
One of the key issues highlighted by Ufi was how confidence, or lack of it, was a major barrier to vocational learning for those most at risk from economic and digital exclusion.
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This targeted grant call is looking for projects that use technology in ways that support learner confidence. There are a number of current and emerging technologies that could be developed or deployed to improve accessibility, create a supportive learning environment, offer increased personalisation, and motivation to start or keep on learning.
Therefore, the challenge for this fund is as follows:
How can VocTech address barriers and build bridges to create a step-change in learner confidence and motivation, leading to better outcomes for the learner, for the employer and for society as a whole?
This Challenge is focused on adults impacted by the digital divide and furthest away from learning so they can gain the confidence they need to get the skills they need for work.
Ufi is interested in groups that are currently least likely to engage with learning, to understand the drivers and barriers that they face.
It is not about a subtle improvement in what is on offer, it is about creating a step change in improving confidence and motivation so that learners are able to take action to get the skills they need for work.
The output of Ufi's ‘discovery’ phase is captured in the VocTech Challenge Green Paper and our White Paper sets out Ufi’s commitment to taking some of the issues identified forward. Applicants to the fund are strongly encouraged to read these before applying.
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An initial £10k grant is available for the Define phase (both project types), followed by:
Ufi VocTech Activate – Grants of between £15k - £50k to test early stage ideas.
Ufi VocTech Impact – Grants of up to £150k for VocTech solutions which can deliver benefit to a large number of learners.
Applications for the 2021 VocTech Challenge will open on 29 June and close a month later, on on 29 July 2021, 5pm GMT.
To find out more, including details on how to apply, visit Ufi's website here.
