VocTech Together Support Programme

Build the confidence and capability to adopt learning technology that works.

Introducing the VocTech Together Support Programme

Many organisations can see the potential of technology to improve how people gain skills for work, but putting it into practice can be difficult.

It’s hard to know where to start, choosing the right solution can feel risky, and implementation often takes more time and capacity than expected.

This programme is designed to help you move forward with confidence.

  • It supports organisations to make smarter, lower-risk decisions
  • It focuses on practical steps, not theory
  • It helps you move from ideas to a clear plan for action

You don’t need to have the solution already. This programme helps you work out what will actually work for your organisation, starting with the problem, not the technology.

What we mean by ‘learning technlogy’

In simple terms, we’re talking about digital tools that help people develop the skills they need for work. These could include:

  • Online or blended training
  • Digital tools to support teaching or assessment
  • Platforms that make learning more accessible or flexible
  • Tools that help you reach more learners or improve outcomes

You don’t need to be a tech organisation, or have all the answers. You don’t need to be familiar with VocTech or learning technology to take part. If you’re trying to improve skills for work and think technology could help, this programme is for you.

Why Ufi?

If you haven’t come across us before, Ufi VocTech Trust is a charity focused on improving skills for work through the smart use of technology. We call this vocational technology, or VocTech for short.

Over the past two decades we’ve helped more than 300 UK organisations with over £38million in funding and support to develop tools and programmes that benefit over 1 million learners each year.

We use our experience to help organisations succeed with learning technology, not just experiment.

About the programme

The VocTech Together Support Programme is a structured, intensive, practical programme helping organisations adopt vocational technology in the right way. You’ll take part in weekly sessions, get one-to-one mentoring, and use structured tools and templates to build a clear plan.

Through a mix of expert input, mentoring and peer learning, you will:

  • Clearly define the skills challenges facing your learners
  • Explore and compare relevant technology options
  • Test ideas in a low-risk way
  • Develop a clear, evidence-informed plan for next steps

This is not about buying tools, it’s about making sure technology works for your organisation and your learners.

Two adults looking at a laptop in a library.

Timetable

  • Applications open: 6 July

  • Applications close: 20 July

  • Decisions: early September

  • Online webinar induction: 9 September

  • First support programme webinar: 28 September

What you’ll gain

Taking part gives you the time, support and structure to understand your learning challenge and develop the right approach to using technology to address it.

1. A structured support programme

You’ll take part in a 10-week programme designed to guide you step by step.

  • Weekly expert-led sessions
  • Peer learning with other organisations
  • One-to-one mentoring support

2. Practical tools and guidance

You’ll be supported to make informed decisions at every stage.

  • Frameworks to understand your problem clearly
  • Support to explore the market and shortlist options
  • Guidance on planning, testing and evaluating solutions

3. A clear plan for what’s next

By the end of the programme, you will have a clear direction.

  • A structured, evidence-based approach you can reuse
  • A plan for implementing or testing your chosen approach
  • Confidence to continue independently

4. Funding to support your time

Taking part requires meaningful commitment, and the funding is designed to support this.

  • Grant funding of up to £10,000 per organisation on successful completion of the programme
  • Can be used for staff time and related costs
  • May include licences, essential hardware or specialist input

This funding supports your exploration, planning and adoption, not building new tools.

What you’ll cover

The programme follows a clear journey from understanding your problem through to planning your next steps.

Over the 10 weeks, you will work through:

  • Defining your problem and understanding your learners, workforce or community

  • Exploring barriers and opportunities

  • Identifying what you need from a VocTech solution

  • Researching and comparing options

  • Planning a pilot

  • Embedding and sustaining change

  • First support programme webinar: 28 September

At every stage, the focus is on:

  • Practical activity, not theory
  • Evidence-informed decision making
  • Real-world application within your organisation

Content will be adjusted as we progress through the programme together, ensuring the support we provide adapts to developing needs and understand.

Who's it for?

This programme is designed for organisations working to improve skills for work.

It is a good fit if you:

  • Work with UK-based adults (16+)
  • Deliver or support vocational skills for work
  • Have identified a clear learning challenge
  • Want to use technology to improve outcomes

We are particularly interested in organisations that are:

  • Small or resource-constrained
  • Ready to commit time and effort
  • Supported by senior leadership
  • Open to organisational change

Who's it not for?

This programme is focused and not suitable for every organisation.

We will not offer places to:

  • Individuals
  • Schools, FE colleges or universities
  • Organisations previously funded by Ufi
  • Organisations focused on higher-level learning (level 4 and above)
  • Research-only projects
  • Organisations not focused on skills for work
  • Organisations or projects focused on learners outside the UK

Check your eligibility

Not sure if you’re eligible? Our checker gives an early indication of whether your organisation could be a good fit for the Support Programme.

This checker can’t say whether your application will be successful or not. Click the button to begin.

Check your eligibility

What’s expected

This is a supportive programme, but it does require genuine commitment.

You will need to:

  • Attend all sessions across the 10 week programme
  • Complete activities in your own time

You will get the most value if you:

  • Come with a clear problem to solve
  • Engage openly with the process
  • Involve the right people from your organisation
  • Have the support of senior leadership to take part fully

At the end of the programme, you will be expected to produce:

  • A clear, evidence-informed plan for next steps
  • Or a set of lessons learned if you discover that technology is not the right solution for your learning challenge

How to apply?

We want to make sure this programme is the right fit for your organisation, and that you get the most value from it.

If you think it might be for you, there are a few simple steps to follow.

The first step is to use our eligibility checker.

This short, guided tool helps you decide if the programme could be a good fit for your organisation.

It will ask about:

  • Who you work with
  • The type of skills you support
  • The problem you want to solve
  • Your readiness to take part
  • It highlights whether you’re likely to be a strong fit
  • It helps you understand what we’re looking for
  • It saves you time before applying

We strongly recommend using the checker before doing anything else.

Eligibility Checker

The workshops have now finished.

Our pre-application workshops provide the opportunity to hear more about the programme and ask questions to our team.

If you missed them, or want to re-cap, you can watch the presentation recording here:

After the workshop, you can decide whether to apply.

As part of your application, we will ask you to:

  • Clearly describe the problem you want to solve
  • Show evidence that the problem exists
  • Explain how technology might help
  • Outline the impact you want to achieve

Applications must be completed via the MyUfi portal. This is where you can access the application form and questions, save your draft and return to it at any time while the application window is open.

MyUfi

We do not accept late applications

If you experience technical problems while completing or submitting your application, you must tell us as soon as possible via info@ufi.co.uk.

Up to 40 organisations will be selected to take part in this programme.

We plan to make all the weekly webinar content public and applicants will receive further information in early September. This will mean unsuccessful applicants will be able follow along and have access to the materials and the homework templates but without the individual mentor support.

Grant Terms and Conditions

All applicants to the Support Programme must agree to our general Grant Terms and Conditions. When applying for grant funding please ensure you follow our guidelines on the use of AI.

FAQs

The VocTech Together Support Programme is an intensive support programme to help small, resource constrained organisations make smarter, lower-risk decisions about vocational learning technology by building the capability to identify real skills challenges, test solutions in practice, and adopt digital learning tools in ways that deliver measurable impact.

It will help you explore how technology could address your skills challenge.

The programme is for organisations that help adults gain skills for work, have a clear vocational learning problem, and want to explore how technology could help address it. It is particularly aimed at small, resource-constrained organisations.

The call is open to charities, trade bodies, learning providers (except FE Colleges), small employers, small private companies, community interest companies and other not for profit organisations, except those previously funded by Ufi.

Please check the eligibility checker for this call to see if you are eligible.

Ufi does not fund:

  • Organisations with beneficiaries solely outside the UK.​
  • Individuals. ​
  • Schools.
  • HE or FE organisations.
  • Organisations previously funded by Ufi. ​
  • Organisations where the learners or subjects taught are outside Ufi’s remit:
    – Focusing solely on skills above level 3 or equivalent​​.
    – ​Teaching generic enterprise or entrepreneurship skills​.
    – Teaching wellness or mental health improvement​.
    – Teaching non-work related skills e.g. hobbies.

The programme is designed to support smaller organisations to develop a clear, evidence-based plan for adopting technology to improve skills for work. It is not aimed at FE colleges, which typically have more complex systems and different needs.

Through our Strategic Partnership with the Association of Colleges, we are actively working with stakeholders across the FE sector to support digital transformation and the adoption of vocational technology.

You can engage with our work here: ufi.co.uk/how-we-work/strategic-partnerships/aoc/

Not primarily.

The VocTech Together Support Programme is designed to help organisations develop the skills to adopt and implement learning technology in order to address a skills challenge affecting their learners, workforce or community. It is intended for organisations that want support to explore options, make informed decisions and develop a practical implementation plan.

While organisations developing technology are welcome to apply, the programme is not primarily designed to fund product development or the creation of new technology. The associated grant funding is intended to support participation, planning and adoption activities.

You’re still welcome to submit an application to the Support Programme, but we’d want to be transparent that applications centred on product development probably won’t align as closely with the programme’s objectives and assessment criteria.

If your goal is to create a new product, service or significant technology enhancement, our VocTech Activate grant programme may be a better fit, as it is specifically focused on supporting innovation and development.

The programme focuses on adult learners (16+) in the UK who are gaining skills for work or upskilling while in work.
It is generally aimed at skills up to level 3 (or equivalent).

We focus on vocational skills at level 3 or below (or equivalent).
In general, this includes skills developed through further education, workplace training or equivalent vocational routes. In Scotland, this would typically align with learning at SCQF level 6 or below.
We do not fund learners at higher education level (university or level 4 and above).

You need to identify a clear vocational learning problem, explain the impact of that problem, and show evidence that it exists. Please join a pre-application webinar where we will talk through the detail of the programme, the application form, and how to make a good application.

No. You should have done some initial thinking about what might help, but you do not need a detailed plan at this stage.

The programme includes weekly expert webinars, individual mentoring , and some peer group learning and discussion. We will suppy templates and resources for you to complete in between the weekly webinars to help you build a portfolio of evidence towards solving your vocational learning problem. You will work through a structured process from defining your problem through to evaluating potential solutions, and planning for purchase and implementation.

Explore the programme outline.

You should expect to commit around 1 to 1.5 days per week for 8-10 weeks. We know this is a big time commitment, which is why we are offering grant funding to cover the costs of your time.

We have the funds to support up to 40 organisations in this call.

Your application should clearly describe your vocational learning problem, explain the impact on your learners, outline how technology might help, and show your commitment to taking part in the programme.

Yes. You can sign up to attend a pre-application workshop.

Organisations that attend a pre-application workshop are much more likely to be successful.

See details here of How to apply.

 

When applications open, you can apply through the MyUfi portal.

See details here of How to apply.

Organisations that sucessfully complete the programme will receive up to £10,000 grant funding.

The funding can be used to cover your time and the costs associated with taking part in the programme, and potentially also licences, hardware, customisation or specialist support.

Up to £10,000 grant funding per organisation is available, and it will be paid on successful completion of the programme, when evidence of expenditure and participation is submitted.

By the end of the programme each organisation will have a clear, evidence‑informed plan for next steps, a better understanding of the options available, and the confidence to adopt vocational learning technology independently.

We plan to make all the weekly webinar content public and applicants will receive further information in early September. This will mean unsuccessful applicants will be able follow along and have access to the materials and the homework templates but without the individual mentor support.

Part of VocTech Together

The Support Programme forms part of VocTech Together, a £2.85 million programme designed to catalyse the adoption of vocational technology and transform skills development across the UK.

Explore VocTech Together