Ufi and The King’s Trust announce Strategic Partnership
Deploying technology to improve employability opportunities for young people.
Ufi VocTech Trust and The King’s Trust have announced a multi-year Strategic Partnership to improve labour market opportunities for young people across the UK. The partnership aims to harness technology to transform the delivery of The King’s Trust’s skills and employability programmes, advocating for systemic change in the UK's skills landscape.
Currently, over 1 million young people aged 16 to 24 are not in employment or full-time education. There is also substantial evidence suggesting the repercussions of events in the past few years, including the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit, could have a detrimental and long-term impact on our future workforce. This impact will disproportionally affect those young people who are already furthest from opportunity.
While challenges to learning are complex, solutions to overcome them needn’t be.
Vasilia Nicolaou, Head of Philanthropy at The King’s Trust, said:
“Young people today face significant challenges in accessing employment and education, and we must do more to support them. By working with Ufi, we can harness technology to improve engagement, streamline our processes, and ensure more young people get the support they need to succeed.”
The King's Trust help young people from disadvantaged communities and those facing the greatest adversity by supporting them to build the confidence and skills to live, learn and earn.
Research from The King’s Trust has shown that young people want simplified, self-service experiences of The Trust’s employment programmes with easy access to support when needed. The Strategic Partnership with Ufi will support The King’s Trust in implementing a digital transformation strategy across the organisation, driving forward new approaches to learning and pathways to employment, aligning with the needs of young people today.
The partnership will focus on increasing youth engagement, reducing dropout rates, and improving labour market outcomes, particularly for those facing multiple barriers in life. Ufi and The King’s Trust will also explore opportunities to share their learnings and insights with government, other charities, and policymakers, using our experience to advocate for wider change in policy and practice across the UK.
Anthony Painter, Director of Strategic Engagement at Ufi, said:
“This Strategic Partnership is an exciting opportunity to demonstrate how digital solutions can create real impact. Together with The King’s Trust, we aim to make skills development more accessible, scalable, and effective for young people across the UK.”
By combining Ufi's expertise in vocational technology and The King's Trust's extensive experience supporting young people, this collaboration aspires to create lasting, positive impacts on youth employment across the UK.
