Annual Review: 2025
Putting our strategy into action
2025 at a glance
Introduction
“As technology continues to reshape how people learn, work and access opportunities, the need for effective, inclusive approaches to skills development has never been greater. This challenge sits at the heart of Ufi’s work.
In the first year of our 2025-2030 strategy, we strengthened our focus on the adoption of vocational technology, alongside supporting innovation through funding, investment, partnerships and influence to help more people gain the skills they need for work.
This review highlights some of the ways Ufi has helped make change happen in 2025, supporting organisations to test new ideas, helping proven approaches have greater impact, and working with partners across the UK to ensure that more people can develop the skills they need for work, now and in the future.”
Rebecca Garrod-Waters
Chief Executive
Dominic Gill
Chair of Trustees
Supporting innovation in action
In 2025, Ufi awarded £1 million in grant funding to organisations using technology to improve adult vocational learning, particularly for people furthest from opportunity.
Supporting projects from early ideas to near-market solutions, we help organisations develop and scale digital approaches that widen access to skills, improve learning outcomes and create lasting impact.
“We back organisations which are using technology in thoughtful, practical ways to tackle barriers to learning and skills development. By supporting innovation at different stages, from new ideas through to established solutions, we help grow approaches with the potential to reach more learners and deliver meaningful impact.”
- Jane Holmes, Associate Director of Grants
VocTech Activate
Through VocTech Activate, Ufi awarded almost £1m in grant funding to 16 organisations developing innovative approaches to vocational learning and workforce skills.
These projects address urgent challenges facing learners and employers today, including digital exclusion, skills shortages, access to deskless learning in hospitality, and effective training for frontline workers.
“The VocTech Activate grant has been the most productive six months of our start-up journey so far. From shared briefings with the cohort to regular mentor check-ins, we felt genuinely supported by a community that understood our mission and helped keep us focused and accountable. Completing the programme feels like the start of something bigger, and we’re excited to continue our involvement as we move into our next stage of growth.”
- Jonah Werth, Co-Founder of Blend
VocTech Ignite
Alongside our grant calls, Ufi continues to deliver VocTech Ignite, supporting organisations with promising ideas that have real potential but are not yet ready for full Ufi grant funding. Through early, targeted support, Ignite helps teams make key decisions, test their approach and develop their ideas into stronger, more viable projects.
In 2025, 11 organisations were offered support through VocTech Ignite, of which 4 took up the opportunity to access Ufi’s expert support, advice and mentoring.
“Knowing that Ufi saw potential in our idea was amazing and working with an expert like Kev Jones was exactly what we needed at the right time. Without Kev we would not have an app at this stage. Every time we met he would share his knowledge and bring something new to the table that we hadn’t considered.”
- Josephine Gilbert-Hansom, I am Back
VocTech Challenge Grant Fund
The six projects supported through our £3 million VocTech Challenge: Skills for an economy in transition programme continued to develop solutions that tackle barriers to adult learning and workforce participation.
Delivered in partnership with Learning and Work Institute, the grant fund brought together organisations working on three systemic challenges: employer integration, pathways into and within work, and vocational language barriers.
“I have not yet come across an organisation that has a greater understanding of the adult skills sector and the role of technology in vocational training. Ufi have been both supportive and rigorous in their approach to managing projects and I have learned a great deal from being part of the Ufi network.”
- Ann Attridge, CEO of Kilk2Learn
Powering local solutions
The barriers to learning and work vary from place to place. Through our VocTech Challenge: Skills for an economy in transition, Ufi works with local partners to understand local needs and develop solutions that reflect the strengths and opportunities of each community.
In 2025, collaborations in Hull, Belfast, Aberdeen and Newport continued to progress, using local insight to develop practical, technology-enabled routes into learning and work, from micro-credentials and volunteering pathways to place-based referral and discovery services.
“Our place-based work shows why VocTech succeeds when it is tailored to those who need it. By working with local partners who understand their communities, we can support solutions that respond to real need, build stronger pathways into learning and employment, and create models that others can learn from.”
- Caroline O’Donnell, Grants Programme Manager
Place-based collaborations
As part of the VocTech Challenge programme, Ufi and L&W launched place-based collaborations in Hull, Belfast, Aberdeen and Newport to explore how VocTech can help to overcome local barriers to adult participation in learning.
Working closely with councils, colleges and community stakeholders, each city is developing scalable solutions to improve employment pathways, widen access to learning and boost long-term opportunities for diverse learners.
“The level of support provided by Ufi has been invaluable to the delivery of the place-based project in Newport. Regular monthly catch ups with our Ufi Project Manager helped us to consolidate our findings, explore new approaches, and prompted new discussions to further develop the project.”
- Karina Scott, Contract Manager at Adult Learning Wales
Working together for greater impact
Many of the challenges facing vocational learning cannot be solved by one organisation alone. Through our Strategic Partnerships, Ufi works with organisations across the skills, employment, education and technology sectors to share learning, test new ideas and drive wider change.
These partnerships continued to generate new insights, support innovation and strengthen connections across the skills system.
“Building the conditions for change through Strategic Partnerships is a core part of Ufi’s approach. By working alongside organisations across the skills, employment and technology landscape, we can combine expertise, share learning and create opportunities for impact that reach far beyond what any one organisation could achieve alone.”
- Anthony Painter, Director of Strategic Engagement
Digital Badging Commission
The Digital Badging Commission, convened by Ufi and delivered with the RSA, brings together leaders from education, employment, technology and policy to advance the adoption of digital badges and micro-credentials across the UK.
In 2025, the Commission reached a major milestone with the launch of a national Digital Badging Toolkit and practical recommendations to help education providers, employers and policymakers build a more transparent, skills-led system.
Investing in the future of skills
Alongside our grant funding and partnership activity, Ufi invests in early-stage businesses developing technologies with the potential to transform skills development and workforce learning.
In 2025, Ufi Ventures invested £1.43m in early-stage companies and provided strategic support to founders addressing some of the biggest skills challenges facing the UK.
“Many of the most exciting innovations in skills development come from ambitious founders who are willing to challenge established ways of thinking. Through Ufi Ventures, we invest in businesses with the potential to improve at scale how people gain skills, progress in work and access opportunity, while helping to build a stronger ecosystem of innovation across the UK.”
- Helen Gironi, Director of Ufi Ventures
Meeting learners where they are
Many workplace learning programmes struggle to reach busy employees, who often lack the time or flexibility for traditional training. Assemble You develops audio-based learning designed to fit around people’s working lives, helping organisations deliver skills development in a more accessible and engaging way.
In 2025, Ufi Ventures made a follow-on investment as part of Assemble You’s £1 million funding round, supporting the company’s continued growth and its mission to make high-quality workplace learning available to more people.
Connecting the sector, shaping what’s next
Ufi brings together educators, employers, policymakers, innovators and learners to share ideas, build connections and shape the future of work.
In 2025, we continued to convene the VocTech community through events, networks and sector conversations, creating opportunities to exchange insights, showcase innovation and support the adoption of effective practice across the skills system.
“Some of the most valuable ideas emerge when people with different experiences and perspectives come together. By creating opportunities to connect, share learning and challenge thinking, we can strengthen the VocTech community and help shape what’s next for skills, learning and work.”
- Thomas Heiser, Associate Director of Strategy & Communications
A week of ideas, innovation and connection
Week of VocTech 2025 brought together educators, employers, innovators, investors and policymakers to explore how technology can improve skills and workforce learning.
Through events, discussions and demonstrations, the week showcased VocTech in action, highlighted emerging ideas and created opportunities for collaboration. More than 50 sector leaders contributed and over 500 people attended, reinforcing its role as a focal point for the UK’s vocational technology community.
Award winning impact
At the 2025 Learning Technologies Awards, Ufi received a Bronze award for Learning Organisation of the Year, a rare achievement for a non-commercial organisation.
The awards also recognised the success of the wider Ufi community, with several Ufi-supported organisations named winners and finalists, demonstrating the strength of innovation across skills, workforce learning and educational technology.
Making the case for skills
In 2025, Ufi took part in the major UK party conferences and hosted a parliamentary reception during the Week of VocTech, championing the role of skills and vocational technology in economic growth, workforce development and social mobility.
Through events, stakeholder engagement and policy discussions, we brought together policymakers, educators, employers and innovators to share insights, strengthen relationships and raise the profile of VocTech and skills.
