Signals
Trends, shifts, and ideas shaping our approach to investment.
The future of work is moving fast – and so are the opportunities.
Designed for investors and early-stage founders, Signals are our quick-read insights on the trends, shifts, and ideas shaping investment in the future of work across the UK, and beyond.
For in-depth analysis and links to external resources, explore our quarterly reports.
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Shared in partnership with Tyton Partners.
03/12/2025
The UK government’s recent White Paper clarified its overall approach to skills development and associated funding streams. In particular, it outlined a distinct allocation of responsibilities:
- The government sees itself as responsible for funding young people’s education to the age of 18, plus highly targeted interventions to assist strategic sectors and underserved people.
- Employers are responsible for training adult workers, particularly by using the Growth and Skills Levy, but also when they receive money from large government projects.
- Workers will have the ability to upskill themselves using the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, which will apply to a wider range of “stackable” courses from 2027.
Some remain critical of the lack of detail in the White Paper, which needs to be built out over the coming months. The co-ordinating role of Skills England has yet to show concrete results, and the recent Office of Budget Responsibility report for the November Budget assumed that these measures would have little effect on jobs.
However, the new approach is beneficial for the ecosystem, and presents distinct opportunities for investors of all types. Notably, the modularisation of the Growth and Skills Levy and the rollout of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement mean that there is room for old providers to innovate and new offerings to emerge.
03/12/2025
At the Federal level, the unpredictability and rapid pace of the Trump administration’s policy announcements have been unsettling for investors and companies. Tighter immigration policies and unprecedented intervention in the affairs of universities are contributing to the unease. The heterogeneity of state-level policies makes for a mixed picture, although many states are seeking to promote skills-based hiring.
However, the roles of specialist philanthropies, foundations and impact investors remain important across the ecosystem, as many are continuing to dedicate effort and funding towards better training and employment outcomes. Europe’s universities and employers may benefit from those seeking alternative places to work and study.
03/12/2025
HR Tech deals
Whilst deal volumes are down from the heady days of the pandemic, 2025 has seen some outstanding deals for European Future of Work investors, notably the unicorn exit of Sana Labs to Workday. This reflects the Future of Work as a site of ongoing competition for incumbent enterprise companies, the “hyperscaler” Big Tech companies, and innovative new entrants offering “point” solutions.
There is little doubt that the transition through the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” presents substantial opportunity as governments, employers and individual workers have an essential need to maintain their competitive advantage: they need to fill skills gaps and ensure that their human capital remains productive.
However, some systemic issues remain for investors:
- Customer acquisition through any or all channels (B2B, B2G and B2C) is often difficult and slow, save where there are clear, durable funding and procurement structures. For example, Private Equity firms have seen opportunity in UK Apprenticeship Providers.
- The breakneck speed of AI development makes it hard to judge what is sustainably defensible. Currently, proprietary structured data seems to be held up as the best defence.
These arguably favour sector specialist investors such as Ufi Ventures.
03/12/2025
The effect of AI on work is much debated. It is at least clear that much is unclear: whilst the pessimistic narrative of imminent substantial unemployment is seductively simple, the reality is considerably more complex.
AI is not yet having a dramatic effect on productivity, as it likely requires careful re-engineering of work processes to yield the best results. Some claim that LLM-based AI is reaching its limits; others that new models will continue to improve capabilities. Many assert that new jobs will emerge over time, as in other Industrial Revolutions.
The “hyperscalers” and their investments in and around the Future of Work are nevertheless having a dramatic effect on the provider landscape. Tools such as Google’s Learn Your Way are likely to commoditise the development of learning experiences, particularly for relatively autonomous adult learners. It has never been easier to devise and develop innovative workflows for internal productivity or to solve niche problems.
Hiring of entry-level staff seems to be down, notably in “white collar” work, but it is unclear how much this is caused by AI and how much by the geopolitical uncertainties which characterise the 2020s.
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