Discover Funding Opportunities

VocTech Ignite

VocTech Ignite helps projects whose ideas have real potential to create a difference, but are not yet ready for full funding. The program is designed to support projects that have previously submitted unsuccessful applications to a Ufi grant funding round. Support is provided through individual expert advice and mentoring to help develop ideas that show promise but need further refinement before they can secure full funding. The program offers five days of expert input combined with a small cash fund to cover expenses, allowing projects to strengthen their proposals and increase their chances of future success. This invitation-only opportunity is part of Ufi VocTech Trust's broader commitment to developing innovative vocational technology solutions.

VocTech Challenge Impact Network + Grant Fund

The VocTech Challenge Impact Network + Grant Fund is part of Ufi's VocTech Challenge: Skills for an Economy in Transition programme. This grant fund seeks bold, tech-led approaches to tackle three specific challenges in adult vocational learning: employer integration, pathways into and within work, and vocational language barriers. Successful applicants will receive between £200,000 and £250,000 to refine and deploy their ideas, focusing on adults aged 16-65 gaining or improving skills for work in the UK. The fund represents a new approach to Ufi grant funding, where successful applicants join a network of organisations working alongside each other as part of an active, expert-led programme designed to create connections, share knowledge, test assumptions and accelerate adoption and deployment. Projects must demonstrate immediate impact for at least 1,000 learners during the funding period, show potential for sustainability beyond the grant period, and reduce duplication in the skills system. Applications must be collaborative, involving employers, organizations connected to target learner groups, and/or training providers. Match funding is required to demonstrate shared commitment and risk.

VocTech Activate Grant Fund

VocTech Activate is Ufi's test bed grant fund where the first spark of an idea to solve a vocational learning problem can be scoped and tested in a supportive environment. The fund supports early-stage innovative projects focused on adapting, adopting, developing and designing products that put adult vocational skills first. Activities can include new technical development, or adaptation and implementation of existing technology in a new market or new community of learners. The fund is looking for ideas with the potential to transform vocational learning, rooted in real-world understanding of the sector's problems and opportunities. Ufi focuses on learners aged 16+, especially those in underserved sectors and locations, and projects must clearly show why their target learners have been overlooked by mainstream provision. Applicants must demonstrate how their idea is novel and why it's better than existing solutions, showing clear understanding of their learners and their market. The fund emphasizes innovation - whether new tech, new markets or new communities of learners.