Ufi Offers Almost £700,000 Of Funding To The Vocational Sector As Part Of Covid-19 Response

Ufi #VocTech Trust has offered grants to more than 40 organisations as part of its response to Covid-19 and the challenges facing the vocational education sector and its learners. 

As a result of its VocTech Now and Further Education-focused funding calls and its Partnership work with leading vocational training and learning sector organisations, Ufi VocTech Trust has, since March, made funding offers totalling £691,000. VocTech is the name for technology that is being used to deliver vocational learning and training. 

Through projects that are being delivered across the UK, this funding will directly support key workers in health and social care, education, transport, key public services, and utilities.  

All projects are looking to use digital solutions as part of their response to the unprecedented challenges being faced. The grant awards announced through the VocTech Now funding call alone will directly support more than 25,000 learners. 

Rebecca Garrod-Waters, CEO for Ufi VocTech Trust said:

With the launch of our VocTech Now funding call it was quickly clear to all at Ufi that the challenge facing the adult vocational learning and training sector was unprecedented.  

We took the insight we had from the immediate response to inform and step up other activities in our Covid 19 response plan. This included extended the scope of our response to include more offers of funding through VocTech Now, a specific funding call for further education colleges, development of a Partnership programme and a range of practical tools and resources, many of which were and are free to access via our website. 

Rebecca added:

I want to say thank you to all of those who have engaged with Ufi at some point of our Covid 19 response work. As a team we have been very impressed with the ideas and resolve behind those in the vocational training and learning sector to apply VocTech to the challenges they face. 

As a small organisation, it has been a huge privilege to see this work and I am very proud that Ufi, through its support to some of these projects, can have a positive impact on the lives of so many organisations and vocational learners.

Kate Atha, Head of Communications for Ufi VocTech Trust