January WorkerTech Round-Up

While entire years feel like they go by in a flash in recent times, January manages to hold on to its title for (what feels like) the longest month of the year. Is it the 78th of Jan today?

This past January has been full of major headlines on the global stage, but we’ve been razor-focused on developments on the WorkerTech front. The Warm Homes plan is finally out (with implications for the labour market in addition to our path towards Net Zero), and the Resolution Foundation has published its New Year’s Outlook for the year to come. Plus, we’re hosting a panel focused on the increasing prevalence of AI in investor due diligence; you can find tickets to that here.

Welcome to 2026, reader!

Here’s to the new year,
Aish

Spotlight: Investing in Net Zero

This month, we finally saw the release of the much-awaited and much-delayed Warm Homes Plan from the UK Government. After months of signalling, the plan sets out how the Government intends to scale energy efficiency upgrades across the UK, with a focus on lower-income households and older housing stock.

At its core, the Warm Homes Plan commits long-term public funding to improve the energy efficiency of homes, reduce fuel poverty, and cut household bills. Delivery will rely on a mix of local authorities, delivery partners, and private installers. The ambition is to retrofit millions of homes over the coming years. That kind of scale implies sustained demand for retrofit workers, installers, assessors, and coordinators across the UK. This is why a labour market lens on the Plan is just as relevant as an environmental one.

Through this lens, we can see that home energy efficiency sits at the intersection of low pay, insecure work, and rising living costs. Retrofit roles are often filled by subcontracted workers, many of them on variable hours and thin earnings margins. At the same time, fuel poverty hits low-income households hardest.

Industry experts think the challenge is not whether there is demand for energy efficiency, but whether the labour market can respond fast and fairly enough. This was at the core of the discussion at our joint event with Greenworkx (a portfolio company) in late 2025. Greenworkx shared what they see on the ground. Strong hiring demand, but persistent supply gaps. Training routes exist, but barriers remain around upfront costs, unclear progression, and fragmented pathways into stable work. For many workers, the issue is not motivation, but navigation.

The report is fresh off the press, so there will be more to come in due course. But it’s clear now that policy is now well-placed to create real momentum towards net zero, the missing piece is the labour market infrastructure to support it. Learn more about how Greenworkx is changing that through their website.

You can also read the Resolution Foundation’s analysis of the plan here.

Event Invite | Responsible AI: Investor Expectations & Founder Tools

Come join us at an event where we explore what AI due diligence looks like in 2026.

Discussions about AI have moved from the margins to the core of early-stage investing. Founders are now being asked questions about where AI sits in their product, and what happens when it fails. Investors are increasingly centering AI in their due diligence processes. And for impact investors, the responsible deployment of AI remains a critical requirement.

This session will explore how investors actually assess AI risk in practice, using the Reframe Venture Responsible AI Toolkit as a practical reference point. It will be discussion-led, drawing on the expertise of our speakers, with space for questions at the end, followed by networking over some drinks!

For event details and to register to attend, please go to our Eventbrite page.

January Insights from the Resolution Foundation

Mountain Climbing

Our research here looks beyond headline employment numbers to ask: why do so many workers stay stuck on low pay, even when they remain in work?

The core finding is stark. Moving from low to middle income in the UK remains rare. For many workers, pay progression stalls early and never restarts. This is not primarily a participation problem. Most low-paid workers are already in the labour market and often working consistently over long periods.
Instead, the barriers sit inside the labour market.

Weak in-work progression, limited access to employer-led training, and job design that prioritises flexibility over development all play a role. Progression outcomes vary sharply by sector and region, with some roles offering little scope to climb regardless of tenure or effort.

The report also highlights a participation trap. Workers cycling through insecure or low-progression jobs may remain “in work” on paper, but without clear routes to higher pay or stability.

New Year Outlook 2026

The Resolution Foundation’s Outlook for 2026 sets out a subdued starting point for the year ahead. Inflation has eased, but growth remains weak by historical standards. The economy is no longer overheating, but it is not delivering meaningful momentum either. That matters because slow growth shapes who feels change first and who is left exposed.

Living standards are expected to stabilise rather than surge. Real incomes stop falling, but gains are modest and uneven. Higher-income households see earlier recovery, while low- and middle-income workers feel little headroom as housing, energy, and essential costs continue to bite.

Public spending remains constrained. Tight fiscal headroom limits the scope for large new interventions, shifting pressure onto delivery, efficiency, and private provision. Any expansion of support is likely to be targeted and conditional rather than broad-based.

In the labour market, vacancies cool and hiring slows, but without a sharp rise in unemployment. Adjustment is more likely to show up through reduced hours, weaker progression, and job insecurity, particularly for lower-paid workers.

Get involved

👩🏻‍💻Ufi Activate Grant Funding
Ufi are looking for bold ideas for transforming vocational learning with the VocTech Activate grant fund, with applications closing on 3 February 2026. This fund provides grants of £30,000 to £60,000 for projects lasting between 3 to 12 months.

Find out more here.

💪 Sie Ventures Founders Program
Sie Ventures has opened its next Foundations Program for female founders, kicking off on 23rd of March!

If you’d like to get access to the program as a VC or refer a founder who would benefit. Find out more here. It runs from April to November, is limited to 16 participants, and concludes at Slush in Helsinki.

Applications are now open. Apply here

✨ Apply for direct investment from Resolution Ventures 
We accept applications from WorkerTech ventures on a rolling basis. You can book a slot in our office hours for an initial conversation.