WorkerTech newsletter: October 2022

This month we’re focusing on some great events open to our readers during the remainder of 2022.

Register now for Impact investing in technology to address skills and employment challenges  
💸 Tuesday 15th November, 10 – 11am: Impact investing in technology to address skills and employment challenges, in partnership with Ufi VocTech Trust. An opportunity to hear about the future of impact investing in employment technology from leading investors and founders (in person and online).

Register now for a WorkerTech Unconference
💼 Monday 21st November, 5 – 7pm: A WorkerTech Unconference, in partnership with Bethnal Green Ventures. An evening of discussion, idea generation and networking for everyone interested in creating a fairer future of work (in person only).

There are more details for each event below and further registration links to secure your place. We’re looking forward to seeing you there!

Emma
Ventures Manager
Resolution Ventures

Impact investing in technology to address skills and employment challenges

Join us on 15th November to explore the future of investment in impact, with a focus on skills technology. As part of Week of VocTech, we are partnering with Ufi Ventures to discuss the market outlook for impact businesses, measures of success for impact venture investing and emerging models of impact investment.

Our expert panel includes:
Helen Gironi, Director at Ufi Ventures
Louise Marston, Director of Ventures at Resolution Foundation
Paul Moynihan, Co-founder of TaskHer
Sunil Suri, COO of greenworkx
Maria Wagner, Partner at Beringea

Time: 10 – 11am, 15th November
Location: Resolution Foundation, 2 Queen Anne’s Gate, SW1H 9AA (the event will also be available to watch online for those who are unable to join us in person). Register here.

WorkerTech Unconference, Meetup, and Mixer

What does the future of fair work look like and how can technology help to improve the prospects and power of workers?

Join us on 21st November for a WorkerTech meetup and mixer, hear provocations from our speakers on the market forces and structural challenges workers are faced with in the UK and hear examples of how we might overcome them to improve the lives of low-income Britain.

What’s the agenda?
5:00 – 5:30pm – Arrivals and welcome
5:30 – 5:45pm – Welcome and introduction from Bethnal Green Ventures and Resolution Ventures
5:45 – 6:15pm – Provocations from our guest speakers + Q&A
6:15 – 6:45pm – Discussions groups
6:45 – 7.30pm – Networking and drinks

Time: 5 – 7.30pm, Monday 21st November
Location: Newspeak House, 133 Bethnal Green Road, London, E2 7DG
Register here.

Latest insights from the Resolution Foundation

Labour Market Outlook Q3 2022 – a deep dive into employment for disabled workers. Despite fast rising employment, the employment rate for disabled workers remains low: 28 percentage points lower than the non-disabled population. There is an increased need to focus policy on that supports disabled people into the workforce, paying particular attention to the retention of workers with a disability and the increase in the number of workers with mental health problems.

Under new management – an in-person and online event on 1st November following the latest fiscal statement focusing on the UK economy, the size of the fiscal challenge facing the new prime minister, and the outlook for new austerity measures.

WorkerTech stories

• What does career progression mean in the context of gig or platform work, or freelancing? The EdTech podcast’s most recent episode dives into skills acquisition in the gig economy with Ufi VocTech Trust, Roleshare and the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.
• The Skills Imperative 2035, a partnership between NFER, Nuffield Foundation and a number of universities, published a suite of reports that explore the essential skills needed for our future workforce. The reports highlights an increasing demand for healthcare roles, and higher skilled professional roles.
• Research from The Work Foundation reveals that working women are nearly twice as likely as men to be in severely insecure work – and the situation worsens for mothers, disabled women, and women from Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds. The report calls for better job security in all roles and extra support for women to enter more secure work.
• For WorkerTech ventures considering social investment, Good Finance has built and launched a new diagnostic tool to help founders decide if social investment is right for them. By answering a few questions on your business model and financial needs, the tool presents social investment options available, and signposts to more information about each route.

Get involved

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

The Young Foundation launched a new fund, the Community Knowledge Fund, with grants of £10k to £100k available to community organisations around the UK who are using innovative ways to create and share knowledge. Expressions of interest close on 7th November.

Our WorkerTech partners, Ufi VocTech Trust, are running Week of VocTech from 14th to 18th November with a series of events, roundtables and showcases focusing on skills, work, technology, and funding.

Register to join the Stage demo day on 3rd November. Fifteen pre-seed and seed stage start-ups from across a range of sectors will be pitching to over 1000 investors online.

Learning and Work Institute are hosting a webinar, Improving voice and representation of working Londoners on 29th November. With trade union membership in decline in London, this discussion will showcase innovative ways to improve worker voice to improve quality of work in London.