Launching The Voctech Podcast: Learning Continued

First episode out

Today I pressed \”publish\” on the first episode of our new podcast series The Voctech Podcast: Learning Continued, supported by Ufi Charitable Trust and Ufi Ventures.

Pressing \”publish\” was the culmination of several months work over the Summer, alongside our existing work at The Edtech Podcast. The new series aims to look at the intersection of adult education and technology, and we have over 20 guest recordings already set up or archived for our series. These include;

Existing guests

• (Out today) Richard Price, Learning Technologies Advisor, Health England (NHS England) – on scaling training and innovation across the UK\’s third largest employer 
• Leena Pöntynen, Director of Education at the Technology Industries of Finland – on normalising vocational education in popular culture
• Shaun Gear, Integration Adviser- Employer, Business and Industry,Ministry of Education of New Zealand – on reform of vocational education in NZ
• Alex Stephany, CEO, Beam – on new models to connect talent and training, including for the homeless 
• Owen Henkel, Director, Pearson Ventures – on a $50m fund for lifelong learning innovation
• Henrietta Palmer, Learning Solutions Manager, TUI – on artificial intelligence and corporate learning and development 
• Cath Brown, President, SU, Open University, & lifelong learner – on liberal education, lifelong learning, and skills 
• Rajeeb Dey MBE, Founder, Learnerbly – on employees driving their own learning

Our series trailer, gives a quick overview, of what you can expect…

What are we trying to achieve?

Our podcast series aims to help share what is happening in vocational and adult education, corporate training and the future of work, both in the U.K and around the world.

• How are organisations re-training their employees as the nature of work and the skills in demand changes?
• Is there a skills shortage or are we poor at developing existing talent?
• How are vocational education providers, further education colleges and private training organisations working together to support adult learners?
• What investment is being made in the adult education space?
• What is the role of corporate culture and technology in moving things forward?

The existing Edtech Podcast show will continue alongside, covering “ed” and “tech” from early years, K-12, to Higher Ed and beyond.

Sophie Bailey, Founder, The Edtech Podcast says,

“I am delighted to collaborate with Ufi Charitable Trust to uncover the stories behind adult learning. How are employers and employees navigating the changing world of work and skills development, and training providers adapting to support it? Where are investors making moves? How are adults getting to grips with learning as they progress through life with all its myriad challenges and opportunities and what it means to our self-worth to learn? I’m looking forward to getting as many people involved in that conversation as possible.”

Rebecca Garrod-Waters, CEO, Ufi Charitable Trust says,

“‘We are thrilled to be working with the EdTechPodcast on the VocTech Podcast. Ufi is a proud and passionate supporter and funder of all aspects of vocational technology and the VocTech Podcast is a great way to celebrate and support the VocTech community’.

What have we learnt?

I believe there is space for liberal arts education AND vocational education to sit side-by-side. We should not demonise either.

Through our existing conversations we\’ve learnt about how NHS Health Education England are building a digital ready workforce and reflecting on the digital capabilities of their teams. We\’ve also heard about a 7-part major reform of Vocational Education in New Zealand, and how artificial intelligence aided a learning and development programme at holiday-operator Tui, under budget and time pressure commitments. As initiatives grow to give employees budget for their own personal development, we\’ve noted companies like Valamis (Finland) and Learnerbly (UK) supporting this development. We\’ve also noted how funding has pivoted towards lifelong learning, with both Pearson Ventures and Village Capital following this trend.

We\’ve also been having lots of chats with associations and organisations in this space, finding out more about work like the Independent Commission on the College of the Future, which aims to set out a new vision for colleges in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The Education and Training Foundation on CPD within FE, the Learning and Work Institute on promoting learning and skills, European Forum of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (EfVET) on European-wide Vocational Education and Training (VET), the E-Learning network on technology-based learning and development at work, and World Skills on building a global platform of skills for all.

Subscribe and join our community of listeners

If this is all up your street, we\’d love you to join us, listen in and comment;

• Subscribe by searching for \”The Edtech Podcast\” on iTunes or Spotify
• Join our mailing list here 
• Come along to our launch on the 18th (if you\’re in London)… 

Notes for Editors

Our aim is to help improve vocational skills in the UK\’s workforce by funding digital solutions for vocational learning. We only fund activity that is ‘scalable’ through technology, ie projects that use digital methods to widen access to vocational learning. While digital learning solutions are potentially open to all, we are especially keen to assist digital projects which involve post school age vocational learners that have failed to be engaged by the education system. https://www.ufi.co.uk/

Ufi Ventures Ufi Ventures offers early stage ventures finance and support that draws on the depth of Ufi’s experience in developing digital technologies for skills needed for work. We can invest from £150,000 up to £1m as equity or debt into early stage companies who share our mission and meet our investment criteria. We are keen to collaborate and co-invest with other value-aligned investors interested in the opportunity presented by the changing nature of work and skills. https://www.ufi.co.uk/ufi-ventures Contact; kate.atha@ufi.co.uk, Head of Communications, Ufi Charitable Trust

The Edtech Podcast Featured on iTunes new and noteworthy, The Edtech Podcast seeks to improve the dialogue between \’ed\’ & \’tech\’ through storytelling, for better innovation and impact. Currently it is downloaded 2000+ times each week from 145 countries by education leaders and practitioners, L&D Leads, investors, startups, bluechips, media and government. Previous guests have included the Department for International Trade UK, OECD, UNHCR, MIT, Global Teacher Prize Winner, GSV Partners, Pearson, Linked IN and Handshake. Podcast series have included Future Tech for Education, Education 4.0, and The VocTech Podcast, Learning Continued. The host, Sophie Bailey, has spoken and moderated at a variety of events including SXSWEDU, Yidan Education Prize, ASU GSV Summit, and the Next Billion Edtech Summit. She is an industry mentor and advisor, including to the UCL Knowledge Lab initiative EDUCATE, and an XPrize Adult Literacy judge, and previous Edtech50 and Edtech Digest winner. You can follow The Edtech Podcast on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, or join the weekly newsletter. The Edtech Podcast is free to download, and available to subscribe via iTunes, Libsyn, Spotify and many other podcast platforms. Email: theedtechpodcast@gmail.com

The Voctech Podcast is a new show from the makers of The Edtech Podcast, supported by Ufi Charitable Trust. The series explores the intersection of adult learning and tech, including, careers and HR tech, the skills gap and training, diverse workforces and new modes of working, and the foundations for up-skilling and re- skilling. The Voctech Podcast has a medium site, where audio interviews will be published in written form, and a newsletter. Follow the show at #voctech and #voctechpodcast and via @podcastedtech.