Key Learnings from VocTech Market Activity Q1 2025
May 21, 2025 PapersKey Learnings from VocTech Market Activity Q1 2025 Tyton Partners and Ufi Ventures Release Q1 2025 VocTech Market…
Key Learnings from VocTech Market Activity Q1 2025
Tyton Partners and Ufi Ventures Release Q1 2025 VocTech Market Report: Policy Uncertainty, European Resurgence, and the Continued Rise of AI Investment
Ufi Ventures and Tyton Partners continue their collaborative exploration of investment opportunities in the future of workforce development with their Q1 2025 VocTech Market Activity Report, which analyses macroeconomic instability, shifting political dynamics, and the evolving role of AI in vocational learning and work.
This edition examines developments from January to March 2025, a period defined by rising inflation, softening growth, and deepening political uncertainty. UK core inflation reached 3.7% in January; GDP forecasts were halved in the Spring Statement; unemployment rose to 4.4%; and nearly one million young people are now out of education and employment. Meanwhile, Germany’s €500B stimulus package and loosening of fiscal constraints have repositioned Europe as a more stable and attractive investment environment. Across the board, AI continues to drive investor interest in learning, recruitment, and workforce platforms, despite uneven HR tech activity in the UK.
- Inevitably, we need to talk about US trade tariffs. The disruption they may represent and the uncertainty of their introduction will weigh heavily on policy and investment decisions in the VocTech sector in the UK and Europe. Caution and delay are the most likely effects.
- By contrast, Germany’s loosening of governmental spending is likely to improve the outlook for the economic and investment environment and make Europe and the UK look like a reliable and interesting place to deploy capital, particularly relative to the US.
- Big AI-related venture rounds in education and the Future of Work continue to be made, predominantly in the US but also – patchily – in Europe.
- The UK Curriculum Review is progressing, but the interim report gave little away.
- Some organisations are forcing a full-time return to the office to increase productivity. This may, in fact, make them less attractive employers.