About the Fund

In partnership with the Department for Education, Nesta launched the CareerTech Challenge Fund in October 2019 to identify new digital and online learning solutions that are effective in building career adaptability and learner motivation amongst people who are working in shrinking sectors and occupations.

Technological change and other labour market trends have the potential to widen career opportunities and increase the standard of living for many people. However, around a fifth of workers are in occupations that are likely to shrink over the coming decade. As a result, adult education and training are vital to help adults retrain and change careers but engagement is typically poor amongst those groups who are most at risk of losing their jobs.

Through a £2.8 million grant funding programme, the fund aims to support 11 innovation companies and learning providers to develop solutions to the challenge of engaging adults in learning online and support them to develop a range of skills.

Role of evaluation partner

Learning and Work Institute were commissioned in February 2020 by Nesta to be the evaluation partner for the CareerTech Challenge Fund.

The role of evaluation partner is twofold.

• Firstly, we will support grantees to build effective capacity in evidence use, collection, testing and iteration: enabling grantees to fulfil their evaluation requirements and to support a culture of learning and evidence generation.
• Secondly, we will conduct a broader evaluation of the outcomes of the fund, identifying key findings at a programme level of what works – and for whom.