Digital education firm, FourthRev, has announced the successful completion of a £5.9m fundraise.
The investment will be used to develop new career accelerator programmes, initiatives designed to help plug the digital skills gap by bringing together HE institutions, tech companies and industry employers.
Educapital, Europe’s first education technology impact fund, is the lead investor, while follow-on funding comes from Reach Capital, Emerge Education, Danner Capital, and a range of edtech entrepreneurs and executives.
As we reported at the time, September 2021 saw the launch of FourthRev’s first career accelerator, a programme focused on data analytics that saw collaboration between Tableau, Robert Walters and the London School of Economics.
With that heavily oversubscribed six-month programme now well underway, FourthRev is set to use its fresh investment to help overcome acute digital skills shortages in areas including cybersecurity, AI, analytics, UI and project management skills.
This unique proposition allows learners from across the globe to unlock high-growth digital careers – Jack Hylands, FourthRev
The company claims it will also be doubling its global headcount, expanding operations in the UK, Australia, South Africa and North America.
“The digitisation of the global economy, driven by the fourth industrial revolution, has been dramatically accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, with digital transformation plans having been significantly increased over the last two years,” said FourthRev co-founder, Jack Hylands.
In its Future of Jobs Report 2020, the World Economic Forum estimated that, while 85 million jobs will be displaced by 2025, 97 million new jobs will be created across 26 countries.
“If the workforce is to succeed in this new economy, it will require a specific and different set of technological, emotional, and higher cognitive skills,” added Hylands. “Our mission is to support the workforce and learners through these changes, which is why we built and launched career accelerators last year.
“By combining the very best of career-focused, high ROI education with the value of the world’s best universities, technology partners and a direct pathway to employment, this unique proposition allows learners from across the globe to unlock high-growth digital careers.”