Social impact investor Nesta Impact Investments (NII) has led a £320,000 funding round in GetMyFirstJob, a website that helps young people connect with employers and colleges to find apprenticeships.
The investment was made alongside the City & Guilds Group’s New Venture Fund and will be used to continue scaling GetMyFirstJob’s reach and impact in the UK.
GetMyFirstJob filled over 25,000 vacancies in 2016 and there are over 300,000 young people registered on the website. As well as listing apprenticeship vacancies nationwide, the website provides advice and guidance for young people and employers on apprenticeships, such as the apprenticeship levy introduced this year.
The website improves the quality of matching young people to the right apprenticeship roles by gathering relevant data regarding their academic and professional interests. GetMyFirstJob also helps employers and training providers find apprentices in a time frame that works for them by providing access to a large pool of potential candidates.
The investment, Nesta’s third in the company, is a part of Nesta’s education portfolio and aligns with the strategy to invest in innovative approaches and technologies to improve access to high quality education and employment, especially for young people and disadvantaged groups. GetMyFirstJob sits alongside existing investments in Arbor Education, Cogbooks and Third Space Learning.
Nathan Elstub, Chief Investment Officer at Nesta, comments: “We have seen impressive progress from GetMyFirstJob in the two years since our first involvement. Through sensible investment in people, infrastructure and product development, the company’s management team has been able to deliver exciting growth and place more young people into apprenticeships. We are very pleased to make our third investment in GetMyFirstJob and look forward to supporting the management’s plans for continued growth.”
David Allison, GetMyFirstJob Chief Executive Officer, added: “Nesta and the City & Guilds Group have been very supportive partners, both financially and operationally, and we are delighted that they continue to invest in GetMyFirstJob. This is an exciting time for our company as the apprenticeship levy is an important step in increasing the number of apprentices in the UK and, more broadly, getting young people into employment.”