TechLocal: Connecting Local Talent to Local Tech Jobs

To lead a collaborative project your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size, a Research and Technology Organisation (RTO), charity, not for profit or public sector organisation. Local Authorities cannot lead, but can collaborate.

The lead organisation must have a physical presence and be already operating in the geographical area where the project is going to be delivered (see below).

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:

• business of any size
• academic institution
• charity
• not for profit
• public sector organisation
• research and technology organisation (RTO)

A business, research and technology organisation (RTO), charity, not for profit or public sector organisation can only lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in a further two applications. If an organisation is not leading any application, it can collaborate in two applications, with the exception of local authorities, which can collaborate in any number of applications (but cannot lead).

To be an eligible collaboration, the lead and at least one other organisation must:

• apply for funding when entering their costs into the application.
• include rationale for the collaboration and describe the structure in your application
• ensure any one partner does not account for more than 70% of the total eligible costs

The specific geographical areas are:

• North West England
• South West England
• Yorkshire and Humber
• North East England
• East Midlands
• West Midlands
• South East England
• East of England
• London
• Scotland
• Wales
• Northern Ireland

(This covers the whole of the UK.)

Your project must be delivered and demonstrate impact in one or more of the specified geographic areas, addressing a local need or leveraging a local strength.

The lead organisation must have a physical presence and be already operating in the geographical area where the project is going to be delivered. For the purpose of this competition, a physical presence is defined as having one or more of the following in the region:

• a registered office or trading address
• a permanent office, hub, laboratory or facility
• shared office or incubator space, excluding PO boxes
• manufacturing, testing or research and development facilities

Your project must:

• have a grant funding request of between £100,000 and £225,000
• last between 6 and 9 months
• not start before 1 July 2026
• end by 31 March 2027

Any funded organisation needs to carry out their project work in the UK and must intend to exploit the project results from or in the UK.

No one partner can account for more than 70% of the total eligible costs.

The aim of this competition is to develop impactful local initiatives that enable tech talent to secure entry level tech jobs by bridging the gap between training and employment. Your project must:

• be delivered and demonstrate impact in one or more of the specified geographic areas (see above), addressing a local need or leveraging a local strength
• demonstrate clear impact in one or more frontier technologies by enabling local talent into entry level tech jobs and helping SMEs adopt these technologies through skilled workforces
• alignment with national and local economic growth plans and skills strategies, such as DWP Jobcentres, the Growth and Skills Levy, LSIPs and local defence plans
• demonstrate contribution to the overall TechLocal target of 1,000 new tech jobs

The six frontier technology sectors are Artificial Intelligence , Cyber Security , Engineering Biology , Semiconductors , Advanced Connectivity Technologies (ACT) , and Quantum.

Your project can:

• include plans for sustainability and scalability, showing how the approach could continue or expand after the funding period
• target occupations on the Critical Shortage List and support SME growth through workforce development
• empower SMEs across the UK to prepare for, adopt, and use frontier technologies more effectively by facilitating access to a skilled workforce

We welcome applications that include intensive employer engagement and solutions that go beyond simple signposting.

We will prioritise applications that support women into the tech workforce of the six frontier technologies listed.

Your project can focus on the following:

• creating networks of employers to access tech talent to provide work experience or other opportunities as part of their recruitment strategies
• development of innovative ways to de-risk tech talent recruitment for SMEs, including third-party contracting models
• development of innovative recruitment practices especially focused on supporting women into the tech workforce
• creating new and innovative employment pathways for Growth and Skills Levy-trained individuals, especially those on the Temporary or Critical Shortage List
• developing new, innovative and collaborative initiatives to bridge the gap between newly trained tech talent and employment readiness through work experience and wraparound support

We are not funding projects that:

• are not in scope for this competition
• do not have clear impact in one or more of the twelve specified geographical areas
• do not have an impact or application on at least one of the six frontier technologies specified in this brief
• replicate the aims or activities of other TechFirst initiatives
• replicate other local projects such as those delivered via the Local Innovation Partnerships
• are limited to research papers or feasibility studies

A briefing webinar will be held online at 11.30am on Tuesday 10 February: click here to register for a place. A recording and slides will be available afterwards.

If you would like help to find a collaboration partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s sector teams:

• Place (for collaboration with Local Authorities and public sector)
• Artificial Intelligence
• Cyber Security
• Engineering Biology
• Electronics team for Semiconductors
• Digital team for Advanced Connectivity Technologies (ACT)
• Quantum