Grants for cybersecurity, workplace safety & more

This week’s featured startup

Koru – Using AI and predictive analytics to drive sustainable business practices, helping organizations adapt to the Future of Work by fostering innovation, efficient collaboration, and long-term environmental responsibility. (Ricky Marton, CEO & Co-Founder)

Data Dive

Impact of Teacher Shortages on Quality of Learning (OECD) – Data from PISA (the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment). There’s a clear pattern with N. America underperforming, but finding a pattern within Europe is elusive.

Investment

ClearCompany Acquires Brainier Solutions Inc., an Industry Leader in Customizable Learning Management Solutions – The tie-up between talent management and learning management platforms promises to set a new vision for maximizing impact throughout the employee lifecycle.

iLearningEngines Secures $20 Million Incremental Funding – The funding will help them grow the impact of their AI platform for learning and work automation, beyond their 1,000+ enterprise customers across Healthcare, Education, Insurance, Retail, Energy, Manufacturing and Public Sector.

Instructure Acquires Scribbles – Integrating the Charlotte based company is intended to build out Instructure’s credentialing network and tools aimed at student mobility and record transfers.

Learn to Win Raises $30 Million with Participation from Durham’s BCVP – The founders commit to accelerating progress in commercial segments like sales training, as well as the military market (building on their partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense).

London-based Visibly raises €7 million to rethink regulated training for the infrastructure sector – The investment will disrupt legacy training providers that keep prices high, create barriers to entry and prevent workers from getting the safety training they need.

Norwegian Start-up Keenious Secures €1.3 Million in Funding Led by Spintop – Inspired by recommendation systems like Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify, the founders have created a tool that intelligently recommends relevant sources without requiring precise search queries.

Resources

Turn your inquiries into insights (Nick Bloom) – With FlexGPT, create on-demand visualizations customized to your flexible work policy questions.

Events

A Conversation with Assistant Secretary of Labor Jose Javier Rodriguez (National Association of Workforce Boards) – Learn about his role in administering WIOA, Job Corps, apprenticeships, foreign labor certification, trade adjustment assistance, unemployment insurance, and federal grants.

Opportunities

DOL Announces $12.7 Million in Grants for Workplace Safety Training – Awarding funds in capacity building, targeted topic training, and educational materials development. Submission deadline 7/26/24.

DOL Awards $56M in Grants to Help Justice-Involved People Get Job Training – The funding will facilitate their reintegration into society, to reduce recidivism rates by providing essential skills and resources.

EU to Provide Cybersecurity Funding – A total of €210m ($227M) in funding for both cybersecurity and digital skills programs, to reinforce collaboration and coordination in addressing cyber threats. Application deadlines: 11/21/24 for digital skills, 1/21/25 for cybersecurity.

In the news

AI is only widening the chasmic skills gap: here’s how to meet the challenge (Fast Company) – Five ways leaders can refresh upskilling efforts, to support a culture of continuous learning and development within their organizations.

Carlton Richards and Jeffrey Gitomer Joint Venture: AI Digital Human for Sales Training (Presswire) – Aiming to revolutionize the way sales professionals are trained and equipped for success in the digital age, via a digital version of legendary sales trainer Jeffrey Gitomer.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry cuts funding for Teach For America (NOLA.com) – Is this is one-off in a cash-strapped state, or or a leading indicator of the further decline of bipartisan education reform?

Three critical steps to close the cybersecurity talent gap once and for all (VentureBeat) – Rethinking talent attraction, enhancing cybersecurity education, and improving cyber security retention practices.

What’s New in Digital Equity: Michigan Builds Digital Skills (GovTech) – A proactive approach to digital equity with a statewide initiative to bridge the digital divide and close the gap in access to technology and opportunities.

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