Manchester-based online cyber security bootcamp provider CAPSLOCK has raised £1.04m in pre-seed funding which it will use to assist adults to re-skill and land cyber security jobs.
The pre-seed investment was completed in two segments and investors include Ufi VocTechTrust, GC Angels, the UK government and a group of nine angel investors.
The company, founded by Dr.Andrea Cullen, Jonathan Slater and Lorna Armitage, plans to launch its new cyber security cohorts in 2022 and will develop a new curriculum next year to plug key tech skills including cloud engineering.
Companies including Dyson, BBC, ITV, BAE, HSBC and Boohoo have hired CAPSLOCK graduates in a bid to tackle the cyber security skills shortage.
As part of its income share agreement, graduates from the cyber security bootcamp repay a percentage of their monthly income over a set period of time but only once they have secured a high-paid role.
Alex Bishop, Investment Manager, Ufi VocTech Trust said: “At Ufi, we continue to be enthused by the unique learner proposition at CAPSLOCK, enabling learners to access skills needed for work in high demand sectors in the UK, such as Cyber Security, whilst removing the upfront financial barriers to training, through their innovative Income Share Agreement model.”
Dr. Andrea Cullen, Co-founder at CAPSLOCK, added: “Increasing diversity within the UK’s cyber security workforce is something we’re proud to be leading. It’s at the heart of everything we do, from removing financial barriers with Income Share Agreements, through to encouraging people of all genders, ethnic backgrounds and types of neurodiversity to enrol and re-skill with CAPSLOCK. This funding allows us to scale throughout 2022, grow the CAPSLOCK team and look towards re-skilling thousands of UK adults a year.”
