Edinburgh recruitment-focused tech firm nets funding to help care sector amid Covid-19

Edinburgh recruitment-focused tech firm SureCert has beaten off competition from 1,600 other projects to be awarded UK government NHSx funding to further develop its digital platform to connect people with job and volunteering opportunities during Covid-19.

SureCert said the grant will enable it to immediately start a trial seeking volunteers for the care sector. Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto.

NHSx is a joint unit from the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care aimed at driving the digital transformation of care. Its Techforce19 competition has provided 18 financial awards for innovators, creating a pool of ready-to-go technologies that could be rapidly scaled during the current pandemic.

SureCert chief executive Ian Savage said: “Avoiding contact with others is incredibly important at present. Our technology has the ability to help us meet the current challenges by matching people with employment and volunteering openings.

“SureCert, supported by Experian, also manages background checks, enabling policy makers to better understand the labour market and volunteering supply and demand all without the need for face-to-face contact, speeding up the recruitment process.

Ian Savage, chief executive of SureCert. Picture: Press Eye/Darren Kidd.

“This grant from NHSx will enable us to immediately start a trial seeking volunteers for the care sector, already we’re collaborating with Scottish Care and Care England.

“Our secure digital platform has been operating for three years and is extremely simple to use and has the ability to assist thousands of people.”

Iain O’Neil, NHSx director of digital transformation, said: “The TechForce19 challenge has harnessed some of the incredible talent we have in our tech sector, to help the most vulnerable and many of the problems created by isolation lend themselves to digital solutions. We hope this process will help people take advantage of the potential that digital technology offers.”

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