The Workforce Innovation Voucher scheme can be used to develop a company’s workforce in partnership with a college or university.

Its purpose is to support innovation that will develop the company’s workforce in partnership with a college or university – for example, a new or enhanced business process, workplace practice or expertise.

The value of this voucher is between £1,000 and £7,500, which covers the project costs and is paid directly to your partner university or college.

Interface provides support with finding a suitable academic partner who has the right specialist expertise to progress your research and development project.

Yes, if you:

• are a registered business operating in Scotland
• are a small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) – with fewer than 250 employees, a turnover of less than €50 million or a balance sheet of less than €43 million – or a social enterprise
• have a novel or pioneering project that will support the development of innovation skills for your workforce that will benefit the company, the academic institution and the Scottish economy – for example, that supports employees or develops new services for other workplaces
• have a project that cannot be delivered commercially and requires the knowledge and expertise of an academic partner

Sole traders and businesses not registered in Scotland will need to submit a pre-submission form to establish if they're eligible. 

There is no cost to apply for the Workforce Innovation Voucher.

You will need to match the voucher's value in cash, in kind (such as staff time, materials or equipment) or a combination of both.

Any small or medium-sized business or social enterprise in Scotland looking to partner with a Scottish university or further education college. 

Applications must be submitted by the relevant academic institution. It may take up to 3 weeks for your application to be approved by the Scottish Funding Council.

Projects should generally start within 4 weeks of the grant being approved and should be completed within 3 months, depending on your project.

A company can only receive one Workforce Innovation Voucher. You can also apply for a Product/Process/Service Innovation Voucher. 

Sole traders and businesses not registered in Scotland will need to submit a pre-submission form to establish if they're eligible. 

The voucher cannot be used to match other public funding schemes. 

Please submit an enquiry and an adviser will be in touch to discuss your needs.