Bullhorn launched a $20 million venture fund. Hiretual closed a $26 million funding round and rebranded to hireEZ. Skill credentialing platform Credly was acquired by a UK-based publishing firm. And a CompTIA report finds job seekers acknowledge need for training.
Bullhorn
Staffing software provider Bullhorn announced the launch of Bullhorn Ventures, a dedicated corporate venture capital resource that will invest in and partner with early-stage companies focused on helping staffing and recruiting firms improve operational efficiency and boost top-line growth. Bullhorn Ventures will launch initially with $20 million allocated for investments.
“We have deep experience investing in innovation,” said Nina Eigerman, Bullhorn’s senior VP, alliances and business development. “We will build on this experience by providing capital to our venture portfolio companies and helping them scale more rapidly through commercial relationships with our global teams.”
Credly
Publishing giant Pearson plc (PSON:LSE), headquartered in the UK, is acquiring Credly, a New York-based company that enables firms to issue and manage digital badges and credentials to verify workers’ skills. Credly also provides a job-matching service.
Pearson already holds a 20% stake in Credly. The purchase price for the remainder of Credly — including Pearson’s existing stake — represents a total value of $200 million. Pearson’s existing stake is valued at $40 million.
“The growing skills gap is putting enormous pressure on the labour market, making verified credentials more essential than ever before,” Pearson Chief Executive Andy Bird said.
More than 200 million companies have used Credly since its inception, according to Pearson. Its platform enables companies, educational institutions and others to award digital credentials that verify individuals’ skills and connect them with opportunities. Its “talent mobility solutions” business line helps firms recruit, engage and develop their workforces.
Credly’s revenue rose 47% last year to $13.3 million in 2021. The company had a compound average growth rate in revenue of 42% from 2019 through 2021.
This acquisition follows Pearson’s 2021 buy of Faethm, a workforce AI and predictive analytics platform.
Hiretual
AI-powered global talent platform Hiretual today announced the closing of $26 million in funding as well as a rebrand hireEZ. The company plans to use the funds to invest in product innovation, expand operations and scale its team globally.
The funding was led by Conductive Ventures, which includes founders Eric Yuan, founder and CEO of Zoom Video Communications, and Duke Chung, founder and CEO of TravelBank.
“When Steven shared with me his vision of ‘outbound recruiting made easy,’ I immediately understood how this could transform an industry that’s ripe for change,” said Carey Lai, managing director at Conductive Ventures.
Steven Jiang and Xinwen Zhang founded the Mountain View, California-based company in 2015.
CompTIA’s Job Seeker Trends
Approximately 30% of survey respondents reported pursuing a new job or career change in fourth quarter, according to the latest “Job Seeker Trends” report released by CompTIA, a trade association for the IT industry. That’s a slight uptick from 29% in CompTIA’s previous survey of job seekers conducted six months ago.
The survey also found a majority of job seekers expects to need additional training when transitioning into a new career field, though a relatively small subset, 19%, reported they have taken a training class or other instruction. Among planned activities reported by job seekers, 60% intend to take an online training course, 50% said they’ll do self-study and 41% reported interest in an in-person training course.
“Offering employees opportunities to develop new skills and identifying pathways to advancement have always been best practices, but in today’s hiring environment they are paramount,” said Todd Thibodeaux, CompTIA president and CEO.