London-based startup Spotted Zebra has secured USD1.8m in seed funding in a round led by Playfair Capital, with participation from Entrepreneur First. The company is helping solve the skills-gap crisis by powering the shift to skills-based organisations, a rapidly growing trend amongst the world’s largest employers.

The magnitude of the skills-gap crisis is astonishing. The World Economic Forum estimates that 50% of all employees will need reskilling in the next few years. In the USA, there are over 11 million job vacancies but less than 5 million unemployed. Across G20 countries, failing to close the skills-gap could put at risk $11.5 trillion in potential GDP growth over the next decade. In response, the world’s largest companies are transitioning to a new operating model for workforces; one that sees skills as the fundamental building blocks of work.

For over a century, jobs have been the dominant paradigm through which workforces have been structured, often trapping people and value in job-related silos. In the modern workforce we already see a tendency of employees to contribute value beyond the limits of their job description. A skills-based organisation is one that recognises and leans into this reality by making skills, rather than job titles and academic qualifications, the common operating currency of workforce management.

However, challenges arise for companies attempting the shift towards becoming skills-based organisations and this is where Spotted Zebra comes in. The company powers skills-based workforce management through its integrated skills cloud and suite of applications that sit across the talent lifecycle. The skills cloud provides a common skills taxonomy that is contextualised to the organisation’s unique values and operating principles. The applications draw on this to put skills at the heart of all people-decisions, and currently include hiring, succession planning and employee reskilling.

Spotted Zebra is a rarity amongst startups that announce seed funding, having already gained significant traction in its target market of the UK’s largest corporate employers. It counts a number of FTSE100 companies amongst its growing list of clients.

“The magnitude of the skills-gap crisis is astonishing. More than half of companies around the world cannot find the skills they are looking for. Many companies are responding by adopting a new operating model for workforces; one that sees skills as the fundamental building blocks of work. But up until now there was no coherent technology solution to support such a transition. Spotted Zebra changes that! We power skills-based organisations,” said Ian Monk, CEO of Spotted Zebra.

The rise of the skills-based economy has led to increasing demand for skills flexibility and adaptability, and Spotted Zebra is well-positioned to provide organisations with the technology enabler they need to thrive in this new world. Joe Thornton, partner at Playfair Capital, said, “We are excited to partner with a team that is defining a new SkillsTech category within the £30bn HR Tech space; one that puts skills at the heart of all people-decisions.”

With its mission to power skills-based organisations, Spotted Zebra is set to disrupt the HR Tech space, creating a more agile, productive, and engaged workforce for the future.