Euan Blair's startup cuts jobs as economy slows

Euan Blair founded Multiverse in 2016. Photo: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Start-up founded by son of former Labor MP Prime Minister Tony Blair has cut dozens of jobs by refusing to help school leavers find apprenticeships.

Multiverse, founded by Euan Blair in 2016 year, has reportedly laid off as many as 40 people over the past 12 years. months.

The cuts mainly affected the early talent team, which helps 18-year-old school leavers secure internships with some of the world's leading companies as an alternative to university education.

Instead, the company moved. the focus is on «upskilling», where the company offers training courses to companies for their employees. Demand for these services has increased dramatically in recent years, especially in areas such as programming or other technology skills. City AM was the first to report the change in strategy.

The shift comes as demand for staff falls and the economy slows.

Multiverse's revenue comes from the course fees it charges employers for training, as well as fees for finding trainee candidates.

< p>It also receives government grants, such as the apprenticeship levy, which companies can use to payment for its training programs.

The startup suffered losses for six years in a row. The latest accounts show a loss of £14.2 million for the year ending March 2022. Revenue rose to £27.2 million from just over £10 million the year before.

Since its launch, Multiverse has raised over £2. 300 million in venture capital funding and was worth around £1.4 billion last year.

Earlier this year The Telegraph revealed that its backers included America's richest family, the Waltons, whose fortune associated with the Walmart retail empire.< /p>

Blair, 34, previously said that «apprenticeships are key to solving some of the biggest problems facing society today.» He opposed the expansion of university education and advocated for alternative options for school leavers.

Earlier this year, Multiverse said it had trained more than 10,000 students worldwide. The company initially launched in the UK and then expanded to the US.

The company still offers its apprenticeship programs but has now focused its efforts on training.

Although this has led to dozens of redundancies in some teams, the company has hired more than 100 employees overall in the last year.

A Multiverse spokesperson said: “At the heart of our mission is the belief that education should not be the only entry point into a career, but rather that economic barriers mobility that is addressed by skills does not diminish with age — we have always been clear about this growing area of ​​our business.

“It is completely normal for growth stage companies to require different skills in key areas, and we are developing our team and are hiring for the next phase of this exciting journey.”