Arctic Shores, a provider of skills assessment tests to recruiting firms, has secured a Series B investment of £5.75m as it looks to accelerate the development of its “psychometric” product.
Founded in Manchester in 2014, Arctic Shores was born out of the idea that modern recruitment methods are unable to accurately filter candidates with appropriate skill sets. The company has claimed that the CV does not tell a complete story of an applicant, which is costing firms money by losing out on the most suitable candidate.
“Companies are being squeezed by a lack of specific skills which is driving up salaries and recruitment costs,” said Arctic Shores founder Robert Newry.
“On top of that, there is a cohort of experienced workers soon to retire, and an increasingly digitised economy creating many new roles for which no prior experience exists.”
Newry claims companies that maintain legacy recruitment methods “will fail”.
Arctic Shores believes that recruiters should move away from hiring purely based on candidate experience, and instead focus on potential.
The company claims it can find these high-potential employees through its psychometric skills assessments, which look for aptitude in ‘soft skills’. Past clients of the Northern startup include TalkTalk, PwC, and Vitality.
The Series B investment round was led by Praetura Ventures, which specifically targets startups based in the North of England, along with Calculus Capital. Existing shareholder Beringea also participated in the latest investment.
“The recruitment landscape is changing rapidly. The challenges employers face today are fundamentally different to those we’ve seen in previous years. And new challenges need new tools,” said Helen Verwoert, operational partner at Praetura Ventures.
“Arctic Shores’ platform gives its clients that edge by broadening the talent pool, hiring based on real skills, and removing bias from outdated practices.”
The company previously raised $5.5m (£4.5m) in its Series A funding round, led by Beringea.
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