Professional technology training and skills provider IN4 Group has acquired Approved Training Ltd (ATL), a Midlands-based apprenticeship provider specialising in manufacturing and engineering.
The move strengthens the Greater Manchester firm’s national apprenticeship and workforce productivity offer, as it looks to help employers develop skilled, job-ready talent and improve outcomes through levy-funded upskilling.
Established in 2016, ATL has built a strong reputation in apprenticeship delivery, particularly among manufacturing and engineering employers.
The business holds a “Good” Ofsted rating and works with a wide range of employers across the sector.
As part of the deal, IN4 Group has also entered into a strategic partnership with GMP Recruitment, founded by James Cronin and Mike Pincott, with the aim of scaling its recruit, train and deploy model nationwide.
The collaboration is intended to bring recruitment and apprenticeship delivery closer to real-time employer demand.
The acquisition will enable the business, headquartered at MediaCity, Salford, to launch and scale its Modern Workplace Apprenticeships solution.
The programme is designed to help organisations use Apprenticeship Levy funding to drive immediate productivity improvements by upskilling employees across the workforce.
Through the deal, ATL’s delivery capability will be integrated into IN4’s wider ecosystem of technology and skills programmes.
These include MIND (The Power of Mums in Data), which supports career-break mums into digital and business analyst apprenticeship roles, and The Creative Engine, which develops creative and AI talent for the brand and advertising sectors.
IN4’s offer also includes Modern Worker for the Modern Workplace (MWMW), focused on workforce-wide upskilling to help organisations adopt digital and AI-enabled tools and improve productivity.
The programmes are designed to create structured pathways for existing employees, new entrants and career changers, while giving employers a more strategic and outcomes-led approach to apprenticeships and skills development.
The expanded apprenticeship offer will be delivered across IN4’s four core regions of Greater Manchester and Lancashire, Liverpool, the Midlands and London.
“This acquisition strengthens our ability to connect local talent into high-skilled and well-paid careers, enabled by achieving tangible productivity and growth outcomes for employers of all sizes,” said Mo Isap, CEO of IN4 Group.
“We have spent the past year developing employer-led AI-enabled apprenticeship pathways and programmes, aligned to the government’s Modern Industrial Strategy and their continued investment and adaptation of the Apprenticeship Levy.”