Blackburn College has acquired Training 2000, transferring ownership of the Lancashire apprenticeship provider away from the University of Lancashire ahead of the 2026/27 academic year. The move brings one of the region's largest apprenticeship training operations under further education control, reshaping how technical and higher-level skills provision is delivered across East Lancashire.

The transfer, confirmed by Blackburn College and covered by TheBusinessDesk, ends an ownership arrangement dating to 2017, when Training 2000 joined what was then the University of Central Lancashire under a strategic alliance aimed at expanding degree apprenticeships. Training 2000's headquarters will remain on Harwood Street in Blackburn, and existing apprentices will continue their programmes on current timescales.

Blackburn College, based in Blackburn, England, is the largest further education college in Pennine Lancashire, offering provision from Access to Higher Education through to degree-level and higher technical qualifications. The University of Lancashire, formerly the University of Central Lancashire, is a Preston-based public university with around 23,900 students that reported an operating deficit of £3.9 million for the year to 31 July 2024.

The structural driver behind the transfer is the financial strain facing universities with non-core training subsidiaries, which is prompting institutions such as the University of Lancashire to divest specialist apprenticeship providers to further education colleges better positioned to run them at scale.

Dr Fazal Dad CBE, principal and chief executive of Blackburn College, said the acquisition would "create one of the strongest apprenticeship and technical education offers in the region" and let the college "invest further in skills development" for employers and learners.

Professor Graham Baldwin OBE DL, vice chancellor of the University of Lancashire, said Blackburn College has "an excellent reputation for delivering high-quality education and skills training" and that the transition provides "the strongest foundation for the future success of Training 2000."

For the sector, the transfer reflects a broader realignment of specialist apprenticeship providers within further education institutions, as universities reassess which training subsidiaries sit outside their core academic offer.

Source: blackburn.ac.uk / thebusinessdesk.com / lancashire.ac.uk