Homegrown collaboration to bring world-class tech jobs to Blackburn

IN4 Group, an award-winning technology skills, talent, and scale-up innovation service operator, has partnered with Blackburn College to dedicate support to local people from all backgrounds to secure careers in the tech industry.

The collaboration will ensure residents from Blackburn and across Lancashire have a clear pathway to tech jobs in some of the fastest-growing companies in the world, with a focus on adult career changers, career breakers and those from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds.

It is set to bring world-class tech jobs to the region and contribute to the growth of the local economy through IN4’s extensive network of industry clients and partners, including Aramco, IBM, AWS, Vodafone, Microsoft, KPMG UK, BAE Systems, Bentley, and BT.

The partnership will also support local SMEs and start-ups to grow through technology with access to the most tech-ready talent, unlocking the latent potential of the once proud industrial heartland of the nation.

As part of this, IN4 Group will establish a base for its Skills City operation at Blackburn College campus to offer fast-track development into careers as AWS, Microsoft, Unity and Unreal developers, engineers and analysts. Skills City’s operation consists of clients with over 1500 live tech jobs and apprenticeships, and transitions over 600 people into tech career starts every year.

The partnership will also create a base for the delivery of the Group’s flagship NCSC North West CyberFirst contract, working with schools from across Lancashire.

The CEO of IN4 Group, Mo Isap, has a longstanding relationship with Blackburn College and was previously a member of its Corporation Board. “Being a Blackburn lad, born and bred, I’m very proud of the exceptional reputation Blackburn College has built for the region, and that together, we are bringing world-class opportunities to our community and the place I call home,” said Mo.

“We want to ensure there is a visible and clear pathway for residents and local people from all backgrounds to access job opportunities. It’s time we brought big tech to Blackburn as big tech needs our talent as much as we need the jobs.

“We have many examples of people who were previously working as taxi drivers or waiters and are now working in tech as cloud engineers or data analysts – it can be life-changing!” he added.

Dr Fazal Dad, Principal and Chief Executive of Blackburn College, said: “Blackburn with Darwen is home to a very diverse and talented community who are seeking opportunities to start or progress their careers in the digital sphere. The College is working with a diverse network of partners to deliver the skills needed by the workforce of the future. We are investing heavily in our digital training environments to respond to the needs of employers.”

“Working with IN4 Group is part of our vision of offering opportunities for both current and prospective students, a pipeline of industry-ready apprentices and positioning Blackburn College as the leading provider of skills education in Lancashire.”

Applications for Skills City are open, find out more here: skills-city.com