IN4 Group tech skills leader Mo Isap awarded OBE in New Year’s Honours

Mo Isap, CEO of IN4 Group, has been awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in the New Year’s Honours List for services to education and skills.

The honour recognises Mo’s 30-year career as an entrepreneur, business leader and education advocate, and his continued contribution to improving access to education, skills and career opportunities, particularly for people from underrepresented and underserved backgrounds.

Born in Blackburn, Lancashire, Mo is the founder and CEO of IN4 Group, an award-winning international professional technology training and skills provider headquartered at MediaCity, Salford. 

Through a place-based delivery model, IN4 Group works with schools, colleges, employers, and government to unlock local talent and support economic growth, with a strong focus on fair access to technology careers, including apprenticeships that support progression into highly skilled, long-term employment.

To date, IN4 Group has supported more than 6,000 people into technology roles, delivered technology careers education to more than 2,000 schools and colleges, and upskilled over 1,000 creative technology freelancers. Of those supported, 59 per cent are women and 37 per cent are from underrepresented groups. In the past three years alone, the Group has generated more than £44 million in social impact.

Throughout his career, Mo has focused on building practical routes from education into employment, aligning skills provision with real industry need while ensuring opportunity is accessible to people from all backgrounds.

Alongside his work at IN4 Group, Mo holds several senior education and civic leadership roles. He is a founding director and Vice Chair of Trustees at Star Academies, one of the country’s leading Multi Academy Trusts, with over 22,000 students across 35 Schools nationwide. He is Chair of the Lancashire Business Board and board director of The Careers & Enterprise Company. He previously served as Trustee of The Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Mo said: “I’m deeply honoured to receive this award for services to education and skills. It reflects a lifetime of work across education, skills and enterprise, and the belief that talent exists everywhere if people are given the right opportunities.

“Education is where long-term change happens, and it plays a vital role in creating opportunity for individuals, families and communities.

“I’ve been fortunate to work with partners across education and industry who share a commitment to widening access and ensuring more people can progress into meaningful careers.

“Skills are central to productivity, inclusion and long-term economic growth, which is why sustained investment in people, alongside technology, matters so much.”

IN4 Group’s work is underpinned by a mission to ensure fair access to technology futures, guided by values centred on humanising technology, connection to place and a culture of belonging.