QA sells systems division and plans to grow training business
QA, the UK’s leading provider of learning solutions, has further strengthened its position in the UK training market through the sale of its sister company, solutions provider IQ Sys.
Chief Executive of QA, William Macpherson, comments; “It has long been part of our strategic plan to focus on our core learning services business, and securing the sale of IQ Sys to SCH Distribution is an important move towards this. We are continually looking to grow our business, and see the current challenging market as an opportunity to actively seek further acquisitions.”
Following the acquisition of Xpertise Training in 2008, the fully integrated business has seen exceptional success and has been recognised as an outright leader in training and learning services. So far this year QA has been awarded VMware Authorised Training Centre of the year for EMEA , Citrix Authorised Learning Centre of the year, Citrix Certified Instructor of the Year for EMEA, Sun Education Centre of the Year, Novell training partner of the year and IBM reseller of the year. To top this, last week QA was presented with Microsoft’s Worldwide Impact Partner Award for Learning Solutions in front of an audience of 9,000, in New Orleans, and recognised at a private lunch in the presence of Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Ballmer and other senior Microsoft US and UK executives.
Macpherson continues; “We’re working closely with both our customers and the wider learning industry to ensure that we are providing the skills and services that are needed in the current market. Our goal is to help our customers achieve the ideal balance between increased quality and more frequent opportunities for learning, but at a lower cost. Throughout the course of 2009 we will be further building our offering, and have strong plans already in place for some exciting new developments in 2010.”
As part of QA’s broader focus on the learning market, the company is seeing strong success for its Advanced IT Apprenticeship programme , developing the skills of 16-18 year olds who are the next generation of IT professionals.
Providing end-to-end learning solutions that build learning portfolios and training programmes aligned to business goals is also proving a strong market, with QA’s Managed Learning Service rated as amongst the top 20 worldwide by Training Outsourcing in 2009.
QA delivers training and learning services from its 24 dedicated training centres UK-wide, and has partnerships in place with over 25 professional bodies and product vendors. Training available includes IT training and Business Applications, Professional Best Practice , and Management & Personal Development skills. The company is part funded by private equity firm, Englefield Capital.