Hercules PLC (LSE:HERC) has acquired the business and assets of Quality Transport Training, a move that will expand its training arm and support efforts to tackle the UK’s widening construction skills gap.
The AIM-listed company, which supplies labour to infrastructure and construction projects, said the deal would strengthen the capacity of its Hercules Academy in Nuneaton. The training centre has enrolled over 1,500 people since it opened in January 2024.
Quality Transport Training runs government-funded programmes aimed at helping unemployed people into work, often in partnership with councils, probation services and employers. It also holds a contract with the Department for Education to deliver skills bootcamps, a commitment that will now transfer to Hercules.
Staff from QTT will join the Hercules Academy team and contribute to a broader range of courses. The company said the move would allow it to scale up training delivery and provide a larger pipeline of job-ready workers for the sector.
The acquisition is Hercules' second transaction, following the acquisition of Future Build Recruitment Ltd in November 2023, and is in line with Hercules' targeted M&A strategy.
CEO Brusk Korkmaz said: "The Hercules Academy was established to address the well-documented skills shortages facing the infrastructure and construction sectors.
"QTT's expertise in vocational training will, in particular, add to the fantastic work already being done by the Academy team.
"This is another important step for Hercules to become one of the UK's leading providers of skilled labour and training for the infrastructure and construction sectors."
The UK’s Construction Industry Training Board estimates the industry will need almost 225,000 additional workers by 2027. Hercules said the acquisition was a response to that demand and part of its strategy of targeted takeovers. It follows the purchase of Future Build Recruitment in November 2023.