Professional investment firm Jacobs Holding has reached an agreement with private equity firm IK Partners to acquire the Catalan official vocational training group Ilerna. Founded in Lérida in 2014, the educational institution currently has more than 46,000 students in eleven face-to-face centres and in its online programmes.

Education is one of the three priority industries for Jacobs Holding. In this new phase, the Swiss company intends to consolidate Ilerna's market position "together with the management team and employees". Among other projects, it plans to expand its educational offer and make its teaching programmes accessible to a larger number of students. It also plans to enhance the use of advanced technological tools and increase its physical presence.

Students and employers
Today, Ilerna offers a wide range of online courses to meet the needs of both students and employers, adapting to changes in the labour market. In recent years, it has also developed face-to-face training with the opening of eleven centres that complement its online offer, a network that the new owner intends to increase.

Jacobs Holding CEO Tim Franks and managing director Justin Lewis-Oakes explained, "We have identified vocational education as a very attractive industry within the European education landscape and Spain as a highly dynamic market with significant further growth opportunities in the future. The online segment provides access to a broad demographic of students who can flexibly enhance their skills around existing life commitments to improve their long-term career opportunities. We are excited to back industry-leading Ilerna in its next stage of growth and to partner with co-founders Jordi Giné and Virginia Agelet, two accomplished leaders and innovators in the space."

Jordi Giné Llorens, CEO of Ilerna, is grateful for the ongoing support of IK Partners over the last three years, "It has been a great journey with the tripling of the size of the group and new campuses in Barcelona, Cordoba, Jerez, Lerida, Madrid, Tarragona, Seville and Valladolid. We would like to welcome you on board Jacobs Holding. They have unrivalled experience in the global education industry and will provide further support for our next phase of ambitious development."

^{Photo: Ilerna}