Free2Learn was born out of a simple idea – fighting unemployment by providing an opportunity for anyone to move from welfare to work as quickly as possible and to help anyone looking for a career change.

Before the opening of Free2Learn in 2010, the financial crisis had hit the UK and the unemployment rate started to dangerously increase, reaching a 10% national average in 2011. Some boroughs were in an even more critical situation, with the borough of Hackney reaching almost 12% unemployment between 2010 and 2011, making it one of the most deprived areas in the UK.

Our mission and vision have always been to support learners, so it was a natural progression for Free2Learn to open its first centre in Hackney[CF2] , in order to provide our short courses to those in need and focus on supporting young people. The first free training course we delivered was the security course, which has become one of our most popular and longest-running training courses.

With the regeneration of the area due to the 2012 London Olympics, there were a large number of new job opportunities to help build the infrastructure of the surrounding areas and in the hospitality and retail sector in the run-up to the Olympic Games. In response to these developments, we diversified our courses and started offering free training in construction with CSCS card , retail, hospitality  and developed partnerships with local firms working with the Olympics in order to offer real job outcomes.

We quickly grew, becoming a national leader in the delivery of free training courses and have expanded to several offices in London and the North East of England, including Oldham and Doncaster.

Our vision has always been to give people the skills they need to break the unemployment cycle through accredited certificates and qualifications and now that the unemployment rate has dropped dramatically, we’d like to think that we’re part of the reason why!