Engineering college quietly closed down – will now become storage and retail centre

An Oldham-based engineering college that has trained apprentices for decades has quietly shut its doors.

Oldham Engineering Group Training Association has closed down its site on Lees Road due to ‘declining enrolments and partnerships’. 

The training centre, which once trained around 75 apprentices a year in engineering courses, is now due to be converted to a retail and storage unit. 

Under plans approved by the town hall, the two-storey building in the Mount Pleasant Business Centre will be converted into a warehouse and shop, with external cold storage. In a design and access statement, Dr Kanadi Jagafa of Mason and Marlowe architects wrote: “The building was formerly used as a training centre for a range of apprenticeships primarily in the engineering and business services sectors. However, over the last few years, the training centre has been experiencing declining enrolments and partnerships. It becomes untenable for the business to be sustainable. Therefore, the training centre had to close its doors.

“The proposal is for change of use of the building to part storage and distribution and part retail. Both uses will serve the community and provide jobs to the residents.” 

The college is still active on Companies House and Ofsted, though the firm’s most recent account statements show the college’s income almost halved from £720k to £370k between 2023 and 2024. But its website now shows a 101 error, and its Facebook page has been deleted. 

The college received a ‘good’ rating from Ofsted in September 2024, clawing its way back after it was told it ‘required improvement’ in 2022. Inspector at the time praised knowledgeable tutors with industry experience, and specialist curriculums ranging from welding to Aircraft Maintenance Licences. 

The site is presumed to have closed suddenly in autumn 2025. The college management were approached for comment. Its closure has prompted some locals to raise concerns about future routes for young people wishing to go into manufacturing or engineering – once one of Oldham’s biggest industries.