The Government's national training organisation for the
telecommunications industry has been put into administration
following government demands to return European grants worth
£10m.
Bill GoodwinThe move follows an eight-month investigation into the finances
of NTO Tele.com, one of the Government's flagship public/private
sector partnerships, by the Department for Education and
Employment's special investigation unit.
The administration order will give the Education Department time
to hand over NTO Tele.com's responsibilities to other national
training organisations.
The E-skills NTO, which is responsible for skills and training
for the IT profession, is understood to be among the organisations
interested in taking over its work.
NTO Tele.com's problems began when Global Business Dimensions, a
company contracted by the NTO to provide training programmes,
collapsed, leaving £10m in European Social fund grants unaccounted
for.
Steve Smith and Peter Godfrey-Evans of Mercer & Hole
chartered accountants were appointed as joint administrators on 3
November.
Analysis