Listen to this story Members can listen to an AI-generated audio version of this article. 1.0x Audio narration uses an AI-generated voice. 0:00 0:00 Become a member to listen to this article Subscribe The Charity Commission is assessing “governance and financial concerns” at a 60-year-old engineering training charity that closed abruptly last year. Oldham Training Centre (OTC), which has been running since 1966, dismissed staff without notice or pay in November. Formally known as Oldham Engineering Group Training Association, the charity told employees it was about to enter creditors’ voluntary liquidation because it was “unable to make all payments”. But five months later it is yet to formally enter liquidation, and former employees, who said they had not received wages, fear they are running out of time to claim redundancy pay within a six-month time limit. Some staff are understood to be owed redundancy payments covering more than 15 years of employment at the charity. Asset questions Employees and a former trustee told FE Week they are concerned about what happened to profits from an auction of the charity’s 21,000 sq-ft training centre in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The building was sold in July with an advertised guide price of £750,000. Its specialist equipment, including pillar drills and lathes, were also sold online last year by a neighbour of OTC’s director of business operations Martin Peter Sherry. Sherry, who ran the organisation, was appointed as a director of the charity’s business in July 2024. He also appears to have been a trustee for a short period. He had previously run apprenticeship companies including Cranage Ltd, Obscurant Limited and Tatton Solutions. OTC director Martin Peter Sherry Ten days ago ownership of the charity’s subsidiary health and safety training business, OTC Consulting, which brought in an income of £105,000 in 2023-24, was transferred to Sherry and fellow director and current trustee James Kelly. A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “We are assessing governance and financial concerns raised with us about Oldham Engineering Group Training Association Limited to determine any next steps. “We can confirm that, in line with our guidance, the charity has reported this matter to us.” The commission added that it has made no findings and drawn no conclusions at this stage. When contacted for comment, Sherry claimed he was unavailable because he was about to start an online meeting. He now appears to have blocked our calls. Staff ‘completely aggrieved’ Former employees told FE Week they had received limited direct contact from trustees and directors since receiving dismissal letters from Sherry on November 26. Staff were told to contact insolvency practitioner Chris Knott, of insolvency firm Leonard Curtis, with queries about redundancy payments. However, Knott told them he could offer no help as he had not been formally appointed as liquidator. Electrical instructor Paul Brown, who worked at OTC for 10 years and believes he is owed more than £12,000, said he felt “completely aggrieved”. He added that staff all put “a lot of effort” into helping the centre gain a ‘good’ Ofsted grade in 2024, after a previous ‘requires improvement’ grade. Former tutor Eric Shaw, who estimates he is owed £2,500, said he was “disgusted” staff had not been paid. Both Brown and Shaw called for an investigation into what had happened at the charity, including the sale of its building. OTCs training centre was auctioned last July Source httpspropertyauctionsio When questioned about the delay, Marie Ann Shenton, accountant for OTC, told FE Week that insolvency paperwork had now been completed, adding: “These things don’t happen overnight.” She said assets were sold after “independent valuation” and claimed transferring the subsidiary company OTC Consulting into Kelly and Sherry’s personal ownership made the liquidation process “easier to do formally”. She added: “It was just for ease of transaction, really. And there’s no value in the company, so it’s not as if we’ve shifted value from the holding company to shareholders.” Falling headcount Income and apprentice numbers at OTC appear to have declined in recent years. It specialised in apprenticeship standards including maintenance and operations engineering technician, metal fabricator, engineering fitting and design and draughting. Its 2021-22 accounts show a surplus of £90,000 on a turnover of £664,000, with reserves of almost £1 million. But in 2023-24 it made a loss of about £360,000, reserves fell to £407,000, and Companies House records show it took out two loans of undisclosed amounts in late 2024, with all of its assets offered as security. When Ofsted gave the ‘requires improvement’ grade in 2022 there were about 130 apprentices. By the time it returned to ‘good’ in 2024 there were only 75. When contacted for comment, Kelly, also CEO of the British Metals Recycling Association, shared what he claimed was a collective statement “on behalf of the trustees”. It said that liquidators were currently only working in an “advisory” capacity, with a formal decision on their appointment “imminent”. It added: “The trustees have at all times sought to act in accordance with their duties and responsibilities, taking appropriate advice where required and working to ensure that decisions are made in the best interests of the organisation and its stakeholders, including learners, staff, employers and funding bodies. “The circumstances leading to the current position are complex and have developed over time. “As is standard in situations of this nature, several of the matters raised are now subject to formal review and will be considered through the appropriate statutory and regulatory processes.” The statement said trustees were “fully committed” to working with bodies including the Charity Commission, and that “decisions have not been made lightly”. However, the statement claimed it would be inappropriate to provide “detailed commentary on specific points”. In a separate statement, trustee John Robinson, a director at Innovative Technology Ltd, distanced himself from Kelly’s statement. He said: “Given the circumstances and my responsibilities, I’m not in a position to comment in detail at this stage. “I have, however, taken appropriate steps through the relevant channels to ensure that matters are being addressed in line with my duties as a trustee. “I have sought at all times to act in the best interests of the charity and its staff.” GTA model in decline Group training associations (GTAs) are long-running charities, often originating in the 1960s, that offer shared specialised apprenticeship training to local employers. Employers typically access GTA training through an annual membership and sometimes oversee its management by becoming trustees. OTC is the second GTA to close in Greater Manchester in recent years, following the liquidation of Salford and Trafford Engineering GTA (STEGTA) in 2024. Only Stockport Engineering Training Association remains in the region. There are understood to be about 29 GTAs across England.