Affinity Workforce Solutions acquires Training Toolz in first move beyond recruitment

The UK’s leading education workforce provider, Affinity Workforce Solutions, has made its first acquisition outside recruitment and staffing, buying education training platform Training Toolz.

The deal brings CandidateGo and Training Schoolz into Affinity Workforce’s portfolio of brands. Training Schoolz has been rebranded Affinity Elevate, an all-in-one platform for staff training, compliance management and professional development, built specifically for schools. A new Trust-wide version, Affinity Elevate 360, extends this further, helping Multi-Academy Trust’s reduce risk, strengthen compliance oversight and create consistency across every school they run.

CandidateGo continues as its own product within the group, providing online training and compliance for education recruitment agencies. It gives agencies a way to deliver essential CPD, track completion and keep clear training records, while making sure candidates are compliant and have completed mandatory training before their first placement, cutting administration for consultants and compliance teams along the way.

The acquisition builds on ground Affinity has already broken beyond recruitment, through its existing eSafeguarding service under The Protocol Group.

Esme Bianchi-Barry, CEO of Affinity Workforce Solutions, said:

“This acquisition is a natural next step for us. We’ve spent years helping schools and MATs find the right people, and now we can help them keep those people trained, compliant and supported once they’re in post. It’s about being a genuine partner to education, not just a recruitment agency.”

The move builds on findings from Affinity’s 2026 candidate satisfaction survey, which found that 77% of supply teachers would stay in the education sector even without supply work. Training already sits at the heart of the business through Affinity Academy, its learning and development hub, which supported 894 candidates through completed courses last academic year.

The acquisition comes as Affinity continues to be recognised for its own workplace culture. The business was named in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list for the third consecutive year, placing in the Large Organisation category with an average happiness score of 86% and job satisfaction of 88%.

Affinity Workforce Solutions provides recruitment, compliance and workforce solutions to schools, multi-academy trusts, colleges and training providers across the UK, through its brands Career Teachers, CER, Monarch Education, The Protocol Group and Affinity Partnerships. Together, these brands support thousands of schools and colleges with supply staffing, permanent recruitment and workforce compliance, helping to keep classrooms running and pupils learning every day. Affinity’s growing platform portfolio also includes Affinity Elevate, Affinity Elevate 360, CandidateGo and eSafeguarding, supporting schools, MATs and recruitment agencies with training, compliance and safeguarding needs.