[6] Ufi was created in 1998 to take forward HM Government's stated vision of a 'University for Industry' in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and launched Learndirect in 2000.

Ufi VocTech Trust has no ongoing relationship with Learndirect [7] but is custodian of the original intent to improve access to skills through the use of technology.

[8] Ufi announced in late 2009 that it would be unable to sustain the large network of centres due to proposed budget cuts.

Learndirect participated as a provider in the UK government's mandatory unpaid work experience programme for those on Jobseeker's Allowance, in place between 2011 and 2017.

During this period, 84% of Learndirect's profits were redirected to its parent firm to pay for dividends, debt-servicing, and legal fees, as well as half a million pounds to sponsor the Marussia F1 racing team.

[11] In March 2017, the Education & Skills Funding Agency (EFSA) issued a "notice of serious breach"[12] against Learndirect for 70% of its apprenticeship services not meeting state-required minimums.

In filings for this injunction, the managing director of Learndirect claimed that the Skills Funding Agency said it would serve three months notice on all its contracts if its Ofsted rating were to stand.

[19] In January 2025, the Watchdog segment of the BBC One television programme The One Show reported on two Learndirect customers who had not received refunds to which they were entitled.

[20] In June 2018, as Learndirect drew close to insolvency, Lloyds Development Capital sold the company for a nominal sum to Dimensions Training Solutions (DTS), part of the privately-held Stonebridge Group.

[27] Learndirect administers the "Life in the United Kingdom" test, for candidates for British citizenship, on behalf of UK Visas and Immigration, a division of the Home Office.