Planning

Digital and Technical Skills Training

DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Planning

07 Aug 2020 at 08:36

Planning

13 Jul 2020 at 13:58

Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Education is currently planning a public procurement process titled "Digital and Technical Skills Training," aimed at addressing the digital skills shortage across the United Kingdom. This procurement falls under the Education and Training Services category and seeks proposals from partnerships that include local employers, training providers, local authorities, and the Further Education sector in regions such as Leeds City Region, East Midlands, and the South West. An engagement deadline is set for 31 August 2020, and a virtual supplier event will take place on 21 July 2020, providing an opportunity for potential bidders to gain insights into the process. Up to three contracts will be awarded, one for each area identified.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses, particularly those specialising in digital and technical training, workforce development, and engagement with underrepresented groups. Businesses that can effectively collaborate with local employers to design and deliver training programmes will be well-positioned to succeed. Companies involved in recruitment, workforce development, or educational services catering to adults 19+ are encouraged to participate, especially those with a history of flexible and high-quality training delivery. Successful bids will demonstrate cash or in-kind contributions from employers, showcasing how their training aligns with industry needs and prepares individuals for guaranteed job interviews.

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Notice Title

Digital and Technical Skills Training

Notice Description

DfE is considering procurement of organisations including employers, local authorities and providers in Leeds City Region, Heart of the South West and D2N2, to test the delivery of a new training model to provide specialist digital skills training in the first instance to fill digital skills shortage vacancies. The partnerships should design and deliver approximately 12 week training courses to provide a pipeline of individuals linked to guaranteed interviews with employers. As part of the proposal, employers will be expected to show what cash or in-kind contribution (including guaranteed interviews as a minimum) they will make. We anticipate that at least 75% of all trainees will move into a new job or role. A virtual supplier event will be held on 21 July to provide more detail and a chance to ask questions about the opportunity. We aim to award up to 3 contracts (1 per area) to partner organisations consisting of local employers, digital/ICT training providers, local authorities and the FE sector to evidence digital skills shortage vacancies and design and deliver approximately 12 week training courses to provide a pipeline of individuals to fill those roles (when possible we will expand to include other technical skills). The partnership will be linked into local networks and intelligence; if these links are not demonstrated bids will not be successful. A successful bid will show how: * Employers are represented and leading on what training is delivered * Employers have set out their recruitment needs * Guaranteed interviews are secured as an outcome * There is cash and/or in-kind support from recruiting employers * How underrepresented groups and those with protected characteristics will be engaged and recruited to the training programmes * Participants recruited will be adults 19+ in work or recently unemployed * Proposed costs of training are determined, including how costs could be reduced through scaling up, whilst maintaining quality * % alignment with apprenticeship occupational standards where available * Training will be delivered flexibly around other commitments including work, job seeking and caring * Participating organisations and individuals will commit to participate in user research and evaluation. Bids must detail the cash and/or in-kind contribution that employers will make, examples could include work experience or support with CVs, interview skills and other interpersonal skills - we are interested in ideas around this. This model will deliver training that meets employer's immediate needs in a pre-employment phase, de-risking the recruitment process for them. Additional information: **IMPORTANT** Mandatory Requirement: Partnership working is important to us, we expect bidders to form a partnership including representatives from all of the following organisations: employers, digital/ICT training providers, local authorities and the publicly funded Further Education sector. If there is no evidence of this partnership working, bids will not be successful. Any one of the partners can be the lead organisation. The lead organisation will submit the bid on behalf of the partnership and will act as the co-ordinating body; partners will determine the roles they all play as part of the bidding process. **IMPORTANT** The procurement will be run using DfE's Education and Children's Social Care (ECSC) Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). Please ensure that you are fully registered on the Redimo2 system and accepted onto the DPS in order to see the opportunity. Registration may take up to two weeks. If you are not FULLY registered onto the DPS and have selected your category codes by the publication date (Aug 2020) you will not be able to bid. We will be using the following Category Codes: ECSC02, ECSC 04, ECSC08, ECSC09, ECSC10, ECSC14, ECSC15. Only suppliers who have selected one or more of those codes PRIOR TO OPPORTUNITY LAUNCH will be able to view and bid on this opportunity. We are interested in partnerships that have expertise and experience across all the following qualifying criteria: - building and maintaining employer networks - designing training solutions that meet employer requirements (expected level 3-5 equivalent) - Able to demonstrate a track record of high-quality training delivery - Track record of recruiting suitable trainees using open, transparent and fair methods - flexible delivery to suit individual needs and current conditions - management practises to track and report trainee destination at various time points for evaluation purposes - management practises to co-ordinate employer's guaranteed interviews and report on outcomes for evaluation purposes We will not accept bids from organisations where both of the following are true: (a) they do not have experience across all of these essential areas individually; (b) they are unwilling to form a partnership or consortia to cover all of these essential areas collectively. We are keen to understand how these training courses align with Occupational Standards where available and encourage bids to describe the alignment. We anticipate that any successful provider(s) will deliver from December/January 2021 expect delivery to last approximately 12 weeks. The funding available to each area will depend on proposals from bidders, it will be calculated on how many people they would train to meet the demand they have identified. We anticipate that at least 75% of all trainees will move into a new job or role.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-b5fd17-2b8fd142-2ba7-4b05-8ada-80c5cdb239c2
Publication Source
Contracts Finder
Latest Notice
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/4262bd63-e132-40f9-8a86-0a72ef8feca1
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Dynamic
Procurement Category
Not specified
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

80 - Education and training services


CPV Codes

80000000 - Education and training services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
7 Aug 20205 years ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
31 Aug 2020Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Not Specified
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
elipt.mailbox@education.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1P 3BT
Post Town
South West London
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLF East Midlands (England), TLK South West (England)

Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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