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SCC0179VA - Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation practitioner

Suffolk County Council

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

30 Sep 2026 at 15:39

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Suffolk County Council procured apprenticeship training services for an Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation Practitioner programme, supporting its early careers strategy. The work is vocational training: delivering apprenticeship learning for Council learners, with provision intended to meet their needs. The delivery location is Ipswich. The buyer is Suffolk County Council, and the successful provider, MBKB Ltd, is based in the West Midlands. This is a service requirement rather than a purchase of equipment or construction work. The stated scope is focused on apprenticeship training in AI and automation, not general technology consultancy or unrelated training. The opportunity was identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community and social enterprises.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded to MBKB Ltd. Suffolk County Council used a selective call-off from the YPO framework, with bids from learning providers filtered against its service requirements and evaluated on quality of provision, value for money and alignment with learner needs. The award date was 30 September 2026. The awarded contract value is £90,000. The stated estimated procurement range was £18,000 to £90,000. The contract runs from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2028. This was a single training requirement, with no separate lots described. The evaluation outcome was that MBKB demonstrated the best overall fit for delivering the training in support of the Council’s early careers strategy.

For providers considering similar work with Suffolk County Council, this award demonstrates demand for apprenticeship training in AI and automation, delivered through a public-sector framework call-off. A credible competitor would need to show strong training provision and a clear fit with the needs of Council learners, as well as value for money. The Council linked the requirement to its early careers strategy, so relevant apprenticeship delivery capability and the ability to support that purpose would matter. The procurement was considered suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises, and the selected provider is an SME. The award does not establish a requirement for any particular accreditation, technical certification or minimum delivery capacity; the published evaluation emphasis was on provision quality, price and learner fit.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

SCC0179VA - Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation practitioner

Notice Description

Suffolk County Council has awarded apprenticeship training services to MBKB through established public sector frameworks, specifically the YPO framework. Learning providers submitted bids which were filtered based on the Council's service requirements. These bids were then evaluated against pre-defined criteria including quality of provision, value for money, and alignment with learner needs. The successful provider demonstrated the best overall fit for delivering apprenticeship training to support the Council's early careers strategy

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-b5fd17-a3d2a2c5-0804-49a2-a77f-6b2ee997ee4a
Publication Source
Contracts Finder
Latest Notice
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/12905fd6-3b5e-4434-a0c9-5dd82f1ef98b
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Call-off from a framework agreement
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

80 - Education and training services

CPV Codes

80530000 - Vocational training services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£90,000 Under £100K
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£90,000 Under £100K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
30 Sep 20266 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
30 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Contract Period
1 Oct 2026 - 30 Sep 2028 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Not Specified
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Suffolk County Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
IPSWICH
Postcode
IP1 2BX
Postcode Area
Ipswich
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH6 Suffolk
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH62 Ipswich
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Ipswich
Electoral Ward
Gipping
Westminster Constituency
Ipswich

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

MBKB LTD

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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