Award

Adult Skills Course Delivery

EAST DURHAM COLLEGE

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

01 Oct 2025 at 10:21

Tender

02 Aug 2024 at 12:47

Summary of the contracting process

East Durham College, a public law body located in Peterlee, UK, conducted a procurement process for the delivery of adult skills courses within the North East Combined Authority area. With a focus on educational services, particularly adult and other education services, the tender invited proposals for a contract valued up to £450,000, with an 80/20 split in funding allocation. This open procurement procedure progressed to the award stage, with contracts signed on 7th October 2024. The procurement aimed to secure up to two organisations to provide part-time courses aligning with strategic aims of regional skill boards, emphasising employment pathways for adults 19 years and older residing in specific postcodes. The tender, now complete, awarded contracts to Learning Curve Group and Utraining Limited, with a combined contract value of £450,000.

This tender opens significant opportunities for businesses in the educational sector, particularly those with a local presence in County Durham, Sunderland, or Gateshead. It seeks providers with a successful track record in delivering adult education, demonstrated by achievement rates above national averages and positive employment progression outcomes. Organisations capable of meeting local skills demands and offering a strong financial standing, as indicated by inspection outcomes, are well-suited to compete. The tender restricts subcontracting layers to maintain quality assurance, offering business growth potential for firms capable of directly delivering AEB-funded courses and adapting to strategic employment and skills development goals in the North East.

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Notice Title

Adult Skills Course Delivery

Notice Description

East Durham College is looking to secure a maximum of two organisations to deliver adult education courses to people aged 19 years and over who live in postcodes within the North East Combined Authority area. The contract value will be based on an 80/20 split. The full contract value will be a maximum of PS450,000 - Tenderers are invited to bid for the contract amount they can effectively deliver within the specified contract requirements, it will then be at the discretion of the College to determine the split of the contract award. Adults must live in an address with a North East Combined Authority postcode, it is not the delivery location. Provision is expected to be part-time and must be linked to the North East LEP or LSIP Strategic Aims for each area. East Durham College is seeking provision which moves adults either directly into jobs or closer to the employment market. We will not accept large volumes of employability provision or distance learning. We would expect all the funded provision to be AEB funded and not Skills for Jobs. The training must be delivered in full by the contracted training provider, i.e. only one level of sub-contracting is permitted, and no second level subcontracting is permitted. The quality of provision and subcontractor financial health will be paramount as the College will retain responsibility to the ESFA and OFSTED for programme quality. Financial health and inspection outcomes will form important parts of the assessment process, where a credit rating is above average we may reject their tender. The estimated contract value reflects the funding value of learning to be delivered and will be subject to a management fee which will not exceed 20%. Providers must have experience of delivering provision to meet local skills needs and be able to provide verified data in the following areas: * Achievement rates which are above national averages * High levels of positive progression into employment * History of achieving contracts in the last two years The positive progression must be into employment, further learning or improved prospects. We are not looking to deliver generic employability programmes. We will only look to contract with providers who have a history of delivering in the North East and they must have a permanent base in County Durham, Sunderland or Gateshead.

Lot Information

Lot 1

You are invited to tender for the provision of Adult Skills Course Delivery, commencing September 2024 to 31st July 2025. Tenderers are asked to confirm their intention to Tender for this Contract by 'Registering their Intent' to Joanne Wilson at joanne.wilson@eastdurham.ac.uk, procurement@eastdurham.ac.uk East Durham College is looking to secure a maximum of two organisations to deliver adult education courses to people aged 19 years and over who live in postcodes within the North East Combined Authority area. The contract value will be based on an 80/20 split. The full contract value will be a maximum of PS450,000 - Tenderers are invited to bid for the contract amount they can effectively deliver within the specified contract requirements, it will then be at the discretion of the College to determine the split of the contract award. Adults must live in an address with a North East Combined Authority postcode, it is not the delivery location. Provision is expected to be part-time and must be linked to the North East LEP or LSIP Strategic Aims for each area. East Durham College is seeking provision which moves adults either directly into jobs or closer to the employment market. We will not accept large volumes of employability provision or distance learning. We would expect all the funded provision to be AEB funded and not Skills for Jobs. The training must be delivered in full by the contracted training provider, i.e. only one level of sub-contracting is permitted, and no second level subcontracting is permitted. The quality of provision and subcontractor financial health will be paramount as the College will retain responsibility to the ESFA and OFSTED for programme quality. Financial health and inspection outcomes will form important parts of the assessment process, where a credit rating is above average we may reject their tender. The estimated contract value reflects the funding value of learning to be delivered and will be subject to a management fee which will not exceed 20%. Providers must have experience of delivering provision to meet local skills needs and be able to provide verified data in the following areas: * Achievement rates which are above national averages * High levels of positive progression into employment * History of achieving contracts in the last two years The positive progression must be into employment, further learning or improved prospects. We are not looking to deliver generic employability programmes. We will only look to contract with providers who have a history of delivering in the North East and they must have a permanent base in County Durham, Sunderland or Gateshead.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-048731
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/061226-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large, SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

80 - Education and training services


CPV Codes

80400000 - Adult and other education services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£450,000 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£450,000 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
1 Oct 20254 months ago
Submission Deadline
28 Aug 2024Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
6 Oct 20241 years ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
EAST DURHAM COLLEGE
Contact Name
Joanne Wilson
Contact Email
joanne.wilson@eastdurham.ac.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
PETERLEE
Postcode
SR8 2RN
Post Town
Sunderland
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLC North East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLC41 Durham
Delivery Location
TLC North East (England)

Local Authority
County Durham
Electoral Ward
Peterlee West
Westminster Constituency
Easington

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
2
Supplier Names

LEARNING CURVE GROUP

UTRAINING

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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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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