Award

Work Ready Service for Young Adults with Mental Illness

ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL

This public procurement record has 10 releases in its history.

Award

01 Dec 2025 at 14:00

TenderUpdate

13 Aug 2025 at 12:36

TenderUpdate

05 Aug 2025 at 15:51

Tender

18 Jul 2025 at 14:17

PlanningUpdate

18 Jul 2025 at 12:40

PlanningUpdate

02 Jun 2025 at 19:17

PlanningUpdate

23 May 2025 at 09:06

PlanningUpdate

23 May 2025 at 08:44

PlanningUpdate

22 May 2025 at 08:55

Planning

22 May 2025 at 08:43

Summary of the contracting process

Essex County Council has successfully awarded a contract for the "Work Ready Service for Young Adults with Mental Illness" to GET SKILLS EMPLOYMENT & TRAINING LTD. This procurement, valued at approximately £1,045,000, involved an open procedure under the light-touch regime, focusing on services in the health and social work sectors within the UK. The service addresses the vocational aspirations of young adults between the ages of 16 and 26 with severe mental illness, primarily in the Southern region of the UK. The procurement process was completed on 1st December 2025, with the contract set to run from 1st January 2026 to 1st January 2029, inclusive of potential extensions reaching up to 2031. The initial submission deadline was on 18th August 2025.

This tender opens significant opportunities for businesses specialising in mental health and vocational training. SMEs and organisations focused on social value and quality service delivery are well-suited to participate in such tenders. Given the emphasis on resilience-building and life skills development, companies offering innovative solutions and co-production methodologies with service users and carers can enhance service delivery outcomes. Businesses that align with strategic goals of public health improvements and social care are likely to benefit from this dynamic sector’s growth potential.

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Notice Title

Work Ready Service for Young Adults with Mental Illness

Notice Description

Essex County Council is commissioning a service to support individuals aged 16 to 26 years old who have experienced severe mental illness to achieve their vocational goals and aspirations. This service is in response to the disruption young adults experienced during and following Covid and the high levels of mental health illness now being experienced by young adults which is impacting on their education and employment opportunities This is a newly commissioned service, based on the data, needs and voice of people that use services who have told us that they do not get the support around their vocational aspirations when they need it due to their mental illness. The requirements for this service are not fully prescriptive. Essex County Council would expect the successful provider to work with commissioners and crucially people with lived experience and their carers to inform the design and delivery using a robust approach to co-producing the service. Lived experience and co-production should be at the heart of shaping the service and Essex County Council fully expects the service to evolve over the life of the contract to reflect this. The purpose of the service is to support young adults to: * Be enabled to develop the life skills necessary to access education, training or paid employment. * Build resilience and aspirations and return to school, college and/or begin training * Build confidence, self-esteem and motivation * Develop plans for how to achieve their career plans and aspirations * Build life skills such as time management, financial/budget management, organisation and team work * Become engagement ready and access other resources in the community such as youth services * In particular, the service is to provide opportunities for those individuals who may not have supportive families to guide them through finishing education and planning for work. * The service will also contribute to the delivery of the outcomes set out in the Essex Mental Health Strategy.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: There is an optional 24 month extension.

Planning Information

The Market Engagement Session was due to be held via Microsoft Teams on Tuesday 3rd June at 12pm, unfortunately this has now been postposed due to unforeseen circumstances. It will be rescheduled within the next few weeks, however the exact date is unclear. Our team is hoping this will be no later than 20th June. However, please contact elizabeth.willis@essex.gov.uk if you are interested in this opportunity or would like further information. (Update note for transparency: the market engagement was held on 25th June 2025 at 11:30am.)

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-051ca2
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078505-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Dynamic
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services


CPV Codes

85100000 - Health services

85300000 - Social work and related services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£627,000 £500K-£1M
Lots Value
£627,000 £500K-£1M
Awards Value
£1,045,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
1 Dec 20252 months ago
Submission Deadline
18 Aug 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
20 Jun 2025Expired
Award Date
1 Dec 20252 months ago
Contract Period
1 Jan 2026 - 1 Jan 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL
Contact Name
Elizabeth Willis
Contact Email
procurementsanda@essex.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
CHELMSFORD
Postcode
CM1 1QH
Post Town
Chelmsford
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH3 Essex
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH36 Heart of Essex
Delivery Location
TLJ South East (England)

Local Authority
Chelmsford
Electoral Ward
Moulsham and Central
Westminster Constituency
Chelmsford

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

GET SKILLS EMPLOYMENT & TRAINING

Further Information

Notice Documents

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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