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T Level Industry Placement Support Services

Department for Education

This public procurement record has 7 releases in its history.

Award

13 Aug 2026 at 14:28

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
AwardUpdate

10 Jul 2026 at 09:37

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

08 Jul 2026 at 10:07

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

30 Mar 2026 at 15:01

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

12 Mar 2026 at 10:28

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
Planning

22 Oct 2025 at 10:32

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

29 Jul 2025 at 09:57

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Education procured national T Level Industry Placement Support Services. The service is designed to strengthen employer engagement, improve providers’ capability and increase the availability and quality of industry placements across regions and sectors in England. It covers improving understanding of T Levels, helping large employers offer placements at scale for students from multiple providers and pathways, and building sustainable partnerships between providers and employers in every locality. The supplier is also expected to help prepare students for placements, support providers during delivery, improve placement quality and reduce terminations. The work is classified as education and training services, including technical and vocational secondary education services, and is delivered across the UK regions represented in the procurement.

The procurement is complete and the contract has been awarded to SDN Mesma Group Ltd, with the contract signed on 21 July 2026. The award date was 6 July 2026. It used an above-threshold open procedure, with four bids received, including four from SMEs. The contract runs from 1 August 2026 to 31 August 2028, with two optional one-year extensions potentially taking delivery to 31 August 2030. The awarded value is £1,941,421 excluding VAT, or £2,329,705.20 including VAT. There was one lot, assessed using a Price per Quality Point methodology: whole-life price was divided by the quality score. Quality was based entirely on the quality questionnaire, with social value weighted at 10%.

This requirement indicates demand for suppliers able to coordinate a complex, national education support offer involving employers, schools and colleges, students and multiple delivery pathways. Credible competitors would need demonstrable capability in employer engagement, technical and vocational education, provider support, partnership development and large-scale placement coordination. They would need to turn national strategy into consistent local relationships, equip large employers to host students from more than one provider, and support students and providers throughout placement delivery. Evidence of improving placement quality, reducing terminations, reaching intended audiences and maintaining customer satisfaction would be important. The contract was identified as suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises, while the evaluation also gave material weight to social value through learning and skills development that addresses skills gaps.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

T Level Industry Placement Support Services

Notice Description

The Department for Education (DfE) has procured a Supplier to deliver the T Level Industry Placement Support Services contract. The contract will provide a coordinated national support offer for providers and employers, strengthening employer engagement, improving provider capability, and increasing the availability and quality of industry placements across regions and sectors. The primary objective of this contract is to ensure sufficient high-quality industry placements are available to support the successful delivery and scale up of T Levels through: -Generating an improved understanding of T Levels and their benefits, across regions and sectors. -Ensuring large employers have the knowledge and tools to offer placements at scale, hosting students from multiple providers and pathways. -Facilitating self-sustaining and strong partnerships between T Level providers and employers in every locality, leading to an increase in employers offering year-on-year placements. -Preparing students for placements, supported by their provider throughout, increasing the quality of their experience and reducing placement terminations. The contract will begin on 1 August 2026 with delivery commencing from 1 September 2026. The contract will run for two years until 31 August 2028, with two seperate 1 year extention options that would take delivery up to 31 August 2030 if both extensions are utilsed. The procurement included social value as part of the evaluation criteria weighted at 10% and will cover MAC2a: Learning and skills development opportunities relevant to the contract to address skills gaps, in relation to PPN002 "Taking account of social value in the award of central government contracts". This UK7 - Contract details notice is published to inform suppliers and the public that the contracting authority has entered into a contract and to provide key details of the awarded contract in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: The contract includes 2 optional 1 year extension options.

Planning Information

Market Engagement Event Invitation We would like to invite all interested organisations to attend a market engagement event which will provide an opportunity to hear about our initial thinking. We will also be seeking structured feedback through a follow-up survey, which will play a key role in shaping the future delivery and commercial model. Your insights will be critical to informing our approach. Through this engagement, the DfE aims to: • Share initial thinking and early insights into the potential scope and structure of a future contract model. • Gather feedback from the market to inform the design and scope. • Understand any innovative approaches, delivery mechanisms and outputs that could improve outcomes for providers, employers and learners. • Provide an opportunity for stakeholders to ask questions and offer input. • Help the DfE gauge the level of market interest in bidding for a contract in 2026. Date: Thursday 6th November 2025 Time: 10:00 – 11:00am Location: Microsoft Teams Online Webinar How to Register To register your interest and secure a place at the event, please use this link: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/2a294675-26f8-4a54-8ceb-7876a3837fe0@fad277c9-c60a-4da1-b5f3-b3b8b34a82f9 Next Steps Following the event, participants will be invited to complete a short survey to provide structured feedback on the proposed delivery and commercial model. Important: Please note that this is not a call for competition and does not commit the Department to procuring, or procuring services in any specific way. Any future opportunities will be subject to budgetary decisions and the availability of funding.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0567aa
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077295-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

80 - Education and training services

CPV Codes

80000000 - Education and training services

80210000 - Technical and vocational secondary education services

80211000 - Technical secondary education services

80212000 - Vocational secondary education services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£2,000,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£2,000,000 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£1,941,421 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
£1,941,421 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
13 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
1 May 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
30 Mar 2026Expired
Award Date
6 Jul 20261 months ago
Contract Period
1 Aug 2026 - 31 Aug 2028 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Department for Education
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1P 3BT
Postcode Area
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
TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England)
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

SDN Mesma Group Ltd.

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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