Award

FTS047 Pathways to Start - Lot 1 Argyll and Bute

HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS ENTERPRISE

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

20 Oct 2025 at 14:59

Tender

05 Aug 2025 at 08:41

Summary of the contracting process

The procurement process led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) focuses on the provision of "FTS047 Pathways to Start - Lot 1 Argyll and Bute", an initiative targeting the education and training services industry. This process is concluded, with the award made to Skillfluence. The initiative is aimed at supporting underrepresented groups in entrepreneurship through tailored training and mentoring programs in Argyll and Bute, specifically excluding areas like Arran, Cumbrae, and Helensburgh and Lomond. The initial tender was published with a service start date of 20th October 2025, running until 31st March 2026, and now transitions into the award stage following the contract award notice dated 20th October 2025. The procurement was executed via an open procedure under the legal framework of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, emphasising stringent quality and pricing criteria.

This tender presents substantial opportunities for companies specialising in educational and training services, particularly those supporting entrepreneurship and personal development within regional communities. Businesses capable of delivering comprehensive training programs, project management consultancy, and those with a robust inclusivity practice are particularly well-suited to leverage this opportunity. Given the sizeable contract budget and further allowances for increased participant numbers, scalable service providers can benefit greatly, especially those that align with high-quality service delivery standards and effective engagement methodologies. The emphasis on adult and vocational education underscores potential demand for companies with expertise in bespoke training and adult learning services.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

FTS047 Pathways to Start - Lot 1 Argyll and Bute

Notice Description

THIS IS THE CONTRACT AWARD NOTICE FOR LOT 1 ARGYLL and BUTE. HIE procured a supplier to deliver a programme to support underrepresented groups in entrepreneurship. The programme will inspire participants to increase their ambition, confidence and capability to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and enter pathways for starting a business through a programme of entrepreneurial training and mentoring tailored towards underrepresented groups/individuals specific learning needs. HIE's current requirements are divided into two geographical Lots: - Lot 1: Argyll and Bute, covering HIE areas only - Lot 2: Moray Note, Lot 1 covers Argyll and Bute geographical area i.e. excluding Arran, Cumbrae, and Helensburgh and Lomond. The services are required from 20 October 2025 until 31 March 2026, unless terminated in accordance with the provisions of the Contract. The delivery of the services, submission of all invoices and completion of all reports must be complete by 20 March 2026.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Key tasks are: 1. Programme design 2. Outreach, stakeholder engagement and participant recruitment 3. Training delivery 4. Programme administration and monitoring. Please refer to the Scope of Requirement and Guidance document for full details. Additional information: Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in Regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

Options: HIE reserves the right, on giving reasonable written notice from time to time, to require changes to the Services (whether by way of the removal of Services, the addition of new Services, or increasing or decreasing the Services or specifying the order in which the Services are to be performed or the locations where the Services are to be provided). HIE shall not require any such change other than where it is permitted by Regulation 72 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. Examples of contract modifications are but not limited to: -Additional funding is obtained (beyond the GBP20,000 contingency included in the total contract value of each lot) and used e.g. to increase the number of participants. Tendered rates will apply to any increases. -Envisaged number of participants could not be recruited, resulting in reduced service requirements/volumes. -Less than 16 participants could be recruited for the programme - HIE reserves the right not to proceed with the programme and terminate the contract. -Recruited participant numbers exceed 45 for the lot. In this case (some of) the allowance of GBP20,000 will be utilised to provide services to further participants, as per tendered rates per participant. -Where HIE determines (at our sole discretion) that demand for the programme under a lot is lower than expected, HIE reserves the right to re-allocate the budget for that Lot to the other Lot subject to the maximum total budget of GBP480,000 (i.e. the maximum total of the two lots). -If Special Category Personal Data and/or other sensitive personal information requires further/different procedures, the supplier will be required to comply with these.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-058131
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/066815-2025
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
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

80 - Education and training services


CPV Codes

72224000 - Project management consultancy services

79400000 - Business and management consultancy and related services

79410000 - Business and management consultancy services

79411000 - General management consultancy services

79411100 - Business development consultancy services

80000000 - Education and training services

80210000 - Technical and vocational secondary education services

80400000 - Adult and other education services

80500000 - Training services

80521000 - Training programme services

80522000 - Training seminars

80532000 - Management training services

80570000 - Personal development training services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£240,000 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
£240,000 £100K-£500K
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£211,500 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
20 Oct 20251 months ago
Submission Deadline
8 Sep 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
8 Oct 20252 months ago
Contract Period
19 Oct 2025 - 31 Mar 2026 1-6 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS ENTERPRISE
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
hieprocurement@hient.co.uk
Contact Phone
+44 1463245245

Buyer Location

Locality
INVERNESS
Postcode
IV2 5NA
Post Town
Inverness
Country
Scotland

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLM Scotland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLM2 Highlands and Islands
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLM20 Highlands and Islands
Delivery Location
TLM63 Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh, Arran and Cumbrae, and Argyll and Bute

Local Authority
Highland
Electoral Ward
Inverness South
Westminster Constituency
Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

SKILLFLUENCE

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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