Award

Top Apprenticeship Employer Rankings 26-27

DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION

This public procurement record has 5 releases in its history.

Award

14 Nov 2025 at 09:28

TenderUpdate

08 Sep 2025 at 14:13

TenderUpdate

08 Sep 2025 at 14:11

Tender

08 Sep 2025 at 14:03

Planning

08 Aug 2025 at 13:22

Summary of the contracting process

The procurement process for the "Top Apprenticeship Employer Rankings 26-27" has been successfully completed by the Department for Education, located in London. This contract, with an estimated value of £380,000, falls under the service industry category, specifically focusing on advertising consultancy services. The procurement was conducted using an open procedure, with the final contract awarded on 10 November 2025 to RMP Enterprise Limited. This initiative aims to manage the rankings for the top apprenticeship employers from 2026 to 2027. Key milestones include the contract start date on 1 December 2025 and its conclusion on 30 November 2027, with options for a one-year renewal. The procurement stage is now in the award stage.

This tender offers significant opportunities for business growth, particularly for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with strengths in event management and advertising consultancy. Companies that can manage large-scale rankings projects, ensure quality assurance, and conduct detailed analysis will be well-suited to participate. With a strong focus on engaging SMEs and potentially voluntary, community, and social enterprises, businesses with innovative solutions and collaborative capabilities will find this opportunity attractive. The project also requires the capability to develop promotional and research activities, making it ideal for firms with expertise in content creation and event management.

Find more tenders on our Open Data Platform.
How relevant is this notice?

D3 Tenders Premium

Win More Public Sector Contracts

AI-powered tender discovery, pipeline management, and market intelligence — everything you need to grow your public sector business.

Notice Title

Top Apprenticeship Employer Rankings 26-27

Notice Description

The DfE is seeking to engage parties who are interested in bidding to deliver Top Apprenticeship Employer Rankings for 2026 and 2027. The DfE are looking for an end-to-end Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer (and Top 50 SME employers) - Entries & Administration supplier, that includes: * Management of Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer rankings. * Confirm entry criteria and application process. * Quality assurance of all entries and across the whole application process. * Compile final rankings and all associated resources. * Analyse and prepare detailed evaluation and data reports. * Design and Management of content and celebration events. * Develop and deliver 2-year activities, research, and benchmarking reports. * Develop and deliver webinars for employers and individuals and support promotional activities. The DfE undertook an open procurement to search for a suitable supplier for the contract. RMP Enterprise Limited have been awarded as the successful bidder.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: The contract has the option to extend for 1 year.

Planning Information

This is a notice seeking early engagement from interested parties in relation to the Department for Education Top Apprenticeship Employer rankings 2026 and 2027. Please note that all references to procedure, value and term length are purely illustrative and subject to change. The Top Apprenticeship Employers rankings form an integral part of a three-point employer and stakeholder celebration strategy (alongside National Apprenticeship Week and National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards), to ensure a continual drumbeat of celebratory activity throughout the calendar year. The rankings, now in their fourth year, support wider government and departmental priorities for upskilling the nation and increasing the prestige of apprenticeships. The Top Apprenticeship Employers helps develop a recognition and resonance with employers and students of apprenticeships. This helps support access and progression and helps to increase consideration of skills across all audiences and influencers. The key objectives of the Top Apprenticeship Employers rankings are to: • Celebrate and promote outstanding apprenticeship employers, through significant high-profile publicity of the rankings and listed employers. • Encourage employers more widely to improve the quality of their apprentice offer, through feedback, best practice sharing and case studies. • Help potential apprentices and parents easily find high performing employers offering apprenticeships, through employer publicity, improved relationships with careers advisors, Careers and Enterprise Company and Amazing Apprenticeships. The DfE is seeking to engage parties who are interested in bidding to deliver Top Apprenticeship Employer Rankings for 2026 and 2027. Please note that this notice is for early market engagement and exploratory purposes and is not a call for competition. The Department reserves the right not to enter any formal processes or agreements. Accordingly, the authority will not be liable for any bid cost, expenditure, work, or effort incurred by a provider in acting based on this notice. The DfE shall be hosting a virtual event on Thursday 14th August 2025 at 10:00 to discuss the vision for the scheme for 2026 and 2027 and would like to encourage any parties who are interested in contributing to the success of a future scheme to register for this event. To do so, please register for the event at: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/1edc1e9e-6f57-43d7-9007-8d8223d923b0@fad277c9-c60a-4da1-b5f3-b3b8b34a82f9

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05843f
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/073794-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award 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

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


CPV Codes

79341100 - Advertising consultancy services

79952000 - Event services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£316,666 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
£316,666 £100K-£500K
Awards Value
£316,666 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
14 Nov 20253 months ago
Submission Deadline
3 Oct 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
15 Aug 2025Expired
Award Date
10 Nov 20253 months ago
Contract Period
1 Dec 2025 - 30 Nov 2027 1-2 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
policyassurance.commercialqueries@education.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1P 3BT
Post Town
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
Not specified

Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

RMP ENTERPRISE

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

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.

{
    "tag": [
        "compiled"
    ],
    "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-05843f-2025-11-14T09:28:47Z",
    "date": "2025-11-14T09:28:47Z",
    "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-05843f",
    "initiationType": "tender",
    "parties": [
        {
            "id": "GB-PPON-PDZG-3487-DPVD",
            "name": "Department for Education",
            "identifier": {
                "scheme": "GB-PPON",
                "id": "PDZG-3487-DPVD"
            },
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "Sanctuary Buildings, 20 Great Smith Street",
                "locality": "London",
                "postalCode": "SW1P3BT",
                "country": "GB",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom",
                "region": "UKI32"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "email": "PolicyAssurance.COMMERCIALQUERIES@education.gov.uk"
            },
            "roles": [
                "buyer"
            ],
            "details": {
                "classifications": [
                    {
                        "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE",
                        "id": "publicAuthorityCentralGovernment",
                        "description": "Public authority - central government"
                    }
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "id": "GB-PPON-PDGH-7196-DRJX",
            "name": "RMP Enterprise Limited",
            "identifier": {
                "scheme": "GB-PPON",
                "id": "PDGH-7196-DRJX"
            },
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "Piano House, 9 Brighton Terrace, Brixton",
                "locality": "London",
                "postalCode": "SW9 8DJ",
                "country": "GB",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom",
                "region": "UKI45"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "email": "Matthew@rmpenterprise.co.uk"
            },
            "roles": [
                "supplier"
            ],
            "details": {
                "scale": "sme",
                "vcse": false,
                "publicServiceMissionOrganization": false,
                "shelteredWorkshop": false
            }
        }
    ],
    "buyer": {
        "id": "GB-PPON-PDZG-3487-DPVD",
        "name": "Department for Education"
    },
    "planning": {
        "milestones": [
            {
                "id": "engagement",
                "type": "engagement",
                "description": "This is a notice seeking early engagement from interested parties in relation to the Department for Education Top Apprenticeship Employer rankings 2026 and 2027. Please note that all references to procedure, value and term length are purely illustrative and subject to change. The Top Apprenticeship Employers rankings form an integral part of a three-point employer and stakeholder celebration strategy (alongside National Apprenticeship Week and National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards), to ensure a continual drumbeat of celebratory activity throughout the calendar year. The rankings, now in their fourth year, support wider government and departmental priorities for upskilling the nation and increasing the prestige of apprenticeships. The Top Apprenticeship Employers helps develop a recognition and resonance with employers and students of apprenticeships. This helps support access and progression and helps to increase consideration of skills across all audiences and influencers. The key objectives of the Top Apprenticeship Employers rankings are to: * Celebrate and promote outstanding apprenticeship employers, through significant high-profile publicity of the rankings and listed employers. * Encourage employers more widely to improve the quality of their apprentice offer, through feedback, best practice sharing and case studies. * Help potential apprentices and parents easily find high performing employers offering apprenticeships, through employer publicity, improved relationships with careers advisors, Careers and Enterprise Company and Amazing Apprenticeships. The DfE is seeking to engage parties who are interested in bidding to deliver Top Apprenticeship Employer Rankings for 2026 and 2027. Please note that this notice is for early market engagement and exploratory purposes and is not a call for competition. The Department reserves the right not to enter any formal processes or agreements. Accordingly, the authority will not be liable for any bid cost, expenditure, work, or effort incurred by a provider in acting based on this notice. The DfE shall be hosting a virtual event on Thursday 14th August 2025 at 10:00 to discuss the vision for the scheme for 2026 and 2027 and would like to encourage any parties who are interested in contributing to the success of a future scheme to register for this event. To do so, please register for the event at: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/1edc1e9e-6f57-43d7-9007-8d8223d923b0@fad277c9-c60a-4da1-b5f3-b3b8b34a82f9",
                "dueDate": "2025-08-15T23:59:59+01:00",
                "status": "scheduled"
            }
        ],
        "documents": [
            {
                "id": "047297-2025",
                "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK2",
                "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/047297-2025",
                "datePublished": "2025-08-08T14:22:05+01:00",
                "format": "text/html"
            }
        ]
    },
    "tender": {
        "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-05843f",
        "legalBasis": {
            "id": "2023/54",
            "scheme": "UKPGA",
            "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents"
        },
        "title": "Top Apprenticeship Employer Rankings 26-27",
        "description": "The DfE is seeking to engage parties who are interested in bidding to deliver Top Apprenticeship Employer Rankings for 2026 and 2027. The DfE are looking for an end-to-end Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer (and Top 50 SME employers) - Entries & Administration supplier, that includes: * Management of Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer rankings. * Confirm entry criteria and application process. * Quality assurance of all entries and across the whole application process. * Compile final rankings and all associated resources. * Analyse and prepare detailed evaluation and data reports. * Design and Management of content and celebration events. * Develop and deliver 2-year activities, research, and benchmarking reports. * Develop and deliver webinars for employers and individuals and support promotional activities. The DfE undertook an open procurement to search for a suitable supplier for the contract. RMP Enterprise Limited have been awarded as the successful bidder.",
        "items": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "additionalClassifications": [
                    {
                        "scheme": "CPV",
                        "id": "79952000",
                        "description": "Event services"
                    }
                ],
                "relatedLot": "1"
            }
        ],
        "value": {
            "amountGross": 380000,
            "amount": 316666.67,
            "currency": "GBP"
        },
        "mainProcurementCategory": "services",
        "aboveThreshold": true,
        "lots": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "contractPeriod": {
                    "startDate": "2025-12-01T00:00:00+00:00",
                    "endDate": "2026-11-30T23:59:59+00:00",
                    "maxExtentDate": "2027-11-30T23:59:59+00:00"
                },
                "status": "complete",
                "value": {
                    "amountGross": 380000,
                    "amount": 316666.67,
                    "currency": "GBP"
                },
                "awardCriteria": {
                    "criteria": [
                        {
                            "type": "price",
                            "name": "Commercial Evaluation",
                            "description": "For the Commercial Envelope, bidders are asked to complete the Excel attachment within titled \"Pricing Schedule\". This must be completed fully for your bid to be considered.",
                            "numbers": [
                                {
                                    "number": 30,
                                    "weight": "percentageExact"
                                }
                            ]
                        },
                        {
                            "type": "quality",
                            "name": "Objectives",
                            "numbers": [
                                {
                                    "number": 5,
                                    "weight": "percentageExact"
                                }
                            ]
                        },
                        {
                            "type": "quality",
                            "name": "Quality Assurance",
                            "numbers": [
                                {
                                    "number": 12.5,
                                    "weight": "percentageExact"
                                }
                            ]
                        },
                        {
                            "type": "quality",
                            "name": "Delivery & Project Management",
                            "numbers": [
                                {
                                    "number": 12.5,
                                    "weight": "percentageExact"
                                }
                            ]
                        },
                        {
                            "type": "quality",
                            "name": "Resources",
                            "numbers": [
                                {
                                    "number": 10,
                                    "weight": "percentageExact"
                                }
                            ]
                        },
                        {
                            "type": "quality",
                            "name": "Social Value",
                            "numbers": [
                                {
                                    "number": 10,
                                    "weight": "percentageExact"
                                }
                            ]
                        },
                        {
                            "type": "quality",
                            "name": "Presentation",
                            "numbers": [
                                {
                                    "number": 20,
                                    "weight": "percentageExact"
                                }
                            ]
                        }
                    ]
                },
                "selectionCriteria": {
                    "criteria": [
                        {
                            "type": "economic",
                            "description": "Suppliers must demonstrate that they have the legal and financial capacity to perform the contract. This includes: Being a legally registered entity with the authority to enter into a contract. Not being subject to any mandatory exclusion grounds under the Procurement Act 2023. Demonstrating financial stability by completing the relevant sections of the Standard Selection Questionnaire (SQ) provided in the eTendering Portal. These conditions are assessed on a pass/fail basis and are proportionate to the nature and value of the contract."
                        },
                        {
                            "type": "technical",
                            "description": "A detailed service specification outlining the full scope, requirements, and expectations of this contract is available via the eTendering Portal. Interested suppliers must review this document in full before submitting a response, as it forms a key part of the procurement documentation."
                        }
                    ]
                },
                "suitability": {
                    "sme": true,
                    "vcse": true
                },
                "hasRenewal": true,
                "renewal": {
                    "description": "The contract has the option to extend for 1 year."
                }
            }
        ],
        "status": "complete",
        "procurementMethod": "open",
        "procurementMethodDetails": "Open procedure",
        "submissionMethodDetails": "https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html The procurement will take place on the DfE Jaggaer system. Please register an account and search for ITT_3681 where the procurement documents will be stored and your tender response can be submitted.",
        "submissionTerms": {
            "electronicSubmissionPolicy": "allowed",
            "languages": [
                "en"
            ]
        },
        "tenderPeriod": {
            "endDate": "2025-10-03T23:59:00+01:00"
        },
        "enquiryPeriod": {
            "endDate": "2025-09-19T17:00:00+01:00"
        },
        "awardPeriod": {
            "endDate": "2025-11-10T23:59:59+00:00"
        },
        "documents": [
            {
                "id": "conflictOfInterest",
                "documentType": "conflictOfInterest",
                "description": "Not published"
            },
            {
                "id": "054716-2025",
                "documentType": "tenderNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK4",
                "description": "Tender notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/054716-2025",
                "datePublished": "2025-09-08T15:03:51+01:00",
                "format": "text/html"
            },
            {
                "id": "054726-2025",
                "documentType": "tenderNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK4",
                "description": "Tender notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/054726-2025",
                "datePublished": "2025-09-08T15:11:22+01:00",
                "format": "text/html"
            },
            {
                "id": "054728-2025",
                "documentType": "tenderNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK4",
                "description": "Tender notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/054728-2025",
                "datePublished": "2025-09-08T15:13:17+01:00",
                "format": "text/html"
            }
        ]
    },
    "language": "en",
    "bids": {
        "statistics": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "measure": "bids",
                "value": 2,
                "relatedLot": "1"
            },
            {
                "id": "2",
                "measure": "finalStageBids",
                "value": 2,
                "relatedLot": "1"
            },
            {
                "id": "3",
                "measure": "smeFinalStageBids",
                "value": 2,
                "relatedLot": "1"
            },
            {
                "id": "4",
                "measure": "vcseFinalStageBids",
                "value": 0,
                "relatedLot": "1"
            }
        ]
    },
    "awards": [
        {
            "id": "1",
            "title": "Top Apprenticeship Employer rankings 2026-27",
            "status": "pending",
            "date": "2025-11-10T00:00:00+00:00",
            "value": {
                "amountGross": 380000,
                "amount": 316666,
                "currency": "GBP"
            },
            "mainProcurementCategory": "services",
            "aboveThreshold": true,
            "suppliers": [
                {
                    "id": "GB-PPON-PDGH-7196-DRJX",
                    "name": "RMP Enterprise Limited"
                }
            ],
            "items": [
                {
                    "id": "1",
                    "additionalClassifications": [
                        {
                            "scheme": "CPV",
                            "id": "79341100",
                            "description": "Advertising consultancy services"
                        }
                    ],
                    "deliveryAddresses": [
                        {
                            "region": "UK",
                            "country": "GB",
                            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                        }
                    ],
                    "relatedLot": "1"
                }
            ],
            "standstillPeriod": {
                "endDate": "2025-11-25T23:59:59+00:00"
            },
            "contractPeriod": {
                "startDate": "2025-12-01T00:00:00+00:00",
                "endDate": "2027-11-30T23:59:59+00:00"
            },
            "relatedLots": [
                "1"
            ],
            "documents": [
                {
                    "id": "073794-2025",
                    "documentType": "awardNotice",
                    "noticeType": "UK6",
                    "description": "Contract award notice on Find a Tender",
                    "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/073794-2025",
                    "datePublished": "2025-11-14T09:28:47Z",
                    "format": "text/html"
                }
            ],
            "assessmentSummariesDateSent": "2025-11-10T00:00:00+00:00",
            "milestones": [
                {
                    "id": "1",
                    "type": "futureSignatureDate",
                    "dueDate": "2025-11-28T23:59:59+00:00",
                    "status": "scheduled"
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}