---
title: "Operational Fire Fighter Apprenticeship Programme"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-75389802-cf40-4a21-a4f6-371ea0d69ad1"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-75389802-cf40-4a21-a4f6-371ea0d69ad1"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-75389802-cf40-4a21-a4f6-371ea0d69ad1.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-75389802-cf40-4a21-a4f6-371ea0d69ad1.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service"
published: "2026-08-27"
---

# Operational Fire Fighter Apprenticeship Programme

Buyer: Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-75389802-cf40-4a21-a4f6-371ea0d69ad1

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## Summary

Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service is procuring an Operational Firefighter Apprenticeship Programme. The service uses operational firefighter apprenticeships as its preferred development route and intends to use the apprenticeship model for initial training, supporting recruitment and the effective use of its training budget. The requirement is for training services (CPV 80500000), delivered for the fire service in the Royal Berkshire area. The selected provider is The Fire Service College, based in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire. The procurement concerns a service rather than goods or construction, and is identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. The programme is intended to provide the operational firefighter training needed to develop new or additional fire service staff.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded following a selective call-off from the YPO Apprenticeships and Associated Training framework. The Fire Service College was awarded the contract on 19 August 2026 for £222,000. The contract runs from 7 September 2026 to 6 September 2030. Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service identified the college as the only viable framework option for its requirements. The direct-award decision considered provider rating, region, provider type, Ofsted rating, intake capacity and minimum intake, delivery models, facilities and available start dates. The tender submission deadline was 1 August 2026 at 2pm. The award is active.

This requirement shows sustained demand for specialist operational firefighter apprenticeship training from Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service. A credible future supplier would need to deliver recognised apprenticeship-based firefighter training, with sufficient intake capacity for the service’s recruitment needs and the ability to accommodate its minimum intake. Relevant capability includes suitable training facilities, workable delivery models and reliable start-date options. Providers would also need a strong provider profile, an appropriate provider type and a satisfactory Ofsted rating, since these were used to assess the available framework suppliers. The opportunity is relevant to training organisations, further-education providers and specialist fire-service training businesses, including SMEs, that can deliver practical and structured development for operational firefighters.

## Notice

RBFRS has been utilising Operational Firefighter Apprenticeships as the preferred development route for a few years. The Fire Service College has been identified from the procurement framework as the only viable option to meet our requirements. There are eight (8) suppliers in the YPO framework 1086 - Apprenticeships and Associated Training: * Capita Group Plc - Operational firefighter * Cornwall Fire Rescue and Community Safety Service * SFJ Awards The Workforce Development Trust Ltd - Operational Firefighter * Warrington and Vale Royal College * DN Colleges Group * E-Training Ltd * New College Durham * Weston College Initial training can be provided more cost effectively if an apprenticeship model is continued, which would support costs / best use of the training budget of the recruitment of additional staff as required. The sub-criteria below was used to make a more efficient decision when looking at carrying out a direct award approach. Provider rating * Region * Provider type * Ofsted rating * In-take capacity * Minimum intake * Delivery models * Facilities * Start dates

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/9ef7759c-a990-45cd-ae80-7387b51ff491 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Framework |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Call-off from a framework agreement |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 27 Aug 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 19 Aug 2026 |
| Contract period | 7 Sep 2026 - 6 Sep 2030 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £222,000 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service |
| Locality | READING |
| Postcode area | Reading |
| Postcode | RG31 7SD |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLJ16 Berkshire West |
| Local authority | West Berkshire |
| Electoral ward | Tilehurst Birch Copse |
| Westminster constituency | Reading West and Mid Berkshire |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | Fire Service College |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 80 - Education and training services

### Codes

- 80500000 - Training services

## Release History

- 27 Aug 2026 at 08:28 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/9ef7759c-a990-45cd-ae80-7387b51ff491

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/9ef7759c-a990-45cd-ae80-7387b51ff491
  27th August 2026 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-75389802-cf40-4a21-a4f6-371ea0d69ad1. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-75389802-cf40-4a21-a4f6-371ea0d69ad1.json.