---
title: "ESF Skills for Growth: Education - Early Years Workforce Upskilling"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-840dde4a-048b-4c82-862a-a36f302883e4"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-840dde4a-048b-4c82-862a-a36f302883e4"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-840dde4a-048b-4c82-862a-a36f302883e4.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-840dde4a-048b-4c82-862a-a36f302883e4.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "GREATER MANCHESTER COMBINED AUTHORITY (GMCA)"
published: "2022-08-31"
---

# ESF Skills for Growth: Education - Early Years Workforce Upskilling

Buyer: GREATER MANCHESTER COMBINED AUTHORITY (GMCA)  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-840dde4a-048b-4c82-862a-a36f302883e4

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-840dde4a-048b-4c82-862a-a36f302883e4)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-840dde4a-048b-4c82-862a-a36f302883e4.json)

## Summary

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) recently awarded a contract for the provision of training services within the Education sector. The tender, titled "ESF Skills for Growth: Education - Early Years Workforce Upskilling", aimed to address skill challenges in Early Years settings. The contract, valued at £1,500,000 GBP, was procured through a selective method as a further competition under the Education, Work and Skills Flexible Procurement System. The tender period ended on 4th July 2022, with the contract scheduled to start on 16th September 2023 and end on 30th September 2023.

This contract presents opportunities for SMEs and VCSEs interested in providing education and training services. Businesses well-suited to compete are those with expertise in child development, SEND awareness, flexible learning provision, and accredited online learning. The GMCA, as the buying organisation, is located in Manchester, North West England. The procurement process has reached the award stage, with ACORN TRAINING LTD being the successful supplier awarded the contract. The focus on improving early years outcomes aligns with the Greater Manchester Strategy 2021-2031 and provides potential for business growth in the education sector.

## Notice

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) looked to procure a lead organisation to deliver training which will support skills challenges facing businesses within the Education sector across GM, particularly those working in an Early Years setting. The Education sector impacts on each of our lives and can often determine future career paths and progression. It is also a huge employer within the region - employing almost 120,000 people - crucial to GM both as a provider of opportunities to work and as a facilitator for entering other sectors. The Covid-19 pandemic hit the sector hard, with nurseries, schools, colleges, and universities all experiencing periods of closure; forcing them to rapidly develop new ways of learning. The sector will continue to play a key role in the future of GM. Its workforce of today is developing our workforces of tomorrow however, there are systemic problems across the sector exacerbated by immediate skill gaps, highlighted in the Industry Labour Market & Skills Intelligence Report, which must be resolved. Improving early years outcomes and school readiness levels is a priority in the Greater Manchester Strategy 2021-2031, the GM Children's Health and Wellbeing Framework , Population Health Plan , and the GM Children and Young Peoples' Plan . The early years workforce across GM is varied and comprises of practitioners, teachers, children's centre workers, family support workers, health visitors and social workers. Whilst some of these roles form part of the 'wider' Early Years workforce, they play an important role in improving outcomes of young children and their families. To realise the ambition to improve early years outcomes, the early years workforce must have the right skills and competencies to help children achieve their potential. Feedback from employers highlights particular challenges which this specification looks to address including: * Awareness of child development and the impact covid has had on this. Employers feel that the impact of the pandemic is now being felt, particularly with younger people whose social and academic development is behind what would be expected for their age. * SEND awareness and training for Early Years staff at Level 3+ * The need for flexible provision to meet the needs of both employers and employees, including evening and weekend learning. There should be an understanding that whilst staffing shortages and financial constraints remain - training staff is often difficult due to backfill costs when keeping to staffing ratios. * Accredited online learning. Practitioners in the sector have commented that they have accessed more training online than ever before; online courses should be accredited wherever possible. This opportunity was procured as a further competition under the Education, Work and Skills Flexible Procurement System and was ran as a restricted tender via the Chest.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/6d91d5d0-0fbe-428a-80a4-adecf91915e6 |
| 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, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 31 Aug 2022 |
| Submission deadline | 4 Jul 2022 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 25 Jul 2022 |
| Contract period | 15 Sep 2023 - 30 Sep 2023 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £1,500,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £1,499,992 |
| 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 | GREATER MANCHESTER COMBINED AUTHORITY (GMCA) |
| Locality | MANCHESTER |
| Post town | Manchester |
| Postcode | M1 6EU |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLD North West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLD3 Greater Manchester |
| ITL 3 | TLD33 Manchester |
| Local authority | Manchester |
| Electoral ward | Deansgate |
| Westminster constituency | Manchester Central |
| Delivery location | TLD North West (England) |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | ACORN TRAINING |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 80 - Education and training services

### Codes

- 80000000 - Education and training services

## Release History

- 31 Aug 2022 at 10:25 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/6d91d5d0-0fbe-428a-80a4-adecf91915e6

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/6d91d5d0-0fbe-428a-80a4-adecf91915e6
  31st August 2022 - 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-b5fd17-840dde4a-048b-4c82-862a-a36f302883e4. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-840dde4a-048b-4c82-862a-a36f302883e4.json.