---
title: "Improving Work Experience"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-037294"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-037294"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-037294.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-037294.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "KENT COUNTY COUNCIL"
published: "2022-10-06"
---

# Improving Work Experience

Buyer: KENT COUNTY COUNCIL  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-037294

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## Summary

The Kent County Council has recently awarded a contract for the provision of services to improve work experience, focusing on youth education services. This procurement opportunity, titled "Improving Work Experience," aimed to address the decline in work experience for young people, especially those at risk. The tender was for a limited procurement method without prior publication of a call for competition, to address urgent needs identified by the Council's Cabinet. The contract, with a value of £35,000, was successfully awarded to EBP Kent.

This contract presents a business opportunity for entities well-connected within the Kent education and employment landscape, with strong relationships with schools and employers. Bidders needed to demonstrate a deep understanding of the local economic and employment conditions to support 'at risk' young people effectively. The award criteria for this tender focused on price, and the successful bidder, EBP Kent, demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of the requirements, highlighting the potential for businesses closely aligned with Kent County Council's priorities to thrive in this competitive procurement environment.

## Notice

Work Experience (WEX) declined dramatically over the Covid period and is still very limited. Young people are often ill prepared for work experience and do not fully benefit from the opportunities. All 4 of EBP's key departments; Careers, Projects, Events and Work Experience, partner consistently and on a large-scale with Kent employers. EBP have developed numerous sessions, projects and initiatives. Work produced by EBP Kent within the areas of Projects, Work Experience and Events are subject to an evaluative process that links the results to the Gatsby Benchmarks framework. This is to not only adhere to Ofsted requirements and the evidence each school must produce, but also for improvement, efficacy and evolution

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic and the increased demand on services, the Kent Reconnect Programme has identified Provision for NEETs/refugees post-16 for 'at risk' young people as a priority. In order to support and develop their economic wellbeing so they do not go on to develop behaviours or mental health conditions which prevent them from engaging with education, work, family and friends and achieving their potential, the work was supported by KCC's Cabinet in their decision as an area to continue. In December 2021 an opportunity to tender for an Improving WEX service was advertised, including a requirement for specific characteristics of bidders: Due to the short time scales involved, bidders will need to be well embedded in the Kent education and employment landscape. It is also likely that any bidders will already be delivering work or have off the shelf programmes that could be adapted to support this project to allow for the quickest possible mobilisation. Bidders should already have: * Excellent relationships with Kent schools and careers support networks. * Extensive employer networks to promote the project and generate work experience placements. * Good knowledge of the local economic and employment landscape. * An existing base in Kent. * Staff in place to deliver the project. There were just two responses to the tender opportunity. EBP Kent's response showed a full understanding of the elements required and included sufficient detail to score highly in evaluation and moderation.

### Procurement Information

On the 21 July 2022, The Kent County Council Cabinet, approved a decision to extend the Reconnect Programme to 31 March 2023 for specific areas of need including NEET Provision. Commissioners would not be able engage in a procurement to complete a tender process for such a short-term contract. Regulation 32(2)(c) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 Negotiated Procedure without prior publication of a Contract Notice insofar as is strictly necessary where, for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the contracting authority, the time limits for the open or restricted procedures or competitive procedures with negotiation cannot be complied with.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/028080-2022 |
| Notice type | Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 6 Oct 2022 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 28 Sep 2022 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £35,000 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | KENT COUNTY COUNCIL |
| Locality | MAIDSTONE |
| Post town | Rochester |
| Postcode | ME14 1XQ |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ4 Kent |
| ITL 3 | TLJ45 Mid Kent |
| Local authority | Maidstone |
| Electoral ward | Penenden Heath |
| Westminster constituency | Maidstone and Malling |
| Delivery location | TLJ4 Kent |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | EBP KENT |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 80 - Education and training services

### Codes

- 80212000 - Vocational secondary education services
- 80310000 - Youth education services
- 80530000 - Vocational training services

## Release History

- 6 Oct 2022 at 11:37 - TenderUpdate - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/028080-2022
- 3 Oct 2022 at 16:40 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027754-2022

## Notice URLs

- http://www.kent.gov.uk

## 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-h6vhtk-037294. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-037294.json.