---
title: "Sector Specific 16-18 Funding opportunity for 2026-27 - Plumbing"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-068269"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-068269"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-068269.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-068269.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Tender"
buyer: "HERTFORD REGIONAL COLLEGE"
published: "2026-04-15"
---

# Sector Specific 16-18 Funding opportunity for 2026-27 - Plumbing

Buyer: HERTFORD REGIONAL COLLEGE  
Current stage: Tender  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-068269

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## Summary

Hertford Regional College is inviting bids for its Sector Specific 16-18 Funding opportunity for the 2026-27 academic year, particularly within the plumbing sector. This tender, part of the planning phase, aims to appoint a provider with substantial experience to deliver innovative vocational training to young individuals aged 16-19. The process follows an open competition procurement method and falls under the services category, with a significant emphasis on vocational training. The procurement is governed by a "light touch regime" and requires submissions by 22nd April 2026. The delivery of the training programme must be conducted within 10 miles of the college's campuses and completed by 31st July 2027, with a gross contract value of £634,000.

This opportunity is tailored for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs) that specialise in vocational training services within the plumbing industry. The successful bidder will have the chance to engage young learners, enhance their progression outcomes, and align training to destination curriculum models, thereby fostering growth and expanding their presence in the education sector. It offers the potential to build lasting partnerships with Hertford Regional College and contribute to local educational development. To be eligible for award consideration, businesses must pass Due Diligence checks and achieve a required assessment score; the submissions are evaluated based on criteria detailed in the procurement questionnaire.

## Notice

Hertford Regional College (HRC) intends to appoint a provider with relevant experience and a proven track record to deliver innovative programmes of study training within the plumbing sector. The contract will be for the delivery of learning against the funding the college receives from the Department for Education (DfE) for the training of young people aged 16-19 up to a maximum of 95 individuals. Delivery must meet the regulations outlined in the DfE Funding Rules, including personal development through tutorials and access to work experience opportunities. The provider should focus on progression outcomes for learners and ensure provision, even at lower levels, is clearly aligned to the destination curriculum model as well as supporting the College's rationale for subcontracting which can be found on our website https://www.hrc.ac.uk/about-hrc/partnerships-and-subcontractors Delivery must take place within 10 miles of either college campus in line with current regulations regarding distance subcontracting, all delivery should be completed by 31/07/2027. This procurement is being run under the "light touch regime" and within the timescales set out in the attachments below. To participate in this procurement you must complete and submit the volumes and values spreadsheet and the procurement questionnaire located in the attachments to subcontracting@hrc.ac.uk Please note that Due Diligence checks must be completed, and a required assessment outcome achieved prior to any contract award. HRC will invite shortlisted providers completing this procurement exercise to undertake Due Diligence in line with the timescales set out in the attachments. HRC reserves the right not to award a contract based on the outcome of Due Diligence checks. Any incomplete or incorrectly completed submissions may be deemed non-compliant, and as a result you may be unable to proceed further in the procurement process. Contract award will be subject to a management fee of 20% and HRC reserves the right not to award contracts based on procurement question responses that score less than 150/300. We reserve the right to add weighting of 50% to question 1 of the procurement questionnaire, should it be required, to determine the most appropriate provider.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/033967-2026 |
| Notice type | UK4 - Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - open competition |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Tender |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 15 Apr 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 22 Apr 2026 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 2 Aug 2026 - 31 Jul 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £634,000 |
| Lots value | £634,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | HERTFORD REGIONAL COLLEGE |
| Locality | WARE |
| Post town | Stevenage |
| Postcode | SG12 9JF |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLH East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLH2 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLH26 North and East Hertfordshire |
| Local authority | East Hertfordshire |
| Electoral ward | Ware Priory |
| Westminster constituency | Hertford and Stortford |
| Delivery location | TLH East (England) |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 80 - Education and training services

### Codes

- 80530000 - Vocational training services

## Release History

- 15 Apr 2026 at 07:04 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/033967-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/033967-2026
  15th April 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/A-14242
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/A-14243
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/A-14244

## Notice URLs

- http://www.hrc.ac.uk
- https://www.hrc.ac.uk/about-hrc/partnerships-and-subcontractors
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-068269. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-068269.json.