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Tag: tender opportunities

Looking for Coaching Tenders? Here’s What You Should Know…

Posted on by John Hudson

Here’s everything you need to know about finding and winning coaching tenders!

Looking for coaching tenders? One of the most valuable things we can offer each other as humans is knowledge. Whether it is providing individual or group support, we understand the importance of coaching tenders. In this blog, we will share how you can find coaching tenders and three tips to help you win! Keep reading to learn our secrets…

How to find coaching tenders

So, you’re looking for coaching tenders. Using a search engine such as Google is fine, but there is a faster way.

This is where Consultancy Tenders comes in.

Our portal is one of Hudson Discover’s 11 sector-specific tender tracking portals. They are specifically designed to save you as much time as possible when searching for tenders.

What makes Consultancy Tenders different?

You may have heard of tender tracking portals before. So, what makes us different? Well, our Opportunity Trackers manually search for tenders without the use of CPV codes. This means there is no risk of missing the perfect coaching tenders because of a coding error. We also send daily tender notifications to keep our users updated with all the opportunities found each day.

Want to save time looking for coaching tenders? Try Discover Elite

Sign up to Discover Elite via your chosen portal. Then, a dedicated Account Manager will find live bids on your behalf. They’ll speak with you weekly to discuss opportunities that may interest you. This is especially helpful for those with little time to spare due to busy schedules.

Upgrading to Discover Elite will ensure you never miss a tendering opportunity, even when you’re busy!

The Ultimate Time-Saving Tool offers your business:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Discover portals of your choice.
  • Up to five bid breakdowns per month to help you make your bid or no-bid
  • Weekly phone calls with your Account Manager to discuss viable leads and tendering opportunities.
  • Award and pre-market engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Public and private buyer portal management including registering, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid strategy.

How to win coaching tenders

Now that you know how to find coaching tenders, you may be wondering how to win them. We sat down with some professional Bid Writers to see what advice they have to offer. Here’s what they had to say!

1.     Showcase your relevant experience

One of the most important parts of bidding for coaching tenders is to back up your claims. The purpose of a bid is to showcase why you should be awarded the contract. You can’t just say why you deserve it. You need to show that you have the experience to do it right.

So, using case studies is vital within your bid proposal. It almost certainly won’t be a winning bid without them. These case studies should also be from the last three to five years. Most importantly, they need to be relevant. You need to show the buyer you know exactly what they are looking for. Showcase your experience in delivering the same or similar work. If you can’t do this, the buyer is unlikely to award you the contract. Don’t throw your chances away by including irrelevant information. This only shows the buyer that you don’t fully understand their goals.

2.     Thoroughly edit your proposal before submission

It is very unlikely that the first draft of your bid proposal will be perfect. That is why you should never submit the first draft! You should use bid management skills to stay organised and ahead of schedule. This way, you are left plenty of time for reviewing, proofreading, and editing your bid.

The best way to proofread your bid is to go through it multiple times. If possible, it should be reviewed by several people. This way, you are far more likely to catch all the errors. Even reading aloud to yourself can make it easier to spot mistakes. The buyer will not take you seriously if your bid is full of errors. It gives the impression you are unprofessional and are not thorough with your work. With this in mind, it is understandable why the buyer wouldn’t trust you with the contract. You need to give the best impression possible. One of the best ways of doing this is to show you pay attention to the quality of your work.

3.     Check you are eligible

Before you begin planning your bid, you should check your eligibility for the contract. You’d be surprised by how many people don’t do this, spend resources, and lose the bid purely for this reason. It’s a complete waste of time! So, save yourself the annoyance and thoroughly read all the tender documents. With coaching tenders, it is quite likely you’ll need certain qualifications and accreditations. So, keep an eye out for this when you read the documents.

Examples of coaching tenders found on our portal

Below are just a handful of examples of the coaching tenders we’ve had on our Consultancy Tenders portal.

Provision of Early Help Youth Work, Mentoring & Counselling Services

Bedford Borough Council – Eastern – Budget: £679,200

Aviation Security Training, Engagement & Mentoring (ASTEM) Framework Notice

DfTc – Department for Transport – London – Budget: £5,000,000

Coaching & Mentoring Training

University of Derby – East Midlands – Budget: £70,000

Mentoring, Coaching & Workshop Delivery Skills for Email Marketing Techniques

Cornwall College e-Tendering – South West – Budget: £18,000

Leadership & Coaching Support

Sheffield City Council – Yorkshire and Humber – Budget: £52,115

Summary

We have reached the end of our blog on coaching tenders! Let’s recap everything we covered so nothing is forgotten.

To find coaching tenders, you can use a portal such as Consultancy Tenders. Our portal is unique as we don’t use CPV codes. So, there is no risk of missing an opportunity.

To win coaching tenders, you should consider the following tips:

1.     Showcase your relevant experience

2.     Thoroughly edit your proposal before submission

3.     Check you are eligible.

Need help writing your next tender?

If you don’t have the resources or time to write a winning bid, why not outsource it? Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts an 87% success rate and has over 60 years of collective bidding experience. They offer four bid writing support packages to help you on the path to success. Whether you’re new to tendering, or simply need someone to proof your written response before you submit – we can help.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is designed for those who have never tendered before. This 4-week programme works with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully.

Tender Improvement

Tender Improvement can help if you’re already tendering but aren’t seeing success from your current efforts. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous submissions and supporting documents. They’ll give you feedback and guidance on how to improve, helping you to secure your next coaching tender.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written a tender and need someone to proofread it – Tender Mentor is for you. A Bid Writer will double-check it’s in line with the specification and free of any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Tender Writing

If you’ve found the perfect tender but don’t know where to start – we can help. Send the specification over to us and our Bid Team will do the rest. They’ll let you know what they need from you and provide you with a full breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf, leaving you more time to focus on your business.

Get in touch to find out more information.

Leadership Tenders: Get Ahead of the Curve with Consultancy Tenders

Posted on by John Hudson

Here’s how you can get ahead by finding leadership tenders quickly and efficiently!

So, you’re likely here because you have questions about leadership tenders. Perhaps you want to know what they are, where to find them, and who can help you win. The good news is that you’re in the right place. We will be covering all that in this blog! So, keep reading if you want to learn more about leadership tenders.

What are leadership tenders?

Let’s start with the basics for those who may be unfamiliar. Leadership tenders can be a contract in any sector that requires the advice and consultancy of an expert. For example, a company may have a team of leaders that are not well experienced. They will benefit greatly from the support of an expert with relevant experience.

Leadership tenders may be for training courses to give individuals and teams the confidence and skills they need. It can be especially beneficial to those going into job roles that require team management.

Where can you quickly find leadership tenders?

Most of us always turn to search engines such as Google to quickly find the answers to our questions. When you look for leadership tenders manually, you’ll be met with countless results. These sites will all feature contracts differently. Most will likely just have a link to download lengthy tender documents. You’ll have to read the entire thing to find specific information, all to check if you are eligible. This can quickly become tedious and will take hours of your time. For many business owners, this isn’t an option as it is hard enough managing a business. Luckily, there are tools out there that can help you to streamline the process of finding tenders.

Consultancy Tenders

There are many services out there, known as tender portals, which feature several contracts all in one place. Consultancy Tenders is one of Hudson Discover’s 11 sector-specific portals. What makes Consultancy Tenders different is that we don’t use CPV codes when searching for tenders. Our Opportunity Trackers manually find and upload all tenders. This means there is no risk of missing a tender due to an error in the code. It would be frustrating to miss out on the perfect tender for your business purely because of this!

With the Consultancy Tenders portal, you can use filters to see contracts based on keywords, location, and budget. You’ll also be able to easily see the deadline for the tender submissions. We also send out tender notifications daily to keep all our users up to date with new opportunities.

Want to save even more time looking for leadership tenders? Try Discover Elite

If you want to streamline the process even further, you can sign up to Discover Elite via your chosen portal. With this service, a dedicated Account Manager will find live bids on your behalf. They’ll speak with you weekly to discuss opportunities that may interest you. This is especially helpful for those with little time to spare due to busy schedules.

Upgrading to Discover Elite will ensure you never miss a tendering opportunity even when you’re busy!

The Ultimate Time-Saving Tool offers your business:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Discover portalsof your choice.
  • Up to five bid breakdowns per month to help you make your bid or no-bid
  • Weekly phone calls with your Account Manager to discuss viable leads and tendering opportunities.
  • Award and pre-market engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Public and private buyer portal management including registering, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid strategy.

Examples of leadership tenders found on our portal

Below are just a few examples of the kind of tenders you can find out our portal!

Leadership Development Support – A887

Swale Borough Council – South East – Budget: £25,000

Leadership Programme

Scottish Police Authority – Scotland – Budget: £750,000

Leadership Academy 2022

Improvement and Development Agency – London – Budget: £350,000

Leadership Framework – Health Inequalities

NHS England – Yorkshire and Humber – Budget: £40,000

Framework for RNA Centre of Excellence Supply Chain and Training Manager Consultancy

Centre For Process Innovation Limited – North East – Budget: £213,477

Summary

Here’s a summary of what we covered in our blog on leadership tenders.

Leadership tenders are contracts that involve services such as offering training and consultancy support. They can be especially beneficial to those in leadership job roles that lack the required skills and confidence.

To find leadership tenders, you can use tender portals such as Consultancy Tenders. This portal is unique because there is no reliance on CPV codes to find opportunities. Therefore, there’s no risk of missing the perfect tender for your business.

Still got questions about leadership tenders? Why not contact us to speak to our experts? We are always happy to help!

Need help writing your next tender?

If you don’t have the resources or time to write a winning bid, why not outsource it? Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of collective bidding experience. They offer four bid writing support packages to help you on the path to success. Whether you’re new to tendering, or simply need someone to proof your written response before you submit – we can help.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is designed for those who have never tendered before. This 4-week programme works with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully.

Tender Improvement

Tender Improvement can help if you’re already tendering but aren’t seeing success from your current efforts. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous submissions and supporting documents. They’ll give you feedback and guidance on how to improve, helping you to secure your next tenders.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written a tender and need someone to proofread it – Tender Mentor is for you. A Bid Writer will double-check it’s in line with the specification and free of any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Tender Writing

If you’ve found the perfect tender but don’t know where to start – we can help. Send the specification over to us and our Bid Team will do the rest. They’ll let you know what they need from you and provide you with a full breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf, leaving you more time to focus on your business.

Get in touch to find out more information.

The 3 Most Common Types of E-learning Tenders

Posted on by John Hudson

As a direct result of Covid-19, there has been a 33% increase in the demand for E-Learning services since 2019

By 2025, the e-learning industry is expected to grow in the UK by £8 billion. Getting ahead of this and increasing your opportunities now will put you in a better position for the future.

So, if you are looking for e-learning tenders, then finding the right type for you is a good starting point.

In this blog, we take a look at the three most common types of e-learning there is. Looking at what is involved with these types, so you can see what best suits you.

Looking back on the past two years, you will see there was a dramatic shift in the way people learn. This is because the Covid-19 pandemic brought about an unexpected change.

People had to adapt to a new way of learning, which created the need for e-learning platforms. As a result of this, e-learning tenders have also been on the rise. The new way of learning is here to stay. Now, more than ever, companies are looking for their own e-learning systems. You need to decide where you fit into this.

The 3 most common types of e-learning tenders are:

  1. Fixed e-learning tenders

Fixed e-learning is a structured system that doesn’t change. This means it is not adaptable to fit each user’s needs. It won’t change and will only be used for one purpose. E-learning tenders for this type of system will usually involve educational facilities or libraries. For example, a school could need an e-learning service that students can use to access reading materials. The content on the system won’t change, and its purpose is for one thing only. For students to search and read the content.

  1. Adaptive e-learning tenders

Quite literally, the e-learning platform ‘adapts’ to suit each user and their needs. There will be algorithms involved that will learn how the user interacts with the e-learning, adjusting the content to suit. This could be down to the way they use search terms or their learning abilities.

  1. Interactive and collaborative e-learning tenders

Much like adaptive e-learning, but with added communication systems. For example, a facility may require an e-learning system that allows them to give feedback or arrange virtual meetings. There could also be a need for a student forum, or an interactive grading system.

A good example of this type of e-learning is Kahoot. It is an interactive e-learning system that peers can use together.

Let’s summarise

These are the three most common types of e-learning tenders that you will find:

  1. Fixed e-learning
  2. Adaptive e-learning
  3. Interactive and collaborative e-learning.

Understanding the common types of e-learning that go out to tender puts you in a better position to win tenders. You know what your e-learning services can do, therefore, you can ensure this is thoroughly explained to the buyer.

Buyers will want to see how your e-learning platform will benefit them. You may also find that your e-learning services can be used for each of the different types of tenders. If so, use this to your advantage. Show the buyer how your e-learning works and what makes it stand out from the others. 

How to find e-learning tenders?

With Consultancy Tenders, we can help you find new e-learning tenders to bid for.

Consultancy Tenders streamlines the tendering process to save you valuable time when searching for e-learning tenders. You can tailor your search to suit your business needs. Therefore, you will only see tenders specific to you and your business.

Below are five past examples of e-learning tenders we’ve sourced on our portal:

GBC – Provision of IOSH E-learning Courses

Guildford Borough Council – South East – £6k

Provision of E-learning for SystmOne & EMIS Web Tender for NHS

NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit – East Midlands – £85k

Developing Communication & Leadership Skills for NHS Employees

Health Education England – Yorkshire – £450k

Provision of Online Learning Content

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) – London – £1.5million

Remote Rural Learning Service

Kent County Council – South East – £ 4,950,000

7 reasons why our clients choose Consultancy Tenders:

  1. You can locate public and private sector opportunities in one central portal.
  2. You will receive daily updates of new tenders, directly to your inbox.
  3. Filter your search using relevant keywords, budgets, locations, and more. Then, you will see all the tenders that are specific for your needs.
  4. Access to your own Account Manager, who’ll answer any queries you have.
  5. Your dashboard will automatically filter tenders to show you relevant opportunities.
  6. We manually track opportunities from hundreds of sources daily.
  7. We host exclusive tenders that will not be posted on any other site.

Find out more about Consultancy Tenders and how it can work for you by booking  a free, live demo today.

Want to save even more time in your search for e-learning tenders?

We know how much admin is required to source tenders and break down the documents. Why not let us help?

We can take the stress out of this process with our timesaving, bespoke service, Discover Elite.

With Discover Elite, your dedicated Account Manager will get to know you and your business’ needs. They will then track and send through opportunities that we think will be perfect for your business.

What’s included in the subscription?

  • A dedicated Account Manager who will work with you and support you in your search for new opportunities.
  • Five or seven tender breakdowns per month – depending on the package you choose.
  • Weekly phone calls with your Account Manager, to discuss viable tendering opportunities.
  • All the pre-bid admin is taken care of. Your Account Manager will download the tender documents for you and manage the buyer’s portal.
  • An annual subscription to up to two Hudson Discover portals. This is ideal for your business if your services cross over into other sectors.
  • Award and pre-engagement notice information.

For more information about Discover Elite, contact us today!

Need assistance with writing e-learning tenders?

Outsourcing to tender writing specialists can help you secure your next e-learning tender.

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, provides four levels of bid writing support services.

Our Bid Writers have over 60 years of collective bid writing experience and an 87% success rate. Whether you’re new to tendering or need your response proofread before you submit – we can help. 

Tender Writing

Have you found the perfect tender for your business but are struggling to complete the responses? Send it over to our Bid Writing Team and they can write the whole response for you. If you use our Tender Writing service, they’ll even submit it on your behalf!

Tender Ready

Tender Ready is the perfect programme for those who are completely new to tendering. You’ll have access to an expert Bid Consultant to answer any questions that you may have and advising you on tenders you should be bidding on.  You’ll also get a year’s subscription to our Consultancy Tenders portal.

Tender Improvement

If you have already been applying for tenders but aren’t seeing success, our Tender Improvement package can help. Our Bid Writers will review your previous submissions and provide feedback and guidance.

Tender Mentor  

Our Bid Writers can analyse a bid response you’ve already written, checking it for errors before you submit. Sometimes you just need another pair of eyes to go over your response and our Tender Mentor service can help.

Get in touch with one of our consultants to see how we can support you with your next e-learning tender.

What Are The Benefits of Consultancy Projects?

Posted on by John Hudson

Why should you be bidding on consultancy projects tenders?

Looking to bid on consultancy projects tenders but need to know how it will help you and your business? Worry not, we are here to help. We’ve put together a guide that explains the benefits of working on consultancy projects.

What is a consultancy project?

A consultancy project is when an individual or organisation offers consultancy services for a particular project. This could be a challenge or issue the organisation is facing. Or it could be an idea you create that contributes to a company’s future success. For example, a company may need consultancy services if they want to launch a new scheme but need advice.

It’s an opportunity for you to think outside the box and offer a solution or idea to the buyer. The step-by-step process includes:

  • Strategic planning
  • Organising your team
  • Conduct research and requesting resources
  • Submit a project report and presentation with your conclusions.

The benefits of consultancy projects

Let’s look at how consultancy projects can benefit you:

Enhance your critical thinking

When offering services to consultancy projects you will gain a better understanding of issues and challenges within that industry. You will learn to examine those issues and challenges with a critical mindset.

 Develop your strategic approach

Strategy is an important factor when delivering consultancy services. You will need to devise innovative strategies to help a business meet its end goal. Some strategic areas you may focus on include:

  • Key performance indicators
  • Conducting market analysis
  • Reviewing new developments.

Collaborating with others

Consultancy projects may require you to work with other consultants which will strengthen your teamwork and collaboration skills. This will prove to be a crucial skill when bidding on contracts in the future. It will demonstrate to a buyer you work well in a team.

Making connections

Securing a bid for a consultancy project is a great way to make further connections. Work hard and get good results and you may find more opportunities come your way. It’s always handy to make some good contacts as they may have some projects they need you to work on. Make yourself known so they know you’re the best for the job.

 Gains you confidence

When securing a contract, you will be filled with confidence that a buyer chose you over competitors. They chose you for a reason, so have confidence in what you do and show off your capabilities.

Top tips

Here are our top tips to remember when bidding for contracts:

  • Always provide evidence – the buyer will expect to see at least 2-3 case studies of similar contracts you’ve worked on. Be sure they are relevant to the contract at hand.
  • Answer the question in full – don’t leave answers half answered or blank. Make sure you have considered all points to the question. Meet the word count.
  • Create added value – show the buyer what you can bring to the table that your competitors can’t.
  • Manage your time – it’s a long process so set plenty of time aside. Be aware of when your deadlines are and set a schedule to work to. Don’t fall behind.
  • Proofread – don’t forget to check your work multiple times. Triple check for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors before submitting the bid.

Here are some past consultancy project tenders sourced on our Consultancy Tenders portal:

3cea_DPS – DPS For The Provision Of Goods & Services For Energy & Climate Action Consultancy Projects & For The Provision Of Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy & Retrofit Works

3 Counties Energy Agency – International – Budget: Undisclosed

Dynamic Purchasing System For The Provision Of Goods And Services For Energy And Climate Action Consultancy Projects

3 Counties Energy Agency – International – Budget: Undisclosed

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Consultancy Project 2021

Natural Resources Wales – Wales – Budget: Undisclosed

Resident Engagement Consultancy Project

The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames – South East – Budget: Undisclosed

City of London Construction Consultancy Project Management Framework

City of London Corporation – London – Budget: £6million

Consultancy Tenders

Consultancy Tenders streamlines the tendering process to save you valuable time when finding education tenders.

Benefits of becoming a subscriber include:

  • Locating public and private sector opportunities in one central portal.
  • Receiving daily updates of available tenders, direct to your inbox.
  • Filtering your search by relevant keywords, budget, location, and more.
  • Access to your own Account Manager, who’ll answer any queries you have.
  • Your dashboard will automatically filter tenders to show you relevant opportunities.
  • We manually track opportunities from over 1,000 sources daily.
  • We host exclusive tenders that will not be posted on any other site.

Want to start finding education contracts with Consultancy Tenders? Book a free live demo today.

Need assistance with consultancy projects?

You may not have the time or resources in house to write a winning tender response in house. Outsourcing to tender writing specialists can help you secure your next contract.

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, provide four levels of bid writing support services. Our Bid Writers have over 60 years of collective bid writing experience and an 87% success rate. Whether you’re new to tendering or need your response proofread – we can help.

Tender Ready

Tender Ready is the perfect programme for those who are completely new to tendering. You’ll have access to an expert Bid Consultant to answer any questions that you may have. You’ll also get a year’s subscription to our Finance Tenders portal.

Tender Improvement

If you have already been applying for tenders but aren’t seeing success our Tender Improvement package can help. Our Bid Writers will go over your previous submissions and provide feedback and guidance.

Tender Writing

Have you found the perfect courier delivery contract for your business but are struggling to start? Send it over to our Bid Writing team and they can write the whole response for you. If you use our Tender Writing service, they’ll even submit it on your behalf!

Tender Mentor  

Our Bid Writers can look over a bid response you’ve already written, checking it for errors before you submit. Sometimes you just need another pair of eyes to go over your response and our Tender Mentor service can help.

A subscription to Finance Tender could increase your chances of securing a tender for external audit services. With the time saved and numerous opportunities found, Finance Tenders can feed seamlessly into your business development strategy. With a subscription to the portal, you receive:

  • Unlimited access.
  • A dedicated Account Manager.
  • A free 20-minute phone consultation.
  • A daily email bulletin.

Education Contracts & Opportunities in 2021

Posted on by John Hudson

Why you should be tendering for education contracts 

Education contracts are one of the most populated types of tender on our sector-specific tendering portal, Consultancy Tenders. Are you tendering for work on education contracts as we head into 2021? If not – here’s why you should be!

We source a wide range of opportunities for education, training and tutoring providers, every day. So, here’s a rundown on current opportunities, and how you can tender for education contracts effectively.

What do education contracts usually look like?

A broad range of services fall under the umbrella term ‘education contract’. The buying organisations range from universities and colleges to local councils, to environmental agencies, and much more. The budget and number of providers on education contracts also vary greatly. From single supplier tutoring contracts worth thousands to large university frameworks for multiple providers, with budgets in the millions.

As an SME in the education sector, there are plenty of tenders you could be pursuing to grow your business. Education contracts currently available to SMEs may include services and programmes such as:

  • Apprenticeship training
  • Mentoring
  • Expert speaker services
  • Workshop delivery services
  • Early childhood education
  • Environmental education services
  • Social inclusion programmes
  • Business coaching
  • Community work
  • Local employment services
  • Functional skills delivery

And that’s just to name a handful! We source hundreds of unique opportunities, covering a vast range of education contracts. So, we appreciate the scope of the sector. Book a free live demo of Consultancy Tenders, and we’ll demonstrate how to find education contracts, relevant to your business.

Which areas of the education sector will see investments in 2021?

What is the forecast for education contracts in 2021? New opportunities will arise from increased investment and funding across the board – from schools, to traineeships, to adult learning. The Spending Review 2020, announced on 25th November, gives insight into the focal points for investment across the education sector.

The Spending Review 2020 & Education Contracts.

The government has prioritised investment in education and skills in 2020. Investments are being made to level up education standards and provide a higher quality experience for all UK learners. This applies to learners of all ages – from adult training courses, to early childhood education. New funding hopes to offset areas of education that were negatively impacted by COVID-19. The schools’ budget, for instance, is set to increase by £7.1 billion by 2022-23. This is the biggest school funding boost in a decade.

Core funding will be assigned to the following areas of the education sector in 2021-2022:

  • £1.4 billion to education funding, including funding for schools to help children catch up on lost learning.
  • £291 million for Further Education, to ensure core funding for 16 to 19-year-olds is sustained.
  • £300 million for school facilities for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
  • £2.5 billion for apprenticeships and further improvements for employers.
  • £375 million from the National Skills Fund, which funds:
  1. in-demand technical courses for adults, equivalent to A level
  2. the employer-led boot camp training model
  3. traineeships and the National Careers Service
  4. innovative models for local collaboration between skills providers and employers.

Brand new education contracts are cropping up!

There are currently education contracts cropping up in new areas as society adapts to the effects of COVID-19.  We’ve seen an unsurprising increase in tenders for Online Distance Learning Services, for instance.

Further investments are also being made into skills training that is tailored to local communities. This local approach will supplement national programmes. For instance, work-based training, such as sector-based work academy programmes (SWAP).

SWAP programmes are a recent development for education providers, as of late 2020. Organised by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), these programmes help unemployed people apply for new jobs. Applicants on the programme receive training and education to gain skills which make them suitable for new areas of work. For example, Fareham College has teamed up with Job Centre Plus (JCP) to establish a sector-based work academy. Applicants enrol on a four-week educational course to gain skills and knowledge required for a career in construction. Qualifications, such as a Level 1 Award in Bricklaying, are obtained through the college’s Civil Engineering Training Centre (CETC). This programme helps relieve local redundancies and lost jobs due to the effects of the pandemic.

SWAPs are also designed to help employers recruit a workforce with the right skills to sustain and grow their business.

Are you just starting to tender for education contracts?

If so, we’re happy to help you get started!

Tendering for education contracts requires preparation. You should consider how best to gain relevant experience and build up your case studies. The best place to start when tendering is to find contracts on Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS) or framework agreements. Both of these are multiple supplier set ups, open to smaller contractors. This allows SMEs to build their experience and, in turn, build up effective case studies for future bids. Once you’ve got a bank of relevant experience, you’ll be capable of progressing to single provider contracts.

The bid writing experts at our Hudson Succeed division have extensive experience writing tender responses – with an 87% success rate! They can thoroughly prepare you for tendering through their 4-week Tender Ready package.

Here are some points to consider when bidding for education contracts.

What’s the procedure?

The procurement procedure for education contracts can be either open or restricted.

  1. Open procedure:

An open procedure is often used for more straightforward procurements. This procedure means that:

  • Anyone can submit a tender;
  • You are not permitted to negotiate with bidders, and;
  • The buyer is required to evaluate all tenders received.

  1. Restricted procedure:

A restricted procedure is often used in less stable markets with lots of competition. This procedure means that:

  • Interested parties can submit an expression of interest;
  • A minimum of five suppliers must be invited to tender and these are sufficient to ensure genuine competition, and;
  • No negotiation with bidders is permitted, just clarification of bids and finalisation of terms.

Let’s take a brief look at an example of the tendering process for an education contract.

Example: A council puts out a Request for Tender (RFT) seeking qualified tutors to deliver various training programmes for young people. The programme focuses on 16 – 18-year olds at risk of being NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training). Through the programme, young people will be able to progress into further education, apprenticeships or skilled employment.

This is an open procedure tender. The RFT will establish a panel of individuals or companies. A mini competition will then take place to decide who will be selected for contract award.

How can you submit an effective bid, in this case?

How do you put forward a tender response showcasing why your business is the best fit to deliver this contract? Here are some points to consider:

  • Read the Invitation to Tender (ITT) carefully.

Make sure you’ve read and understood the ITT carefully. The following components will typically be included:

  • a cover letter
  • a timetable for the contract
  • how to ask clarification questions
  • how to submit your bid
  • the specification
  • the award criteria
  • the specific levels of service you want
  • the terms of appointment

  • Seek clarification.

Always seek clarification for any aspects of the tender you’re unsure on. This will greatly increase your chances of responding fully, and correctly. 

  • Consider the buyer’s core purpose.

In this case, the core purpose in the RFT may read as follows. “Our core purpose is to improve quality of life for individuals and communities by improving their opportunities for employment.”

Can you align your own core values with the buyer’s core purpose to show why you’re best for the job?

  • Relevant experience.

The award criteria in education contracts are often heavily weighted on the relevant past experience you/your company has. In this case, there is a 40 – 50% weighting in the criteria sole for past experience. This is a large portion of the award criteria, so you must have relevant experience of delivering similar training. It’s essential, also, to show what you’ve gleaned from similar past contracts you’ve undertaken and how you will utilise this.

  • Demonstrate your impact.

Clearly demonstrate the impact your work will have. What are you going to do? What difference will it make to the programme? For instance?

Output – I will survey learners on their current skills and training.

Outcome – I will use this as a basis to make a new curriculum.

Impact – The new curriculum will better prepare learners for the workplace.

  • Consider the wider community.

It may be worthwhile to consider longer-term impacts, and indirect impacts. For instance, how will improving employment opportunities for young people affect the wider community? Will students in the programme go on to train others?

  • Keep it relevant.

It’s important to sing your own praises and sell yourself within a tender. However, don’t use up the wordcount describing how great your organisation is, if it’s not relevant to the actual tender! Instead, keep the focus on how your organisation is the best fit for this particular piece of work.

Looking for further support with tenders?

Need support to boost your chances of winning education contracts? Our dedicated and experienced team of Bid Writers at Hudson Succeed can take the burden out of bid writing.

We provide four levels of writing support to maximise your bidding success. Whether you are tendering for the first time or have tendered before, we have a service tailored to your needs:

Get in touch to learn how you can succeed with us.

Consultancy Tenders

Consultancy Tenders streamlines the tendering process to save you valuable time when finding education contracts.

  • Locate public and private sector opportunities in one central portal.
  • Receive daily updates of available tenders, direct to your inbox.
  • Filter your search by relevant keywords, budget, location, and more.
  • Access your own Account Manager, who’ll answer any queries you have.
  • Your dashboard will automatically filter tenders to show you relevant opportunities.
  • We manually track opportunities from over 1,000 sources daily.
  • We host exclusive tenders that will not be posted on any other site.

Below are examples of education contracts sourced on our portal:

Adult Skills and Education Service: Adult Traineeships

City of London Corporation- London- Budget: £100,000

All Wales Public Service Graduate Programme 22-24 – Masters

Welsh Government- Wales- Budget: £180,000

Training Services for Local Enterprise Offices – LEAN Business Programme

Fingal County Council- Northern Ireland- Budget: £640,000

GP Course Update – Health Education England

Health Education England- Yorkshire & Humber- Budget: £65,000

Individual Packages of Educational Support Framework Re-opening

Essex County Council- Eastern- Budget: £15,000,000

Want to start finding education contracts with Consultancy Tenders? Book a free live demo today.

Small Businesses, sick of the Government taking money off you? It’s time to turn the tables….

Posted on by John Hudson

Small Businesses, sick of the Government taking money off you? It’s time to turn the tables….

So, we are almost half way through 2017 and everybody, especially small to medium business owners, are struggling to keep up with government decisions and how politics has destabilised their playing field with Brexit, General Elections and certain decisions leading to uncertainty in the marketplace.

Such uncertainty is highlighted in the mixed bag of results thrown up by the numerous surveys published since the turn of the year.  For example one survey, Close Brothers Business Barometer, shows that 64% of companies surveyed with a turnover of less that £500k said they were not confident about the UK’s economic outlook for 2017 whereas Yahoo Finance highlighted research carried out by the American Express Global SME Pulse, which showed that 50% of UK SME’s surveyed expect to see growth of at least 4% over the year.

Such is the uncertainty for SME’s that, in a poll by funding-provider Liberis, 58% of all SME bosses listed reducing costs as their priority while a mere 39% said that their priority was to expand their business.

What most businesses seem unaware of is that we are fast approaching 2020, the deadline for the government achieving its pledge to spend £1 in every £3 with SME’s.  Whilst most government pledges are met with a shrug of suspicion and disinterest, it would be worth noting that this particular pledge could add up to £15bn worth of business opportunities.

It seems like a scam?

While you may be of the opinion that the halls of Westminster don’t always echo with the sounds of MPs championing the ‘little guy’, in this case there actually is something in it for you. In 2015, the Cabinet Office announced an ambitious new target to get more small businesses working on central government contracts.

In 2013 to 2014, central government spent £11.4bn with small and medium-sized businesses, by 2020, the government wants to increase this by an extra £3bn per year directly or through the supply chain. As part of these targets, the government has improved the way it buys goods and services to help more small businesses bid for public sector contracts, by streamlining the process and making winning business that much easier.

Minister for the Cabinet Office Matt Hancock said, “This is such an amazing opportunity for the country’s diverse and innovative small businesses, and today I urge them to get stuck in. From computers to uniforms – there are so many opportunities for small businesses to work with us, and I want to see more of them providing value for money for the taxpayer and benefiting from our spending.”

John Manzoni, Chief Executive of the Civil Service said, “Further opening up our marketplace to small businesses is good economic sense all round – making it easier for them to access and win government business opportunities, whilst encouraging increased competition and market innovation to deliver best value for the taxpayer.”

But aren’t government contracts notoriously difficult to apply for?

Historically, the process was lengthy and complicated but as Emma Jones, the government’s Crown Representative for SME’s recently blogged, things are a now a whole lot easier and she urges businesses to seize this opportunity to bid for and win government contracts.

She goes on to inform that the Prime Minister announced a review of the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), which will look at how they can increase the initiative’s impact and give more innovators their first break and that they realise that working with small businesses with new ideas generates innovation in government.

So, they do want your goods and services and with the government currently looking for everything from toiletries to tax advice, marketing services to interior design, and with the peace-of-mind that comes from knowing that the government pays suppliers within 30 days, it is time to take advantage.

I’m interested, but I’ve never tendered before, what is my next step?

Now that you know all of these great opportunities are out there but are new to the tendering process, please don’t be put off.  Help is at hand in the form of Hudson Procurement Group who will put in place a bespoke solution to help guide you through the process and also steer you to success in landing contracts.

Through Tender Connect, businesses are able to purchase services from our suppliers on ten sector specific platforms.  It also acts as an inter-trading platform allowing buyers and suppliers to trade with one another creating a sense of community and business collaboration.

Our tender consultancy service, Tender Consultants Ltd, allows you to access the best tender writers in the UK, led by Jill Hudson, a focused and energetic Growth Coach. With over a decade of tender writing experience, and growing both UK and international businesses across a range of sectors, Jill has developed bespoke Tender Ready exercises which allows businesses to either take the first steps into tendering, or improve success rates where they may currently be lacking

We offer Tender Training for companies looking for support with Tendering and one to one coaching that is specific to your business and, due to common requests we’ve had from customers, we’ve launched a Tender Writing service for those businesses who wanted tenders writing on their behalf.

Take the first step, click below or call us on 0203 051 2217 today.

www.tenderconsultants.co.uk

www.hudsonprocurementgroup.co.uk