Published date: 7 October 2020

Closed opportunity - This means that the contract is currently closed. The buying department may be considering suppliers that have already applied, or no suitable offers were made.


Closing: 28 October 2020, 5pm

Contract summary

Industry

  • Education and training services - 80000000

Location of contract

North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East, South West

Value of contract

£65,000,000 to £380,500,000

Procurement reference

tender_244231/892349

Published date

7 October 2020

Closing date

28 October 2020

Closing time

5pm

Contract start date

1 February 2021

Contract end date

31 July 2023

Contract type

Service contract

Procedure type

Open procedure (above threshold)

Any interested supplier may submit a tender in response to an opportunity notice.

This procedure can be used for procurements above the relevant contract value threshold.

This is an accelerated procedure.

Justification

As set out in II.1.4 this is a light touch procurement and as such is not subject to the full requirements of The Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

In July 2020, in response to Covid 19 and as part of the Summer Economic Update, the Chancellor announced a significant expansion of traineeships as part of his Plan for Jobs to help an increased number of young people to prepare for and find work.

The Authority is using an accelerated timetable for this procurement to support the Plan for Jobs through the expansion of the Traineeship Programme to enable the provision of Traineeships in order to meet the increased demand from young people who, as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, may have fewer employment choices available to them. Using an accelerated timetable for this procurement will enable the Authority to award contracts to Potential Contractors in order to deliver a total of circa 20,000 Traineeship starts by eligible Learners between 1 February 2021 and 31 July 2021.

Contract is suitable for SMEs?

Yes

Contract is suitable for VCSEs?

Yes


Description

The Authority is seeking to appoint contractors to deliver traineeships in order to support the high quality growth of the Traineeship Programme, as set out in the Framework for Delivery of Traineeships 2020-2021.

The Traineeship Programme is a national programme which is funded from the Education and Skills Funding Agency's Adult Education Budget (AEB) for programmes delivered to those aged nineteen (19) to twenty-four (24). The AEB funds learner participation, and learner and learning support. The principal purpose of traineeships within the AEB is to engage young adults and provide the skills and learning they need to equip them for work, an apprenticeship or further learning.

Potential Contractors will need to demonstrate in their tender how they can quickly establish strong relationships with employers, Jobcentres, the National Careers Service (NCS), Local Enterprise Partnerships and other local partners to recruit Learners, including through referrals from Jobcentres, and to tailor the Traineeship Programme to real-time needs of the Learner and local labour market.

Potential Contractors are referred to the Specification at Section 2 of the procurement documents for full details of the requirements of the Traineeship Programme and the obligations they will be required to fulfil if they are awarded a contract.

The Authority intends to award contracts for a period to commence at the end of January 2021 and expiring on 31 July 2023 (the "Contract Period") subject to earlier termination in accordance with the terms of the form of contract in the procurement documents (the "Contract"). Potential Contractors are referred to Section II.2.11 below for information about potential extensions to the Contract Period.

Potential Contractors should note that the estimated value of the contracts as set out in Section II.1.5 for the entire contract period including all possible extensions is £380.5m. Potential Contractors are referred to the Read Me First in the procurement documents which sets out further information on how this figure is broken down.

Potential Contractors shall note that funding for the Contracts is only guaranteed for the period from the 1 February 2021 to 31 July 2021 and that the total funding anticipated to be allocated to successful Potential Contractors at contract award will be £65m across nine geographical regions as detailed in the Read Me First in the procurement documents.

Potential Contractors should note that the Authority does not guarantee any level of funding, or even funding at all beyond 31 July 2021. Potential Contractors should further note that the contract value stated in this Contract Notice is an estimate and does not put, and should not be interpreted as putting the Authority under any obligation to award Contracts up to this or any value.


More information

Previous notice about this procurement

Delivery of Traineeships reforms and expansion programme

  • Early engagement
  • Published 29 July 2020, last edited 12 August 2020

Links


About the buyer

Address

Department for Education acting through the Education and Skills Funding Agency
Cheylesmore House South, Quinton Road, Coventry
CV1 2WT
England

Telephone

+44 12345678

Email

esfaprocurement.help@education.gov.uk