Free public procurement course for businesses

On 25th January, the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills launched an on-line procurement course, "Winning the Contract". This is a FREE resource to help businesses, and in particular SMEs, learn about public procurement and how to bid for public sector contracts. It can be accessed via the Business Link website at: www.businesslink.gov.uk/procurement.

The course is for people with responsibility for developing their business, such as business owners, managers and business development managers. It is aimed at growing businesses in all sectors. Winning the Contract will be useful to businesses that want to bid for public sector contracts, but are confused by the processes involved. No prior knowledge or experience is needed and there are no formal entry requirements.

The programme covers the following areas:

  • identifying the advantages and disadvantages of dealing with public bodies
  • understanding how different types of contracts are defined, advertised and dealt with
  • understanding approved supplier lists and framework agreements
  • searching for and finding public sector opportunities
  • identifying the key stages in the tendering process

Following registration, learners can start the course straight away and use it at any time, as long as they have access to a computer with an internet connection. The course is available for six months from the date first accessed.

Winning the Contract contains a wealth of useful information, divided into modules and presented in an interactive and engaging format. There is an optional audio track to aid learning, as well as additional resources such as case studies, a glossary section and a 'Hints and Tips' download.

The course modules are as follows:
Module 1 – Course Introduction
Module 2 – The Public Sector
Module 3 – Challenges and Barriers
Module 4 – Types of Contract
Module 5 – Finding Opportunities
Module 6 – Tender Responses

The Winning the Contract course is part of a wide-ranging programme of initiatives that the government is currently undertaking as part of the recommendations made in a recent report that looked into the barriers faced by SMEs looking to supply goods and services to the public sector. These recommendations are all aimed at making the procurement market more transparent, simple and strategic thus enabling more small firms to access, bid for, and win, public sector contracts.