Public procurement notice: Contract Notice
Published: 2016-05-06
Buyer: Skills Funding Agency
Country: UK
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Restricted procedure
CPV classification: 80000000
Estimated value: 3851500 GBP
Submission deadline: 2016-05-31
Award criteria: The most economic tender

Technical requirements: To procure the services of organisations to deliver activity to support employee and employers on behalf of The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills acting through the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) for delivery in the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) area.
The IP 2.1 supports equal access to lifelong learning for all age groups in formal, non-formal and informal settings, upgrading knowledge, skills and competences of the workforce, and promoting flexible learning pathways including through career guidance and validation of acquired competences. Resources are being focused through this IP on people in the workforce who lack basic skills or qualifications needed for their career progression and for business growth and innovation in the knowledge economy.
The aim of the Services is to provide individuals with the opportunities to develop the skills that will enable them to progress in employment. The Services will provide support to employers to take on and develop individuals to fill intermediate, technical and higher level skills gaps and shortages.
The Services must deliver a responsive skills programme that is tailored to the needs of the Worcestershire LEP area in order to stimulate a growth in the skills base for businesses that will give the best opportunity to grow the economy and create more and better jobs.
The Services must deliver highly responsive skills provision to meet business and industry needs. Employers must be engaged to shape and direct the Services. This will include the development of collaborative and joint sector based training for businesses in the identified growth sectors.
The delivery of the Services must focus on the following sectors which have been identified as offering potential for growth within the area:
The Services should also support businesses in sectors requiring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) qualifications. Individuals with relevant STEM qualifications (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) interested in taking up apprenticeships and higher level opportunities with businesses in these sectors should be encouraged to do so.
The SFA is looking to procure an organisation to deliver education and training that best support the needs of local employers and employees in the LEP area set out below.
As indicated within the Contract for Services included within this Invitation to Tender, the Contract may be extended for up to a maximum of 12 months.
All successful bidders will have to have had their Financial Health checked by the SFA following its procedures shown on its website.
At the time of contract award all organisations seeking to be considered for a contract must be a legal entity.
Once you have been invited into the Tender you will receive an email alert advising you to sign on to the SFA e-tendering portal with your normal Username and Password. You access the My ITTs' page. (This is a secure area reserved for your projects only). – You can now access any attachments by clicking ‘Buyer Attachments’ in the ITT Details' box. 3. Responding to the tender — Click ‘My Response’ under ITT Details', you can choose to ‘Create Response’ or to ‘Decline to Respond’ (please give a reason if declining). — You can now use the ‘Messages’ function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification. — Note the deadline for completion, then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the ITT — There may be a mixture of online and offline actions for you to perform (there is detailed online help available). You must then submit your reply using the ‘Submit Response’ button at the top of the page. If you require any further assistance please consult the online help, or contact the eTendering help desk but please note neither of these will be able to offer any advice on the service being procured, this is only available by using the online message board.
Candidates must appear on the Register of Training Organisations published in either September 2015 or February or April 2016 and indicated that they were interested in delivering to the LEP area covered.
You should note that there is no separate right of appeal against the award decisions made. However if you consider that the SFA has not followed the published process or the decision made is unreasonable, you are able to make a complaint under the SFA's complaints procedure which can be accessed at:

Eligibility requirements: Once you have been invited into the Tender you will receive an email alert advising you to sign on to the SFA e-tendering portal with your normal Username and Password. You access the My ITTs' page. (This is a secure area reserved for your projects only). – You can now access any attachments by clicking ‘Buyer Attachments’ in the ITT Details' box. 3. Responding to the tender — Click ‘My Response’ under ITT Details', you can choose to ‘Create Response’ or to ‘Decline to Respond’ (please give a reason if declining). — You can now use the ‘Messages’ function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification. — Note the deadline for completion, then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the ITT — There may be a mixture of online and offline actions for you to perform (there is detailed online help available). You must then submit your reply using the ‘Submit Response’ button at the top of the page. If you require any further assistance please consult the online help, or contact the eTendering help desk but please note neither of these will be able to offer any advice on the service being procured, this is only available by using the online message board. Candidates must appear on the Register of Training Organisations published in either September 2015 or February or April 2016 and indicated that they were interested in delivering to the LEP area covered.
Candidates must appear on the Register of Training Organisations published in either September 2015 or February or April 2016 and indicated that they were interested in delivering to the LEP area covered.