Procurement description
The Department for Education (DfE) intends to procure a supplier to design and deliver a national Technical and Vocational subject teaching Professional Development (PD) and organisational support programme to support providers delivering technical and vocational qualifications, including T Levels, V Levels and Level 2 Pathways. The contract will begin on 1 June 2026 with delivery commencing from 1 September 2026. The contract will run for three years until 31 August 2029, with an option to extend for a further one year to 31 August 2030.
The programme will provide evidence based subject specific and pedagogical training for teachers, industry led upskilling sessions to ensure teaching reflects current industry practice, and regional collaboration networks to support peer learning and sustainable processes. In addition, the supplier will deliver organisational support for leaders and other provider staff to help providers plan, implement, and scale their technical and vocational offer in line with qualification reform and wider 16–19 pathways.
The contract will involve a blend of pre recorded materials, live online sessions and in person activity. Significant new content development is expected as specifications for new qualifications become available. Delivery must align with wider FE workforce reforms, including evidence led PD principles.
The procurement includes social value as part of the evaluation criteria weighted at 10% and will cover MAC2a: Learning and skills development opportunities relevant to the contract to address skills gaps, in relation to PPN002 "Taking account of social value in the award of central government contracts”.
The DfE is keen to maximise opportunities to participate in procurement for Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs). Consideration will also be given to consortia and collaborative bids from all forms of organisations.
Tender Instructions:
The Department is administering the Tender process via Jaggaer, https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html. Jaggaer is the only method for submitting tenders and clarification questions. Suppliers should not make any other form of approach to the Department in connection with this procurement. It is the responsibility of Potential Suppliers to ensure they can access and use the Jaggaer system.
Jaggaer is owned and hosted by an independent organisation, any issues in respect of functionality or using the system must be directed to the Jaggaer helpdesk via 0800 069 8630 or https://www.jaggaer.com/submit-supplier-support-request/
Potential Suppliers are responsible for ensuring that they understand the tender process and how to use Jaggaer. If any information is unclear, you consider that insufficient information has been provided, or there appears to be a technical error, you must raise an enquiry or request for clarification via the ‘messages’ functionality within Jaggaer. The Clarification Deadline is as stated in the Procurement Timetable. Please ensure that you have read all documentation thoroughly before submitting an enquiry.
Supplier tender engagement event:
Potential Suppliers are invited to attend a tender engagement event facilitated on Microsoft Teams at 14:00 on 4 February 2026.
The session will be led by representatives of the Department and focus on the requirements, the tendering process with a ‘walkthrough’ of the Procurement Documents and guidance on what is required to submit a compliant tender. The link to join the engagement event is:
https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/df175dd6-1e03-4087-961a-3bfb2ba2873a@fad277c9-c60a-4da1-b5f3-b3b8b34a82f9
Attendance is not mandatory, and the slides and any Q&As from the session will be uploaded to Jaggaer. The Department may hold other such event(s) during the course of the Procurement. Organisations who are interested in becoming Subcontractors are welcome to attend the tender engagement event. Potential Suppliers will be responsible for the development and management of any relationships and the Department will not have direct involvement in the formation of supply chains beyond publishing the details that have been provided to them by potential Subcontractors.