Online Training for SMEs
It isn't only Procurement Lincolnshire who are actively trying to encourage local Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to participate in public procurement opportunities; it is also a national government objective. In 2007 an online training course ('Winning the Contract') was published for a fee of £49.99 to aid SMEs in winning contracts with local government. Following an evaluation early in 2009, this was refreshed and built upon to more comprehensively cover all aspects of the procurement process - importantly, this became free of charge.
The course which was developed by Government and hosted by Learn Direct is available to any supplier who wishes to be in a better informed position in dealing with local government procurement processes.
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/procurement
Organisations can register at Business Link to access the 'Winning the Contract' course. The link above will also give a brief overview on what the course will cover. For a direct link to the training course, please click on the link below:-
http://www1.learndirect-business.com/business-courses/winning-the-contract/
The training itself will take between 3 to 4 hours, and can be taken section-by-section as time allows.
Course modules
Module 1: Course Introduction
Module 2: The Public Sector
- Public Sector Defined
- What the Public Sector Buys
- Procurement Defined
- e-Procurement
- Tendering Advantages and Disadvantages
- Useful Resources
Module 3: Challenges and Barriers
- The Procurement Challenge
- Principles of Buying
- Your Experience
- Meeting Challenges and Barriers
- Your Approach
Module 4: Types of Contract
- EU Procurement Directives
- EU Thresholds
- Stepped Procurement
- Requirement to Advertise
- Competitive Tendering
- Approved Suppliers
- Framework Agreements
Module 5: Finding Opportunities
- Setting your Goals
- Direct Selling
- CPV and NUTS Codes
- Local Searches
- National Searches
- International Searches
Module 6: Tender Responses
- Expression of Interest
- Pre-qualification Questionnaire
- Invitation to Tender
- Preparing the Tender
- Evaluation
- Contract Award
- Feedback
This course can be used to compliment the TIPPS training for local businesses that Procurement Lincolnshire plays a leading role in. Please visit the Events page to the left, to view any upcoming training events we have.