FREE ONLINE COURSE TO HELP SMALLER FIRMS BID FOR GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has upgraded and re-launched the free, on-line public procurement course, "Winning the Contract".

The course has been designed to help smaller firms bid for the £236 billion of public sector contracts awarded each year, and is available on the businesslink website

‘Winning the Contract' shows participants how to identify business opportunities to supply goods and services to the public sector, explains the public procurement process and demonstrates how to submit tenders. It also details the newly launched, free, on-line procurement portal "Contracts Finder", provides information on apprenticeships, forming social enterprises and has helpful hints and tips to guide and inform businesses about the bidding process and where to find public sector contract opportunities.

The course is available nationally, takes around 3-4 hours to complete and can be accessed for free by all businesses, regardless of size and sector. It is hosted by Learndirect on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and was designed with input from both the public and private sectors.