Official UK procurement notice
Adult Skills Fund & Free Courses for Jobs
Authority: Devon County Council (Local council)
What is being bought5 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionDevon County Council (DCC) framework to provide Adult Skills Fund provision from high quality providers in Devon and Torbay, that is responsive to local needs, supports individuals furthest from the labour market, and contributes to the county's strategic objectives for economic development, social inclusion, and community wellbeing for the coming academic year (2025/26). Provision must be delivery of Department for Education (DfE) approved qualifications. Contract awards will be based on the quality and reach of any proposed course provision. Contracts will be paid in arrears according to evidenced learner output milestones as this is the basis for receiving funding from the DfE.Contractors will be required to submit learner data compliant with the existing learner data framework for Learn Devon (as part of DCC) as DCC will submit ILR data to the DfE on behalf of contracted providers. Providers will be required to deliver DfE approved qualifications as follows:The first full Qualification at level 2 legal entitlement (excluding Maths, English, and ESOL) for individuals aged 19 to 23; and/or the first full Qualification at level 3 for individuals aged 19 to 23;Essential digital skills qualifications, up to and including level 1, for individuals aged 19 or over, who have digital skills assessed at below level 1; Level 3 Free Courses for Jobs Offer for learners aged 23 or younger (from these approved DfE qualifications); Level 3 Free Courses for Jobs Offer for learners aged 24 and over (from these approved DfE qualifications). Training and skills courses resulting in DfE approved qualifications must be focused on the sectors below: Health and Social Care Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering (including Green Technologies) Education Hospitality Transport and Storage Information and Communication Finance and Insurance Professional, Scientific, and Technical Digital (including Essential Digital Skills)
£1,115,391 excluding VAT
£1,338,469 including VAT
CPV: Adult and other education services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Closed framework
- Call-offs
- call-offs may be awarded directly or by further competition
- Places
- up to 20 suppliers · 12 bids on the busiest of 5 lots (0.6 per place) · 9 appointed
- Framework period
- 11 mo from 21 Aug 2025
Published description of the framework
A) Cascade Direct Award
Through a 'cascade' Direct Award approach, the Framework Provider ranked first for the specified Lot will be invited to fulfil the project requirement If the Framework Provider ranked first either declines the contract or does not have the capacity or capability to deliver the contract, the bidder ranked second would then be offered the contract (and so on).
For Phase 1 of this Framework Agreement, the cascade approach will be used for each Lot as defined within the ITT.
B) Mini Competition
As and when a project requirement arises, all of the specific Framework Providers for the chosen Lot will be invited to participate in a Mini-Competition Invitation to Tender. This will contain the Supplemental Specification for the project and the particular Mini-Competition Award Criteria.
Lots and requirements (5)Procurement structure
5 lots · all with a published valueEvery one of these 3 lots carries the same published figure, £249,368: it is the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each lot's own budget, and no share per lot is published. The cards below say ceiling above rather than repeat it.
Lot #1ASF in Exeter, East Devon, and Mid-DevonAwardedceiling above
Provision of ASF Courses in Exeter, East Devon, and Mid-Devon
- Economic & financial standing
refer to ITT
- Technical & professional ability
refer to ITT
Lot #2ASF in Torridge and North DevonAwardedceiling above
Provision of ASF Courses in Torridge and North Devon
Lot #3ASF Teignbridge, South Hams, and West DevonAwardedceiling above
Provision of ASF Courses in Teignbridge, South Hams, and West Devon
Lot #4ASF in TorbayAwardedPublished value£134,541
Provision of ASF Courses in Torbay
Lot #5Free Courses for Jobs with 2 SublotsAwardedPublished value£232,746
Free Courses for Jobs with 2 Sublots a) Devon b) Torbay
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
- “Adult Skills Fund & Free Courses for Jobs” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, up to 20 suppliers, not a single contract: call-offs may be direct or by further competition.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 4 Sept 2025, 17:06 BST
- Last source update
- 27 Oct 2025, 16:24 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 20 Aug 2025
- Authority reference
CP2641-25- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-037693- Accelerated
- Light touch contract
- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-055047Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 28 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 21 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
19 Jun 2025 → 27 Oct 2025 · 10 dates- Planning notice published19 Jun 2025, 16:19 BST
- Market engagement27 Jun 2025, 23:59 BST
To inform the service provision approach Devon County Council will be undertaking a questionnaire for prospective bidders. The questionnaire will be supported by an online teams event where further discussion on the Authorities requirement and approach to the procurement element will be discussed.
The opportunity can be accessed on the SupplyingtheSouthwest portal using the following link.
procontract.due-north.com/Advert ↗
19/06/2025 Pre-Engagement notice published
26/06/2025 Market engagement event (Teams Meeting)
27/06/2025 Return of questionnaires
1/07/25 ITT Issued
Noon 22/07/2025 Deadline for return of bids
05/08/2025 Notification by the Authority of the award decision and issue of assessment summaries
12/08/2025 Appointment of the successful Bidders to Framework and initial direct award of the contracts
14/08/2025 Contract commences
14/08/2025 - 31/07/2026 Delivery phase
Further details are given in the attached document
The Authority will make available all relevant information from this event and subsequent questionnaire as part of the publication of the ITT
- Next notice expected1 Jul 2025, 23:59 BST
- Tender notice published7 Jul 2025, 11:30 BST
- Clarification questions by21 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
- Admission / appointment period endsperiod end, not a bid countdown28 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
- Award decision expected by20 Aug 2025, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts21 Aug 2025, 00:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent1 Sept 2025, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published363 days ago27 Oct 2025, 16:24 GMT
Notice history
6 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 19 Jun 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published19 Jun 2025, 16:19 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published20 Jun 2025, 16:05 BSTUK2
- Tender notice published7 Jul 2025, 11:30 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published4 Sept 2025, 17:06 BSTUK6
- Contract signature expected4 Sept 2025, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published27 Oct 2025, 16:24 GMTUK7
Published amendments (1)
Procurement Description - amended to "ILR Data" for clarity Estimated value changed to £1,338,469 to include vat and reflect actual value Reference to 5 Geographical Lots removed as detail is within the PME Questionnaire PME Return/Engagement End Date amended to 27/06/2025 and ITT publish date amended to 1/07/25, in line with the outline timeline within the PME Questionnaire.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast£299,242 inc. VAT is the framework's published maximum, restated by the publisher on 2 award rows. It is one ceiling, not 2 separate sums, and no share per lot is published; those rows read “ceiling above”.
Contracts
All 2 of these contracts carry the same published figure, £299,242, the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each contract's own value. They are not eleven separate sums.
Contract 1 · Dynamo healthcare trainingSME, EAT THAT FROG C.I.C.VCSE, IUNGO SOLUTIONS LIMITEDSME, PGL Training (Plumbing) Limited, Think Employment LtdSME, Whitehead-Ross Education and Consulting LtdSME
- Signed
- 28 Aug 2025
- Value
- ceiling above
- Period
- 5 Sept 2025 – 31 Jul 2026
- Status
- active
Contract 2 · IUNGO SOLUTIONS LIMITEDSME, PGL Training (Plumbing) Limited, Whitehead-Ross Education and Consulting LtdSME
- Signed
- 28 Aug 2025
- Value
- £183,218 inc. VAT
- Period
- 5 Sept 2025 – 31 Jul 2026
- Status
- active
Contract 3 · EAT THAT FROG C.I.C.VCSE, JBC SKILLS TRAINING LIMITEDSME, PGL Training (Plumbing) Limited, Primed Talent LimitedSME, Whitehead-Ross Education and Consulting LtdSME
- Signed
- 28 Aug 2025
- Value
- ceiling above
- Period
- 5 Sept 2025 – 31 Jul 2026
- Status
- active
Contract 4 · Cultiv8 LtdSME, EAT THAT FROG C.I.C.VCSE, JBC SKILLS TRAINING LIMITEDSME, PGL Training (Plumbing) Limited, Primed Talent LimitedSME
- Signed
- 28 Aug 2025
- Value
- £160,606 inc. VAT
- Period
- 4 Sept 2025 – 5 Sept 2025
- Status
- active
Free Courses for Jobs - Devon · IUNGO SOLUTIONS LIMITEDSME, PGL Training (Plumbing) Limited, Think Employment LtdSME
- Signed
- 28 Aug 2025
- Value
- £244,020 inc. VAT
- Period
- 5 Sept 2025 – 31 Jul 2026
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · ASF in Exeter, East Devon, and Mid-Devon | 12final-stage tenders · 16 at stage one | 10 | 1 | — |
| 2 · ASF in Torridge and North Devon | 7final-stage tenders · 9 at stage one | 5 | 0 | — |
| 3 · ASF Teignbridge, South Hams, and West Devon | 11final-stage tenders · 14 at stage one | 7 | 1 | — |
| 4 · ASF in Torbay | 12final-stage tenders · 14 at stage one | 9 | 0 | — |
| 5 · Free Courses for Jobs with 2 Sublots | 12final-stage tenders · 13 at stage one | 9 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Framework contractors & participating bidders
9 commercial parties on the notice- Cultiv8 LtdFramework contractor
- DYNAMO HEALTHCARE TRAINING LTDFramework contractor
- EAT THAT FROG C.I.C.Framework contractor
- IUNGO SOLUTIONS LIMITEDFramework contractor
- JBC SKILLS TRAINING LIMITEDFramework contractor
- PGL TRAINING (PLUMBING) LIMITEDFramework contractor
- PRIMED TALENT LIMITEDFramework contractor
- THINK EMPLOYMENT LIMITEDFramework contractor
- WHITEHEAD-ROSS EDUCATION AND CONSULTING LIMITEDFramework contractor
Official documents & specifications (13)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
Show 5 more notices
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender