Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 12 Mar 2026, 10:47 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

Delivery of Apprenticeships to the Royal Corps of Signals

Authority: Ministry of Defence (Central government)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable
Sectors: Education & Training (80) Delivery: UK
Planned pipeline value£15,000,000pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 17 Aug 2026from the planned procurement notice
Contract term 5 yrsends 31 Jul 2032 · starts 1 Aug 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The Ministry of Defence / British Army announce an upcoming contracting opportunity, for a five-year contract commencing 1st Aug 27, to support and supplement the delivery of the Royal Corps of Signals Apprenticeship Programme. Enrolment and some training is undertaken at Blandford Camp in Dorset, with the Army acting as an Apprenticeship Employer-Provider. The apprenticeship continues once learners arrive at their units which are located across the UK. The Royal Signals currently offer the following standards: Level 4 Network Engineer (ST0127), Level 3 Data Technician (ST0795), Level 3 Information Communications Technician (ST0973 Data Communications Technician pathway), Level 3 Engineering Maintenance Technician (Single Discipline) (ST1426), L2 Supply Chain Warehouse Operator (ST0259) and potentially L3 Cyber Security Technician (ST0865).

There is a requirement for an APAR registered Provider to supplement the military training delivery of the apprenticeship by providing Functional Skills training where required, supporting Apprentices (for example by conducting coaching, progress reviews, and EPA preparation), creating and managing DfE / DWP compliant learner records. Full definition of the requirement will be detailed within the Invitation to Tender and UK4 Tender notice, currently scheduled to be published in August 2026.

CPV: Education and training services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Planned 5 yrsSMEVCSE
Contract period: 1 Aug 2027 – 31 Jul 2032 (5 yrs)
Delivery: UKEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published

How Ministry of Defence buys Education and training services (CPV 80), and who usually turns up

Ministry of Defence’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Education and training services (CPV 80) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerMinistry of Defence · division 80
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
i

How often small and medium firms win.

Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.

The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 40 of 81 known-size awards · market: division 80 · UK-wide, n=2,240
49%56%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
i

How often local firms win similar work.

Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.

Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered.

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 5 of 12 known-location awards · market: division 80 · UK-wide, n=2,300
42%64%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside the region where that award was delivered.

How long to a decision?
i

How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.

Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 24 decided notices · market: division 80 · UK-wide, n=387
56 days37 days

Half of these awards have an award date within 56 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
i

How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.

Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.

Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.

Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: at least 58 of 112 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: division 80 · UK-wide, n=2,635
52%55%

Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.

How many bids did past lots attract?

i

How many bids past lots received.

Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.

Past bids do not predict this tender.

Last 36 months.

This buyer52 lots with bid counts · broad CPV 80
40% had one bid
The market789 lots with bid counts · division 80 · UK-wide
23% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid40% / 23%
Buyer: 21 of 52 lots with published bid counts. Market: 180 of 789 lots with published bid counts.
2–335% / 30%
Buyer: 18 of 52 lots with published bid counts. Market: 233 of 789 lots with published bid counts.
4–621% / 24%
Buyer: 11 of 52 lots with published bid counts. Market: 189 of 789 lots with published bid counts.
7+4% / 24%
Buyer: 2 of 52 lots with published bid counts. Market: 187 of 789 lots with published bid counts.

How did awards compare with estimates?

i

Where winning prices landed against estimates.

Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.

Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.

Last 36 months.

This buyer25 lots with estimate and award · broad CPV 80
56% below estimate
The market491 lots with estimate and award · division 80 · UK-wide
31% below estimate
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate56% / 31%
Buyer: 14 of 25 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 151 of 491 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%32% / 56%
Buyer: 8 of 25 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 274 of 491 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate12% / 13%
Buyer: 3 of 25 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 66 of 491 lots with an estimate and award.
2

Assess each lot
i

What past awards tell you about each lot.

See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.

No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 8060 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£15m

This lot lists more than one class in CPV 80. The comparison uses that group.

Expected competition
i

How many bids this lot may attract.

The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.

Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 789 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet23% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 789 similar lots
1 bid23%
180 of 789 similar past lots received 1 bid (23%).
2–330%
233 of 789 similar past lots received 2–3 (30%).
4–624%
189 of 789 similar past lots received 4–6 (24%).
7+24%
187 of 789 similar past lots received 7+ (24%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 3 bids.
Commercial price forecast
i

Where the award price may land.

The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.

No comparable awards for this lot yet.

A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.

—No model forecast yet
No comparable awards on record for this lot’s category yet. The published estimate is £15m, and the forecast stays empty until the market has a record to read.

Who has supplied this buyer on similar work?
i

Who has done similar work for this buyer.

Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.

A past supplier may not bid again.

SupplierThis buyer’s earlier contractLotAward valueWhy listed
Projecting Success LtdEarlier contractProject Delivery Function Apprenticeshipnotice published Aug 2023—£720kMatched as the earlier contract

Who could compete for this lot?
i

Who could compete for this lot?

Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.

None is confirmed as a bidder.

Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.

About this data
  • Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
  • Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
  • Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
  • Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.

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
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
12 Mar 2026, 10:47 GMT
Last source update
16 Apr 2026, 10:48 BST
Authority reference
715811477
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-034550
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Education and training services
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06681b Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

12 Mar 2026 → 1 Aug 2027 · 5 dates
  1. Planning notice published227 days ago
    12 Mar 2026, 10:47 GMT
  2. Latest notice published192 days ago
    16 Apr 2026, 10:48 BST
  3. Market engagement163 days ago
    15 May 2026, 23:59 BST

    Prior to the planned release of the full ITT, the Authority wishes to gauge the level of market interest from potential providers wishing to bid for this procurement, based on the detail of the scope and estimated value(s) as detailed within this Notice. As such, the Authority hereby request that any parties interested in competing for this upcoming procurement register its interest by sending an email to the following address: [email protected] by 17:00 GMT on 15 May 2026. Currently it is the Authority's intention to hold a Tenderers Conference on 10 September 2026 at Tidworth, full details to be provided at a later date.

    Please note that it is currently the Authority's intention to hold an Open competitive procedure for this procurement. For the avoidance of doubt, this notice is not a call for competition and companies who do not register their preliminary interest at this stage will still be free to compete for the award of the aforementioned ITT upon its publication.

  4. Tender notice expected69 days ago
    17 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
  5. Today
    25 Oct 2026
  6. Contract startsin 279 days
    1 Aug 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 12 Mar 2026
  1. Pipeline notice published
    12 Mar 2026, 10:47 GMT
    UK1
  2. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    16 Apr 2026, 10:48 BST
    UK2

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Ministry of Defence

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PHVX-4316-ZVGZ Army Headquarters, Marlborough Lines, Monxton Road, Andover, South East, SP11 8HJContact email

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure