Official UK procurement notice
Delivery of Apprenticeships to the Royal Corps of Signals
Authority: Ministry of Defence (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe 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), Network Cable Installer (ST0485), and Maintenance and Operations Engineering Technician (ST0154 (for carry-in learners only)).
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.
The Authority will be holding a Tenderers Conference at 10:00 hrs on on 10th September 2026 at Tidworth Garrison Theater, 18 St Andrews Rd, Tidworth, SP9 7EP. Parties wishing to attend the Tenderers Conference should email [email protected] by Friday 21st August 2026, stating who will be attending. Please note the number of attendees per party is capped at three individuals.
For the avoidance of any doubt this notice supercedes any previous notices published for Delivery of Apprenticeships to the Royal Corps of Signals.
CPV: Education and training services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1Published value£17,000,000
- Economic & financial standing
Financial Conditions of Participation are detailed within the ITT documentation available of the Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP).
- Technical & professional ability
Technical Conditions of Participation are included within the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) within the Qualification Envelope of the ITT on the DSP.
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).
Published sub-criteria (3)
- Non-Cost (Techncial): 60%
- Non-Cost (Social Value): 10%
- Cost: 30%
Published award criteria (3)
- Non-Cost (Techncial): Technical Assessment
- Non-Cost (Social Value): Social Value Assessment
- Cost: Tender Price
- Economic & financial standing
Financial Conditions of Participation are detailed within the ITT documentation available of the Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP).
- Technical & professional ability
Technical Conditions of Participation are included within the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) within the Qualification Envelope of the ITT on the DSP.
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
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
- Closed
- 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
- 22 Apr 2026, 13:27 BST
- Last source update
- 24 Aug 2026, 14:30 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 22 Mar 2027
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-077995- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-068881Find a Tender- Contract terms summary
Payment will be made via the Contracting, Purchasing and Finance (CP&F) system / EXOSTAR.
Payment to be made in the form of quarterly milestone payments, paid within 30 days of invoice received when the service, training and support has been received to an acceptable standard.
- Risks
- DfE changes – Potential changes to Department for Education (DfE) policies or funding and apprenticeship delivery and assessment regulations.
- Apprenticeship cessation – The discontinuation of an apprenticeship Standard(s).
- Introduction of new apprenticeships – The implementation of new or additional apprenticeship standards that may require adjustments to existing contracts.
- Army Initial Trade Training (ITT) changes – Modifications to ITT/Contract requirements or delivery methods
- Army/Cap Badge restructuring – Organisational changes within the Army or cap badge structures that could impact apprenticeship delivery.
- Operations – An extraordinary level of MOD / Army operations in the UK and Overseas which could impact apprenticeship and Assessment delivery.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 12 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 21 Sept 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
22 Apr 2026 → 1 Aug 2027 · 9 dates- Planning notice published185 days ago22 Apr 2026, 13:27 BST
- Market engagement162 days ago15 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.
- Tender notice published68 days ago17 Aug 2026, 10:51 BST
- Next notice expected68 days ago17 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
- Latest notice published61 days ago24 Aug 2026, 14:30 BST
- Clarification questions by33 days ago21 Sept 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission deadline12 days ago12 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
- Today24 Oct 2026
- Award decision expected byin 149 days22 Mar 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 280 days1 Aug 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
9 events · 6 releases on Find a Tender · since 22 Apr 2026- Pipeline notice published22 Apr 2026, 13:27 BSTUK1
- Preliminary market engagement notice published22 Apr 2026, 13:36 BSTUK2
- Planned procurement notice published7 Jul 2026, 13:03 BSTUK3
- Published value updated to £17,000,0007 Jul 2026, 13:03 BSTwas £15,000,000
- Deadline published: 12 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST7 Jul 2026, 13:03 BST
- Tender notice published17 Aug 2026, 10:51 BSTUK4
- Status changed to active17 Aug 2026, 10:51 BST
- Tender notice published17 Aug 2026, 11:06 BSTUK4
- Tender notice published24 Aug 2026, 14:30 BSTUK4
Published amendments (2)
Contact email updated.
Contact email updated.
Routine re-releases (6)
- 2026-07: 1 release · 7 Jul 2026
- 2026-04: 2 releases · 22 Apr 2026, 22 Apr 2026
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (6)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Planned procurement notice Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender