Official UK procurement notice
International Recruitment and Clinical Training of Fragile Professions
Authority: NHS England (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNHS England is intending to award two contracts for International Recruitment and Clinical Training of Fragile Professions. The two contracts will be:
BAPIO Training Academy: Maximum value of £2,000,000
Apollo Education UK: Maximum value of £3,000,000
The intention is that the contracts will run for an initial term until 30/04/2027. There will be an option to extend both agreements by a period of 12 months however the maximum value of the agreements will remain at the values set out above.
CPV: Supply services of medical personnel
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewal
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Direct award
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 27 Aug 2026, 16:50 BST
- Last source update
- 8 Sept 2026, 16:00 BST
- Authority reference
C468468/C468490- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-085059- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06ee06Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- Single Suppliers Technical Reasons
- Published justification
NHS England is intending to award two contracts to Apollo Education UK and BAPIO Training Academy for International Recruitment and Training of Fragile Professions.
This direct award is made in accordance with Section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023 and Schedule 5 paragraph 6
Due to an absence of competition for technical reasons
Through Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) delivery, NHS England has gained direct experience of the services available within the market and the differing delivery approaches adopted by providers. This experience has demonstrated that whilst a number of organisations offer elements of international recruitment or workforce support, providers typically specialise in discrete aspects of the workforce pathway rather than delivering a fully integrated end-to-end solution.
The assessment of NHS England is that this requirement extends beyond recruitment activity and includes workforce attraction, training, education, assessment, mobilisation, pastoral support and retention interventions. Based on delivery experience gained through the CDC programme, it is NHS England's view that at this moment in time only these two providers are capable of delivering all of these interdependent components through a single accountable service model at the scale and pace required.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
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Timeline
27 Aug 2026 → 14 Sept 2026 · 4 dates- Planning notice published59 days ago27 Aug 2026, 16:50 BST
- Next notice expected54 days ago1 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Latest notice published47 days ago8 Sept 2026, 16:00 BST
- Contract starts42 days ago14 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 27 Aug 2026- Pipeline notice published27 Aug 2026, 16:50 BSTUK1
- Transparency notice published8 Sept 2026, 15:42 BSTUK5
- Status changed to complete8 Sept 2026, 15:42 BST
- Contract award notice published8 Sept 2026, 16:00 BSTUK6
- Contract signature expected18 Sept 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| BAPIO Training Academy LtdInternational Recruitment and Clinical Training of Fragile Professions - BTA21 Sept 2026 – 30 Apr 2027 · up to 30 Apr 2028Extensions: A 12 month extension option | £2,000,000 | 25 Aug 2026 | Awarded |
| Apollo Education UK LimitedSMEInternational Recruitment and Clinical Training of Fragile Professions - Apollo Education UK21 Sept 2026 – 30 Apr 2027 · up to 30 Apr 2028Extensions: 12 month extension option available | £3,000,000 | 25 Aug 2026 | Awarded |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
2 commercial parties on the notice- Apollo Education UK LimitedAwarded supplier
- BAPIO Training Academy LtdAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (5)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender