Official UK procurement notice
Modern Apprenticeship Services - Learning Provider and Employer 2027-2028
Authority: Skills Development Scotland Ltd
What is being bought2 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionModern Apprenticeships (MA) Services for starts for year 2027-2028, plus optional two up to 12 month extension periods for 2028-2029 and 2029-2030. The current estimated value of this tender is up to 320m GBP (exclusive of any applicable VAT), including optional extension periods, for both lots, including those in-training places as of 31 March 2027 and any subsequent years and is subject to a confirmed budget, each year, from Scottish Government to SDS.
CPV: Adult and other education services · Education and training services · Training services
Lots and requirements (2)Procurement structure
2 lots · no lot values published · a supplier may bid for at most 1 and win at most 1 of themLot #1MA Services - Learning Provider
SDS invites bids from Learning Providers for MA Starts for the duration of 12 months from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2028. MAs already in-training shall continue for the duration of the individual's apprenticeship. Additional information: Bidders cannot bid for Lot 2 if bidding for Lot 1. Bids can only be submitted for one of the two lots.
Lot #2MA Services - Employer
SDS invites bids from Employers for MA Starts for the duration of 12 months from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2028. MAs already in training shall continue for the duration of the individual's apprenticeship. Additional information: Bidders cannot bid for Lot 1 if bidding for Lot 2. Bids can only be submitted for one of the two lots.
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).
The scope of services to be provided under this contract falls within the definition of social and other specific services in Schedule 3 to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ("the regulations") and therefore the procurement process shall in accordance with Regulation 74 of the Regulation be subject to the requirement of Section 7 of the Regulations. By virtue of regulation 76(3) of the regulations, bidders in any of the situations listed in regulation 58 of the Regulation may be excluded.
No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.
- Staff
- Names and qualifications of delivery staff must be submitted
- Shortlisting
- It is a requirement of this contract that bidders hold, or can commit to obtain prior to commencement of any subsequently awarded contract, the types and levels of insurance indicated below: Employer's (Compulsory) Liability Insurance 5,000,000 GBP Public Liability Insurance 1,000,000 GBP It is mandatory that you provide evidence of managing 2 contracts (Lot 1 only) which provide evidence of your experience in delivering the same/similar services to that described in Tender documentation. If you cannot provide the required 2 examples then your submission will be a fail and therefore excluded
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Skills Development Scotland Ltd buys Education and training services (CPV 80), and who usually turns up
Skills Development Scotland Ltd’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) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
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.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
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. The market figure counts awards delivered in Scotland.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.
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.
Half of these awards have an award date within 37 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.
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.
1 bid0% / 26%
2–367% / 42%
4–633% / 17%
7+0% / 15%
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.
Below estimate44%
Within ±2%40%
Above estimate16%
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.
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 #1MA Services - Learning ProviderCPV 80Estimate not published
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 80. The comparison uses that group.
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 112 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid26%
2–342%
4–617%
7+15%
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.
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.
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.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
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.
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.
Lot #2MA Services - EmployerCPV 80Estimate not published
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 80. The comparison uses that group.
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 112 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid26%
2–342%
4–617%
7+15%
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.
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.
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.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
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.
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 · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- 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
- 29 Oct 2026, 11:18 GMT
- Last source update
- 29 Oct 2026, 11:18 GMT
- Authority reference
P26-005- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-102503- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-07934aFind a Tender
- Electronic trading
- electronic payment
- Performance terms
Bidders shall be required to pass the following pass/fail questions contained within the ITT Response Doc Part 1. All bids who pass part 1 will be taken forward to Part 2 and their submission evaluated.
Section 5 - Exclusion Grounds
Section 6 - Policies - Insurance
Section 7 - Equal Opportunities
Section 8 - Health and Safety
Section 9 - Conflict of Interest
Section 10 - Prompt Payment
Section 11 - Contract Examples - Two Examples - Lot 1 Learning Provider only
Publisher note: Part 2 Award Criteria: Service Delivery 70%, Leadership & Quality Culture 20% & Sustainability(Fair Work First) 10% Award scoring methodology will be used for each of the award criteria of 0-3 as stated in the ITT documentation. SDS shall allocate volumes to successful bidders as detailed in the ITT documentation and up to the value of budget confirmed and available. Fair Work Practices - SDS is committed to the delivery of high quality public services, and recognises that this is critically dependent on a workforce that is well-motivated, well led, has appropriate opportunities for training and skills development and is engaged in decision making. These factors are also important for workforce recruitment and retention, and thus continuity of service. Sub-contracting is not specified but will occur as indicated as being required to deliver the training services by the bidders. The Contracting Authority does not intend to include any community benefit requirements in this contract for the following reason: Community Benefits was considered, however, even though aggregated value is over 4m GBP, each individual contract will be lower than 4m GBP NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Public Contracts Scotland Web Site at https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=846966. The buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Postbox facility. A user guide is available at https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/sitehelp/help_guides.aspx. Suppliers are advised to allow adequate time for uploading documents and to dispatch the electronic response well in advance of the closing time to avoid any last minute problems. The Contracting Authority does not intend to include a sub-contract clause as part of community benefits (as per Section 25 of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014) in this contract for the following reason: We do not include sub-contract clause, however, the contract allows for SME and sub-contracting opportunities. The Contracting Authority does not intend to include any community benefit requirements in this contract for the following reason: Community Benefits was considered, however, even though aggregated value is over 4m GBP, each individual contract will be lower than 4m GBP (SC Ref:846966)
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via Public Contracts Scotland- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 3 Dec 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- —
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
29 Oct 2026 → 3 Dec 2026 · 2 dates- Notice published12h ago29 Oct 2026, 11:18 GMT
- Today29 Oct 2026
- Submission deadlinein 34 days3 Dec 2026, 12:00 GMT
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Skills Development ScotlandMediation body
- The Sheriff Clerk's OfficeReview body
- The Skills Development Scotland Co. LimitedReview contact point
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice; the tender pack is on the portal.