Official UK procurement notice
T Level Industry Placement Support Services
Authority: Department for Education (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Department for Education (DfE) has procured a Supplier to deliver the T Level Industry Placement Support Services contract.
The contract will provide a coordinated national support offer for providers and employers, strengthening employer engagement, improving provider capability, and increasing the availability and quality of industry placements across regions and sectors.
The primary objective of this contract is to ensure sufficient high-quality industry placements are available to support the successful delivery and scale up of T Levels through:
-Generating an improved understanding of T Levels and their benefits, across regions and sectors.
-Ensuring large employers have the knowledge and tools to offer placements at scale, hosting students from multiple providers and pathways.
-Facilitating self-sustaining and strong partnerships between T Level providers and employers in every locality, leading to an increase in employers offering year-on-year placements.
-Preparing students for placements, supported by their provider throughout, increasing the quality of their experience and reducing placement terminations.
The contract will begin on 1 August 2026 with delivery commencing from 1 September 2026. The contract will run for two years until 31 August 2028, with two seperate 1 year extention options that would take delivery up to 31 August 2030 if both extensions are utilsed.
The procurement included social value as part of the evaluation criteria weighted at 10% and will cover MAC2a: Learning and skills development opportunities relevant to the contract to address skills gaps, in relation to PPN002 "Taking account of social value in the award of central government contracts”.
This UK7 - Contract details notice is published to inform suppliers and the public that the contracting authority has entered into a contract and to provide key details of the awarded contract in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023.
CPV: Education and training services · Technical and vocational secondary education services · Technical secondary education services · Vocational secondary education services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedWhat 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 (1)
- Document 2 - Quality Questionnaire: 100%
Published award criteria (1)
- Document 2 - Quality Questionnaire: Tenders will be scored using the Price per Quality Point (PQP) methodology. PQP divides the whole life cost of a tender with the total quality score for the tender, to give a £s per technical/quality point value for the tender, (Cost/Quality Score=PQP Score). The bidder’s submission to Document 2 – Quality Questionnaire will form 100% of the Quality score for this procurement. Each question within Document 2 will be evaluated in line with the published scoring criteria, and the resulting scores will be totalled to give the bidder’s overall Quality Score (expressed as a numerical value). The bidder’s submitted "Document 3 - pricing Schedule" whole‑life cost will then be divided by the bidder’s total Quality Score to determine a £ cost per Quality Point.
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
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 29 Jul 2025, 09:57 BST
- Last source update
- 13 Aug 2026, 14:28 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 6 Jul 2026
- Authority reference
project_10008- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-029186- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0567aaFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 1 May 2026, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 17 Apr 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html ↗
Bid submissons only through Jaggaer platform
Timeline
29 Jul 2025 → 13 Aug 2026 · 11 dates- Planning notice published29 Jul 2025, 09:57 BST
- Market engagement349 days ago6 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
Market Engagement Event Invitation
We would like to invite all interested organisations to attend a market engagement event which will provide an opportunity to hear about our initial thinking. We will also be seeking structured feedback through a follow-up survey, which will play a key role in shaping the future delivery and commercial model. Your insights will be critical to informing our approach.
Through this engagement, the DfE aims to:
- Share initial thinking and early insights into the potential scope and structure of a future contract model.
- Gather feedback from the market to inform the design and scope.
- Understand any innovative approaches, delivery mechanisms and outputs that could improve outcomes for providers, employers and learners.
- Provide an opportunity for stakeholders to ask questions and offer input.
- Help the DfE gauge the level of market interest in bidding for a contract in 2026.
Date: Thursday 6th November 2025
Time: 10:00 – 11:00am
Location: Microsoft Teams Online Webinar
How to Register
To register your interest and secure a place at the event, please use this link:
events.teams.microsoft.com/event/2a294675-26f8-… ↗
Next Steps
Following the event, participants will be invited to complete a short survey to provide structured feedback on the proposed delivery and commercial model.
Important: Please note that this is not a call for competition and does not commit the Department to procuring, or procuring services in any specific way. Any future opportunities will be subject to budgetary decisions and the availability of funding.
- Tender notice published205 days ago30 Mar 2026, 15:01 BST
- Next notice expected205 days ago30 Mar 2026, 23:59 BST
- Clarification questions by187 days ago17 Apr 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission deadline174 days ago1 May 2026, 12:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent108 days ago6 Jul 2026, 00:00 BST
- Award decision expected by107 days ago6 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
- Standstill ends93 days ago20 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts82 days ago1 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published70 days ago13 Aug 2026, 14:28 BST
Notice history
16 events · 7 releases on Find a Tender · since 29 Jul 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published29 Jul 2025, 09:57 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published22 Oct 2025, 10:32 BSTUK2
- Published value updated to £1,000,00022 Oct 2025, 10:32 BSTwas £15,000,000
- Planned procurement notice published12 Mar 2026, 10:28 GMTUK3
- Status changed to planned12 Mar 2026, 10:28 GMT
- Procurement method changed12 Mar 2026, 10:28 GMT
- Deadline published: 1 May 2026, 23:59 BST12 Mar 2026, 10:28 GMT
- Tender notice published30 Mar 2026, 15:01 BSTUK4
- Published value updated to £2,000,00030 Mar 2026, 15:01 BSTwas £1,000,000
- Status changed to active30 Mar 2026, 15:01 BST
- Deadline moved to 1 May 2026, 12:00 BST30 Mar 2026, 15:01 BST+0 days · was 1 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract award notice published8 Jul 2026, 10:07 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete8 Jul 2026, 10:07 BST
- Contract award notice published10 Jul 2026, 09:37 BSTUK6
- Contract signature expected21 Jul 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published13 Aug 2026, 14:28 BSTUK7
Routine re-releases (7)
- 2026-03: 2 releases · 12 Mar 2026, 30 Mar 2026
- 2025-10: 1 release · 22 Oct 2025
- 2025-07: 1 release · 29 Jul 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| SDN Enterprises Ltd1 Aug 2026 – 31 Aug 2028 · up to 31 Aug 2030Extensions: Two seperate "1year" extension options are available · Amended: Minor correction made to awarded suppliers head office address | £1,941,421 | 6 Jul 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
T Level Industry Placement Support Services · SDN Enterprises Ltd
- Signed
- 21 Jul 2026
- Value
- £1,941,421
- Period
- 1 Aug 2026 – 31 Aug 2028 · up to 31 Aug 2030 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- A further two optional 1year extensions are included (subject to requirements, performance and approvals) taking the potential contract end date, if both extensions are utilised, to 31 August 2030. Any Extension Period to be exercised requires the Buyer gives the Supplier no less than 3 Months written notice before the Contract expires.
3 agreed KPIs: KPI 1.1 Overall Delivery Plan Adherence · KPI 1.2 Engagement Effectiveness Across WS1-4 · KPI 1.3 Satisfaction Across Work Strands 1 to 4
- KPI 1.1 Overall Delivery Plan Adherence, This KPI measures the supplier’s ability to deliver all agreed activities, engagements, milestones, and outputs across Work Strands 1–5 in line with the approved consolidated delivery plan.
- KPI 1.2 Engagement Effectiveness Across WS1-4, This KPI assesses the supplier’s effectiveness for reaching intended audiences across Work Strands 1 to 4 Engagement Activities.
- KPI 1.3 Satisfaction Across Work Strands 1 to 4, This KPI measures the level of quality and satisfaction experienced by customers across all work strands 1 to 4 in relation to the content and delivery of services administered.
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4final-stage tenders | 4 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- SDN Mesma Group Ltd.Awarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (8)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
Notices published for this procedure
- 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
- 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
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender