Somerset County Council Workforce Skills

Following a successful application to the European Social Fund, Somerset County Council has secured £2,078,053 of European Social Fund (ESF) investment to deliver the Somerset Skills for Growth Project. The Council is now seeking to procure and appoint suitably qualified suppliers to deliver the outputs and results specified within the Somerset Skills for Growth Grant Funding Agreement. The total value of this opportunity is up to £300,135.24. It is intended that this will be spread across several suppliers according to the overall requirements, and the Applicant's capacity. As such Applicants are encouraged to bid for only the elements that they are capable and have the capacity to provide. 'SCC Workforce Skills' will offer qualifications at any accredited level, excluding basic skills. The accredited qualifications have been pre-determined and are stated in section 2.5 in their required volumes. Guide prices have also been researched. Applicants are able to set out their own prices if they wish but will be marked for value for money against the guide prices.

Additional information: The Authority is conducting this procurement process in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. This tender opportunity falls within Schedule 3 of the Regulations (Social and Other Specific Services) and below the Light Touch Regime threshold. Whilst this means that this Tender is exempt from EU procurement rules, it will be run in accordance with the EU Treaty principles of transparency, non-discrimination, equal treatment, mutual recognition, and proportionality.

Along with satisfying the essential criteria for contract award, we are inviting Applicants to submit comprehensive and realistic method statements, with associated timescales, outlining the proposed customer journey, from the point of receiving a referral, to the end of a participant's involvement. We will ask Applicants to explain how their delivery method will achieve the desired outputs/outcomes ensuring all associated risks and issues are highlighted along with any mitigating actions.

At the conclusion of the Award stage, the intention is to award a contract to 1 applicant per set of pre-determined qualifications. Part D will indicate the number of individuals per qualification, alongside the guide price for each qualification. The provider that scores highest against each qualification will be offered the contract and the highest scoring applicant will be determined by their score for Part C (quality) and their costings in Part D (price). For further information, including access to the tender documents, please visit the ProContract e-tendering portal, link to the advert below: https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert/Index?advertId=c54c3fea-f0ed-eb11-810d-005056b64545