Apprenticeship Training Dynamic Marketplace DPS

Provides access to an extensive range of apprenticeship training programmes that fully supports Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) funding rules. These rules gives departments and public sector bodies the freedom to choose who they contract with.

Description

The Apprenticeship Training Dynamic Marketplace is available to all public sector organisations, including central government departments, agencies and public bodies, wider public sector organisations, and charities.

Use it to buy apprenticeship training courses, which include the learners’ end-point assessments. The courses can be generic or bespoke to you. Training can be in a classroom, in a workplace, online, or a combination of these. You can also use it to just buy learners’ end-point assessments.

This agreement is mainly used for apprentice training and assessments in England, but you can include additional service requirements for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It covers over 500 apprenticeship standards. All our suppliers are registered with the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).

With call-off contracts from this agreement, you can pay for services using apprenticeship levy funds. You don’t have to be an organisation that pays the apprenticeship levy in order to use these funds or use this agreement. Current ESFA funding rules apply.

This agreement uses a dynamic purchasing system (DPS) to help you find relevant suppliers through a filtering system. There’s the option of doing a rapid award procurement, which can be completed in as little as a day. Read the ‘How to buy’ tab below for details.

Watch this quick video for an introduction to the Apprenticeship Training DPS.

Watch this video to find out how to run your procurement using the Apprenticeship Training DPS.

Benefits

  • compliance with public procurement policy and ESFA apprenticeship funding rule
  • run your procurement in as little as a day with the rapid award option
  • suppliers can apply to join the agreement at any time
  • include social value in your supplier evaluation using either the rapid award or standard award option
  • you have the option to run your procurement directly through the DPS Marketplace system

Products and suppliers

Please read the 'How to buy' tab below for detailed instructions on how to find out which suppliers are on this agreement.

Lot 1: Apprenticeship Training Dynamic Marketplace

Expires:

How to buy

Watch this video to find out how to run your procurement using the Apprenticeship Training DPS. It includes a step by step guide, a demo of the DPS system, and explains the difference between a standard award and a rapid award.

Rapid award

Rapid award allows you to complete a desktop exercise to evaluate suppliers based on their pricing and pre-answered quality questions. In brief, you shortlist suppliers based on your requirements, download and evaluate supplier pricing and pre-answered quality questions, and award to the best supplier. If you have bespoke requirements, use the standard award option instead.

Here’s how to run a rapid award procurement using the Apprenticeship Training DPS:

  1. Decide which apprenticeship standard(s) you need
  2. Shortlist suppliers using the DPS system (read ‘How to create your supplier shortlist’ below, or watch this demo video)
  3. Download the supplier prospectus and pricing information
  4. Evaluate suppliers based on your evaluation criteria
  5. Complete the order form and contract terms (together, these form your call-off contract)
  6. Award the contract to the winning supplier (you can sign the contract on the system using DocuSign or the usual way over email or a procurement tool)
  7. Inform CCS of your contract award using the confirmation of award template

Standard award

Standard award is the usual further competition process. In brief, you prepare your tender documents, shortlist suppliers based on your requirements, invite suppliers to bid, evaluate supplier bids, and award to the best supplier. 

How to run a standard award procurement using the Apprenticeship Training DPS:

  1. Decide which apprenticeship standard(s) you need
  2. Write your tender documents:
    1. invitation to tender document (including your evaluation criteria, quality questions and associated score weightings)
    2. requirements specification
    3. pricing matrix
    4. contract order form 
    5. contract terms
  3. Shortlist suppliers using the DPS system (see ‘How to create your supplier shortlist’ section below, or watch this demo video)
  4. Invite suppliers to bid (you can use the free CCS eSourcing portal or another procurement tool)
  5. Evaluate supplier bids
  6. Send outcome letters to the suppliers that bid
  7. Finalise the contract order form and contract terms (together, these form your call-off contract)
  8. Award the contract to the winning supplier (you can sign the contracts on the DPS system using DocuSign or the usual way over email or a procurement tool)
  9. Inform CCS of your contract award using the confirmation of award template

Contact us if you need templates for the tender documents or outcome letters.

How to create your supplier shortlist

Watch this video to find out how to run your procurement using the Apprenticeship Training DPS. It includes a demo of the DPS system and how to create your supplier shortlist. Or, follow these steps:

  1. Register as a buyer on the DPS system (it can take a few days to process)
  2. Go to the Apprenticeship Training Dynamic Marketplace (DMP), click ‘Access as a buyer’ and sign in
  3. On the ‘Manage your DMP category portfolios’ page, click ‘Create new category portfolio’ (it’s underneath the grey ‘Help’ box on the right)
  4. Tick ‘Rapid award’ or ‘Standard award’, then click ‘Continue’
  5. Tick the filters along the left that you need
  6. Then, click ‘Select training filters’ in the top right
  7. Tick the training filters that best fit your needs, then click ‘Save and continue’
  8. Scroll down and click ‘Save portfolio’, name it, and click ‘Save portfolio’ again (note that webpage loading times vary)
  9. On the ‘Manage your DMP category portfolios’ page, scroll to your shortlist and once loaded, click ‘Export’ 
    1. With rapid award, this downloads a spreadsheet with supplier prospectus information and a folder containing supplier pricing tables 
    2. With standard award, this downloads a spreadsheet with supplier contact information

 

Documents