Council to give free tendering training to boost local businesses

Cheshire East Council is to hold another series of free workshops to help business people learn how to win public sector contracts.

The award-winning procurement training events are being provided by the council’s arms-length Skills and Growth Company and are targeted at local businesses in Cheshire East.

The aim is to show small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) how to ‘get started’ in the bid process and how to produce a tender for both local and central government work. The workshops are suitable for businesses new to the tendering process or looking to improve how they tender. 

The latest procurement workshops, which aim to cover the whole process from start to finish, are:

● Let’s get started – on Tuesday, February 27; and

● The ‘invitation to tender’ process – on Tuesday, March 6.

The first workshop is an introduction to the tendering process, which will show how the framework for public sector tendering operates, how to navigate it and how to prepare for tendering opportunities.

The second workshop will explain the best-practice procedures and structures that you should put in place in your organisation to make sure your bids are as professional as possible and also how working in consortia can provide further opportunities.

Councillor Paul Bates, Cheshire East cabinet member for finance and communications, said: “Tendering for a public sector contract can often seem a daunting prospect and these free workshops provide really excellent, practical guidance to help local businesses develop their bids.

“We are always interested in receiving tenders from local businesses and organisations and these free workshops can significantly help to demystify and simplify the process.

“We are keen to support local firms and work to ensure as many of our quality services as possible are provided locally, while continuing to deliver value for money for the people of Cheshire East.

“It is important as Cheshire East spends in the region of £260m of public money annually on contracts, supplies and services with third parties.”

If you book a place, you will be booked on to both sessions. The workshops will take place at: Riverside, Mountbatten Way, Congleton CW12 1DY. Each event starts with refreshments and breakfast at 7.45am for a prompt 8am start. The sessions finish at 11am.

Places are strictly limited and businesses are advised to attend both events in order to get the most benefit and understand the whole process.

To book a place on this two part training workshop, visit: www.skillsandgrowth.co.uk/events Alternatively, email: business@skillsandgrowth.co.uk