Public Procurement and Property

Training that works for you

January 16, 2020 by Eddie Chapman No Comments | Category contracts, SMEs, Supplier Development Programme, suppliers, Training

Each year, the Supplier Development Programme (SDP) organises hundreds of training opportunities and events throughout Scotland. SDP training is free and comes in the form of both classroom-style workshops, which span the whole of Scotland, and webinars that can be accessed from wherever SME suppliers are based, from the comfort of your own desk.

SDP helps businesses that are often too small to have dedicated bid/tender resources to contemplate bidding for a public sector contract. We aim to help you become what we call ‘tender ready’ for contracts, which improves your prospects when competing for contract opportunities.

Meeting your needs at a time that suits you

We offer courses at three levels, dependent on your experience with the tendering process. You can self-select your training level based on what is most appropriate for you and move up or around as your knowledge and experience grows. You do not have to complete SDP training in any set order. You can pick and choose to suit your own training needs and dip in and out as inspiration strikes. For example, to prepare for potential upcoming contract opportunities or to learn how to seek feedback and improve your bid score.

There is a broad range of public sector tendering topics covered in training, from our Introduction to Tendering course, to Improving Your Bid Score and The Supplier’s Role in Contract Relationship Management. We also offer bespoke sessions developed in conjunction with buying organisations. These relate to specific contracts that are soon to be tendered. Whether you are taking the first step or the next step in your tendering learning process, SDP offers a course to provide support to you and your business.

Don’t just take our word for it

After participating in SDP training, one supplier recently said: “It was an excellent introductory course into the tendering process.” After an intermediate course, another supplier commented: “Learning how to engage with the community and where I can get help was useful.” A more advanced supplier also commented: “The great work SDP is doing is hugely appreciated and has made the daunting prospect of entering the PCS world not so daunting at all.”

This is just a sample of the positive feedback SDP regularly receives. We are constantly adding to our list of case studies with success stories from Scottish SMEs around the country. Sign up for training and we could be adding your success story!

What are you waiting for? There are more training and supplier engagement events to come in 2020 than ever. You can browse upcoming training opportunities to inspire you for the coming year on the SDP website.

Tags: contract opportunities, SDP, Supplier Development Programme, Suppliers, tender ready, tendering, training, Webinars

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