Public Procurement and Property

Did you know there is a free tender training service in Scotland?

January 15, 2026 by Scottish Procurement No Comments | Category Scottish Procurement, Supplier Development Programme

Each year, the Supplier Development Programme (SDP) delivers over 100 training webinars and networking events across Scotland, designed to help businesses win a share of Scotland’s £16.6bn public sector spend.

SDP is a partnership of Local Authorities, the Scottish Government and other public bodies, working together to support Scottish SMEs and Third Sector Organisations (TSOs) in all aspects of tendering.

So, what can SDP do for your Scottish-based SME or TSO?

SDP runs a range of free ‘core’ tender training, through webinars and eLearning, exclusively for Scottish-based SMEs and third sector organisations. This includes introductory modules for those with little or no experience in tendering, as well as more advanced modules for those looking to improve their tender win rate or expand into new markets.

In addition, SDP works in partnership with more than 55 public and private sector organisations to improve visibility and access to their contract and supply chain opportunities via supplier engagement events. SDP run bespoke Talking Tenders and Aligned Tender training webinars help suppliers discover business opportunities with our partner organisations, and how to bid for them.

Looking to meet directly with buyers across Scotland?

SDP also hosts in-person Meet the Buyer events across the country, giving suppliers an opportunity to introduce their business to key buyers and decision makers, build new contacts, and discover contract and supply chain opportunities.

In addition, Scottish SMEs and TSOs can access a wealth of resources on the SDP website, including guidance on key policies, free policy templates, a jargon buster, and more.

Not a Scottish-based SME?

While you won’t be able to access the full range of free support offered by SDP, you can still benefit from many of our events. Non-Scottish SMEs are welcome to attend their supplier engagement events, including Talking Tenders and Aligned Tender Training webinars, to find out about SDP partner organisations’ contract opportunities and how to bid for them. You can also go along along to their free, in-person Meet the Buyer events to network with a wide range of buyers from across the public and private sectors.

Regardless of the size of your business, SDP is here to help.

Register for your FREE account today and take your first step towards becoming tender ready.

For further information on public procurement in Scotland please visit www.gov.scot/procurement

Please email enquiries to scottishprocurement@gov.scot

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Tags: events, free training, supplier

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