Win more Contracts - Public Procurement 2026 - 22nd April 2026

The next course is to be held on Wednesday 22nd April online and is filling up nicely.

So, if you want to attend please book promptly.  Details here.

But there will be more later this year.

The course is suitable for both buyers and suppliers.

Win more Contracts - Public Procurement 2026 - 4th Feb 2026

 First open course of the year on Wednesday.  That one is full but we shall be running it again on April 26th 2026.

Full details are here.

Public Procurement Training in 2026

 Well, we are all back at work and remembering what we used to do in 2025.

I hope.

In my case it is delivering training. And the first open course is imminent - Introduction to Public Procurement for PASS Procurement at BIP Solutions.

So, if you want to know about public procurement as either a buyer or supplier, or want a reminder, or just to usefully spend those budget pennies left down the back of the sofa before end of March....

The course is online 27th January 2026 - and full details are here.

There are more courses on the programme (not all delivered by me) if that date does not work for you.  More details as we get nearer each one.

Win more contracts - understanding the Procurement Act 2023 - 4th December 2025

 Last open course for 2025 (for me) is online on Wednesday 4th December 2025.

Full details are here.

These courses have been very popular, and so we shall run them again in 2026, but not until February at the earliest.  And there will probably be a run of other courses as well, but not until the Spring.

So if you are interested, hope to see you online.

Summer's gone (wake up Boo!) - The Procurement Act in Practice for Suppliers 9th September 2025

 Gosh, it's 2nd September already. Summer's not quite gone, but it is getting ready for back to school...

And so I assume lots of people are now keen to stop reading that summer blockbuster on the beach and start thinking again about the Procurement Act 2023.

No?

Well if you are then, you might want to come along for our first Procurement Act in Practice for Suppliers next Tuesday 9th September at PASS Procurement.

Link here - https://www.passprocurement.co.uk/event/procurement-act-in-practice-for-suppliers/

And if you are old enough to get the reference, the Boo Radleys are here

GovPD - win-more-contracts-understanding-and-implementing-the-procurement-act-2023 5th August 2025

 There is good news and bad news about the course I run for GovPD - Winning more contracts, understanding and implementing the Procurement Act 2023.

The good news is that we are running it online again on 5th August 2025.

The bad news is that that session is already sold out.

The better news is that we have more dates scheduled - 1st October 2025 and 3rd December 2025.

But if you are interested, might be an idea to get booking.  The course is mostly focused on suppliers, but is relevant to buyers too (and I make sure to tweak the content according to the delegates).

Procurement Training

Well its summer (still), and naturally everyone's minds turn to planning procurement training for the rest of the year.

No?

Just me then.

But a reminder that as well as working through a list of partner organisations, we also offer bespoke and off the shelf training programmes directly.  These can be either face to face or online.  

We offer courses covering a wide range of commercial skills, especially those related to procurement and supply chain management.  The courses are suitable for both public and private sectors, and often for both buyers and sellers.

Course topics can include;

- The Procurement Act 2023 (which is topical)

- Procurement & Supply Chain Management

- Supplier Management

- Contract Management (my lawyer friends point out I am not a lawyer, and I point out that is why I run this course - the focus is on getting what we want, not detailed legal issues)

- Commercial Negotiation

- Tender evaluation processes

- Commercial awareness

AND a range of other things in related areas.

If you are interested, drop me a note or give me a call.

The Procurement Act in Practice for Suppliers - PASS Procurement 5th June 2025

I am running a training event for PASS Procurement of BIP Solutions on Thursday 5th June 2025 that focuses on what the Procurement Act 2023 means for Suppliers.

It is quite understandable that businesses are not aware of all the possibilities and challenges of new regulation, and I hope to be able to guide you through the new processes in a way that helps you to win more public sector business.

The course is online and full details are available at the link here.

If you cannot make 5th June there is another running on 8th July, but with my colleague Gemma rather than me.  You may, of course, prefer that!

Hope to see you there

What Engineers need to know about Contracts - live and in person in Rugby 8-9 July 2025

 After a short break due to the Covid19 pandemic (5 years?) we are returning to running this course face to fact in Rugby for a full 2 days.

Will be a great opportunity to network and of course to interrogate me about what I meant.

Hope to see you there.

Full details here

Just to confirm:  this is going ahead and we are getting pretty full for numbers - so if you are interested, best to book now.

What Engineers need to know about Contracts - IChemE online 20/21/22 October 2025 pm to be rescheduled

(We have rescheduled the online event from April 2025)

The ever popular What Engineers Need to know about Contracts course is being run twice by IChemE this year - once online in October 2025, and once face to face in July 2025.

The face to face event is of course limited in numbers, and is getting pretty full already so if you want a couple of days in Rugby better get booking.

The online course is pretty much the same content but 3 half days rather than 2 full days, and of course it is much easier to accommodate any number of delegates.

Full details of the courses are available here.

Hope to see you on one or the other (honestly no need to book both...)

(BTW this is not the highly regarded course that goes into details of the IChemE suite of model contracts, though we do mention them).

CIPS - open skills course - Developing Contractual Agreements 3rd March 2025

 I am running the CIPS course on Developing Contractual Agreements online on 3rd March.

Assumes no prior knowledge and is relevant to both Public and Private Sector.  At the time of writing all the delegates are from the UK, but it is also applicable to people in other countries.

Hope to see you there.

Full details are here.

Online Open course - CIPS Procurement Fundamentals 13th Jan 2025

Happy New Year.  

The end of year break has gone past quickly and we are now quickly into the thick of courses and events.  Still looking forward to the Procurement Act 2023 going live on 24th February 2025.

I shall be running Procurement Fundamentals online on 13th January 2025 for CIPS.  A one day course, giving you (guess what?) the fundamentals of procurement (for both public and private sectors, services and manufacturing).

Hope you will join us.

full details here.

Procurement Fundamentals - CIPS 13th January 2025

 Well, I don't have any more open courses in 2024 (but am pretty full up with in-house courses) so here is some information about my first open skills course of 2025.

I shall be running Procurement Fundamentals online on 13th January 2025.  A one day course, giving you (guess what?) the fundamentals of procurement (for both public and private sectors, services and manufacturing).

Hope you will join us.

full details here.

IChemE - what engineers needs to know about Contracts - 25 to 27 November 2024

 

Gosh this has been a year - busiest ever for PAWA Consulting. And some family issues.

Anyway as we get to the end I finally have a minute to promote one of our regular open courses for IChemE.

This is online, from 10am to 1pm uk time for 3 days 25/26/27 November 2024.

We shall also be running it in person in Rugby in 2025 (gosh, 2025 - sounds like a date from science fiction).

Full details of the course are here.

BIP Solutions - Understanding Sustainability in Public Procurement Tuesday 30th April 2024

 I am running a course on this increasingly important topic on Tuesday 30th April 2024.

Full details are here.

The course requires no previous knowledge or understanding.  We shall briefly discuss the new Procurement Act 2023, where the change from MEAT to MAT (Most Economically Advantageous Tender to Most Advantageous Tender) may allow us to look more broadly at sustainability criteria.

In difficult times sustainability may seem like a luxury, but it is a priority that is not (and cannot) go away.

I am as always delighted to have tough questions and skepticism on the course.

Hope to see you there.

In the meantime here is a graph to make you worried, which may or may not be in the slide deck for the day.  I know the constant rain in the UK means it doesn't seem like the planet is warming - but that is not how things actually work.

 

CIPS Procurement Fundamentals - Thursday 25th April 2024

 I shall be running CIPS Procurement Fundamentals course on Thursday 25th April 2024, starting at 8:45am for 9am UK time.

This assumes no knowledge of Procurement so is ideal for new starts or those considering a career in Procurement (you should - it is very interesting).

As always the course will be as interactive as I can make it.

Full details are here.

This interactive training course considers fundamental elements of the procurement process, together with basic tools and techniques used within procurement and supply. It provides a robust grounding in procurement basics and is designed for those in a junior procurement/supply chain role or those new to the discipline. Delivered using learning systems and techniques to develop individual skills

BIP Solutions - Understanding Social Value Monday 25th March 2024

 The very popular course on Understanding Social Value will be run online on Monday 24th March 2024.  Full details are here

BIP Solutions also has some historic content here which might be interesting.

Developing Commercial Skills for Buyers - BIP Solutions 7th March 2024 (change from 27th Feb 2024)

 Sorry folks - change of date and presenter for this event.  No longer 27th Feb but now 7th March with Gemma.

Will be a good event.

BIP Solutions - Delivering Effective Market Engagement - 15th February 2024 online

 One of the things about the new Procurement Act 2023 is that it is explicitly opening the door to more engagement with the supply base and market.  Now there was nothing strictly stopping buyers from doing that under the PCR 2015, but in practice Public Sector Buyers were very worried about the risk of challenge for distorting competition.

Well the government is recognising that suppliers have useful insights, and encouraging buyers to discuss procurements with them - but obviously not in a way that does actual distort competition.  And of course, if you are in Sales that is precisely your intention in engaging with potential customers.

But with some forethought this should be a useful capability.

So we are running a seminar to share what we see as best practice, and hope that delegates will share their thoughts and concerns too.

Full details are here.

CIPS qualifications training - The Procurement Academy

 Talking about CIPS...  a reminder that I also run three training programmes for The Procurement Academy.  These include Apprenticeship scheme delegates, so the costs might be very low (not my department so I cannot be clear).  I run Level 4 in Leeds and Doncaster, and Level 5 in Leeds/online (it is a hybrid which works surprisingly well)

In the group we run Level 6 in Sheffield (at the moment - looking to do Leeds too), and have training centres in Sheffield, Nottingham, Manchester, Birmingham as well as on line.  The other tutors Reg and Mike are VERY experienced, and we have a range of styles so geography permitting we can match you to your preferred learning style.

CIPS have just introduced a new level 4 syllabus, which solves a few of the problems (though I think misses some problems too) and we start to run it next week.

We run rolling programmes, which means you can join at any time of the year - but of course means you dont necessarily start on Module 1.  We work around that to make sure you know everything you need for each module.

Usual format is 1 or 2 days per module (depending on content) and then a study/revision day looking at typical questions and ensuring learning is embedded before the exams.

Fuller details are available here.