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.

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).

Assessing the Procurement Act 2023 - 24th July 2025 - Free conference

 

I am delighted to be contributing to an online conference on the Procurement Act 2023 on Thursday 24th July 2025.

It is being organised by the Supply Chain Sustainability School, delivered by Action Sustainability.

I am doing a brief into the PA2023, before we have 3 expert presentations.  Then there will be questions to the panel.

Even better (for you) it is free to attend.

Full sign up details are here.

I'm pleased to say that we already have a considerable audience signed up.  Hope to see  there.

Understanding and Implementing the Procurement Act 2023 - 4th June 2025

 

I am delighted to be starting a new series of courses with GovPD, starting 4th June 2025 with Understanding and Implementing the Procurement Act 2023.

The course is online and (as usual with me) will have lots of opportunity for delegates to interact and ask questions.  

This first running is just about sold out but we are going to be running it more times in 2025/6, with the next date on 5th August 2025.

Full details of the course are here.  Hope to see you there.

Delivering Against the new NPPS - 27TH March 2025

 Well the new National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) is here.

And 3/5ths of it seem pretty simple to reconcile with procurement.  The other 2/5?

Well that is why you need to come along to PASS Procurement's course on Delivering Against the new NPPS = 27th March 2025 online.  Full details here.

hope to see you there.

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.

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

Westminster Business Forum: Next steps for Public Procurement Policy 26th April 2024

 I am pleased to one of the contributors to the Westminster Business Forum event on 26th April 2024, looking at the next steps in Public Procurement.

I know that we have not even introduced the Procurement Act yet, but that is the time to think not only about what that is going to mean, but also about the future changes that are inevitably going to follow.

Luckily for you all, I shall only have a small role.  The event is online so no need to travel.

Full details are here.

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.

Developing Commercial Skills for Buyers - BIP Solutions 7th March 2024

 As well as all the exciting stuff around the new Procurement Act 2023, we haven't forgotten the general skills required for Procurement.  

One of my mantras is that Procurement is just the other side of the table from Sales.  But somehow they are seen as commercial and we are just seen as clerical.  Not accurate!

(though my wife who works in sales thinks her company sometimes thinks they are just clerks too).

So we are running a range of courses for Buyers to help provide all the business and commercial skills that they need.

The first one is Developing Commercial Skills for Buyers online in 7th March 2024 - run by my colleague Gemma

Details are here.

Apologies for the change of date and presenter (no longer 27th February 2024).

I'm still writing it though.... which I guess may NOT be a selling point, but you are warned.

IChemE What Engineers Need to Know about Contracts - July 2024

 This ever popular course has been revised to 3xhalf day courses, and will be run on 10/11/12 July 2024.

A fuller face to face event can be run face to face as an in-house event (we have 2 in January 2024!)

As always full details can be found on the IChemE site here.  AND there is 25% off until 2nd Feb 2024.

Running it over 3 half days gives us a little more breathing space and has allowed me to drop in some more case studies and examples. And some links to some of the other useful IChemE courses such as the one on Project Management and the one on the Model forms of contract (neither of which I run so you can believe me when I say they are good).

Please note that this is entitled "Engineers" and despite being run by IChemE is not just relevant to Chemical Engineers.  Or indeed just to Engineers.

Hope to see you (online) then.

If you are wondering if we will return it to face to face open courses in the future?  Well maybe.  If there is demand.  So if that is what you want, please let us know.  But we intend to carry on online for the future to help reach international engineers.

Understanding The Procurement Act 2023

As mentioned in other posts, there is going to be a lot of activity in 2024 around the new Procurement Act 2023.

And I'm going to be part of it.

As well as my PAWA Consulting programmes, I am delighted to work with BIP Solutions on a range of events building on our Understanding the Procurement Act Roadshows.

I shall be kicking off with Understanding the Procurement Act for Buyers online on Tuesday 6th February 2024.

My colleague Gemma Waring will be running it on April 17th.

We shall also be running events focusing on what it means for Suppliers (cunningly entitled Understanding the Procurement Act for Suppliers - 30th January and 4th April 2024, both run by Gemma).

We hope you can make it, and hope it will answer your questions.

Fuller details will be available here.

 

BIP Solutions - Understanding Sustainability in Public Procurement

 I am pleased to tell you that I have renewed my relationship with BIP Solutions, and will be delivering a range of programmes on their behalf.

The first of this is Understanding Sustainability in Public Procurement which I shall be delivering on line on Tuesday 15th August 2023. Full details are in the link here.  

Very interesting topic and very affordable - but I would say that, wouldn't I?

Hope to see you there

What Engineers need to know about Contracts.

I have had confirmed that the perennially popular course on what Engineers need to know about contracts (which could have the subtitle - but don't get taught on their Chem Eng courses) is being run online 29/30th November 2021.  Small group but going ahead, so if you fancy having a small and intimate course, here is your chance

Full details are here.

This is two half days on successive days, and assumes no previous knowledge or understanding of contracts or the law.  In fact that is rather the point.  Starts 10am UK time, finishes at 1pm UK time each day

The course is based on the contract law of England and Wales, but discusses other legal systems and so is (hopefully) more generally applicable around the world.

Hope to see you there.

Public Procurement in the UK - online 2021

 With a colleague we are looking at running a public procurement awareness course in March 2022, just ahead of the implementation of new public procurement rules (or so we are told).

Our current plans would be to look at doing one day as an Introduction, and a second day focusing on the new regulations.

A possible third day would be a course I have longed to do for years, which is to look at negotiation from both the sales and procurement points of view- at the same time.

If you are interested, it would be great if you would let me know  - no commitment.  What we want to know is whether it is of interest, and what topics people want covering.

Hope to see you then.

IChemE - What Engineers need to know about Contracts 29/30th November 2021

 The perennially popular course on what Engineers need to know about contracts (which could have the subtitle - but don't get taught on their Chem Eng courses) is being run online 29/30th November 2021.

Full details are here.

This is two half days on successive days, and assumes no previous knowledge or understanding of contracts or the law.  In fact that is rather the point.

The course is based on the contract law of England and Wales, but discusses other legal systems and so is (hopefully) more generally applicable around the world.

Hope to see you there.