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.

CIPS Procurement Fundamentals 25th April 2024

 The next CIPS open skills training I am running after Developing Contracts is Procurement Fundamentals.  Again this is suitable for both public and private sector buyers, and for anyone who wants to understand what procurement is (hint: not just shopping or filling in forms).  No prior knowledge is required.

Full details are here.  Hope to see you there.

CIPS Developing Contractual Agreements - open skills training 6th March 2024

 Sticking with the contracts theme...  I am also delighted to be running some open skills training courses for CIPS online this year.

The first of these is Developing Contractual Agreements on 6th March 2024 - full details are here.

Brief description: "This interactive course is particularly relevant for those who are new to procurement. It will provide an awareness of the essential legal principles governing contracts, not just to solve disputes but more importantly, how to avoid them. It considers issues relating to the setting up of contracts and key contract clauses."

The course is suitable for both public and private sector buyers, and indeed for anyone who wants an insight into contracts whatever their role.

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.