Associated Feature: Investing in public procurement professionals pays dividends for Scotland

“Scotland’s public procurement professionals play a key part in ensuring the smooth running of our country’s public services by efficiently sourcing the wide range of goods and services that are needed for their delivery.

Our procurement community is filled with talented, dynamic and forward-thinking processionals, who put in place contracts, frameworks, dynamic purchasing systems and other arrangements that deliver benefits for Scotland’s organisations and their end-users.

As well as financial savings, our procurement teams drive quality, innovation and sustainability through supply chains.

It’s not only about safeguarding the public purse, but also applying strategies that will deliver social, economic and environmental benefits for our communities.

Investing in our community 

It’s therefore vital that we develop a pipeline of new talent and build the skills and knowledge of those working in the sector to ensure the future capability of public procurement.

The Scottish Government’s procurement and commercial training programme aims to bolster the professional development of our public procurement community.

The programme is being delivered by the Scotland Excel Academy through workshops at three levels to ensure flexibility. Courses can be tailored to meet the needs of specific organisations and flexible, open courses will be offered across the year.

Scotland Excel has a long-standing track record of delivering training programmes. And we’re delighted to be working with the Scottish Government to make sure Scotland’s procurement leaders of tomorrow have a rounded skill set to complement their procurement expertise.

And to demonstrate our commitment to the programme, our recent intake of graduates at Scotland Excel will be among the first to benefit from these courses, which will fast track their technical knowledge as they gain experience.

Why these courses are good for the sector

The public procurement sector is facing challenges like skills gaps, staff retention and attracting talent into the sector. Organisations can address these by having the right strategies in place to develop their staff.

Ultimately, the programme will provide training in core and advanced procurement skills, equipping our community with the skills they need as they progress through their procurement career.

Who the courses are for

The programme is for everyone, no matter their level and experience. There are courses designed for beginners (like introductions to public procurement and negotiation); those developing (like driving value for money and practical negotiation) and courses for professionals who are more advanced (like category management and strategic sourcing.)

People will receive the core knowledge and skills to undertake their roles. Sessions are a combination of lectures and activities, discussions, case studies and role-plays. The interactive elements are designed to embed the learning so delegates can apply what they learned the following day in the office.”

The following one-day workshops are now available to book:

• Frameworks and mini competitions (Working / Practitioner-level) 28 July
• Introduction to public procurement (Awareness / Foundation-level) 25 August
• Use of evaluation criteria for supplier selection and contract award - 15 September
• Managing the tender process - 27 October
• Value for money through cost / price analysis -24 November
• Service level agreements / KPIs - 13 December

You can see the full list of topics that will be covered within the three year programme, plus the upcoming workshops at: https://home.scotland-excel.org.uk/our-services/scotland-excel-academy/scottish-government-procurement-training/

For more information on the programme, please contact the Scotland Excel Academy Team: academy@scotland-excel.org.uk

This artcile was sponsored by Scotland Excel. 

Christopher Gibson is the Learning and Development Project Manager at The Scotland Excel Academy.