Training services are a major area of investment for the Government. The Conservative government elected at the General Election in December 2019 will announce its spending plans in the Budget in March 2020. Training and education are expected to be a key area of focus. With more investment and allocated budget in this area, there will be more UK training tenders opportunities for businesses that offer training and education services.
This is encouraging news for organisations looking to grow their business in this market in the years ahead. With thousands of UK training tenders being published every month, now is the time to explore your opportunities in training tenders.
What are training tenders?
Training tenders are an extremely lucrative market. In 2019, 4.2% of total UK GDP was spent on education. According to the 2019 annual report undertaken by the Institute for Fiscal Studies on education spending in England, education formed the second-largest element of public service spending in the UK, behind only the health sector. The sheer size of the market should give businesses looking to work in this sector a real indication of the wealth of opportunities on offer, in the following areas:
- Primary and secondary education
- Medical and safety education
- Health and first aid training
- Educational software
- E-learning services and solutions
- Vocational training and education
- Training and simulation for defence
- Training aids and equipment
Training opportunities for SMEs
In the high-paced technological environment of today, the Government wants to ensure that the UK is fully up to speed with the latest technology and is continually advancing its modern processes. For this reason, it is keen to enlist the help of SMEs with specialist knowledge through training tenders.
The latest investment in education and training
The most up to date news on investment in education and training comes from the Conservative manifesto, published in the lead-up to the General Election in 2019. The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced an extra £14 billion in funding for schools, which translates to roughly £150 million more a week. £4.3 billion of this will be allocated to England for 2022-23, and the rest distributed across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Other key statistics worth noting include:
- The Government has allocated an extra £300 million for further education colleges and sixth forms for 2020-21. This will lead to increases in real terms per pupil of over 4% than recent years.
- Spending on adult education and training is increasingly focused on apprenticeships. Since the early 2000s, government spend on adult education and apprenticeships has dramatically increased by around 54% equating to billions of pounds more each year. In the Conservative manifesto, it stated that the Government’s investments in this area has generated more than 3.8 million more apprenticeships and technical qualifications since 2010.
- The Conservative manifesto also included information about the launch of a new National Skills Fund worth £3 billion, which will provide matching funding for individuals and SMEs for high-quality education and training. This fund will be developed in the course of the current Parliament, with more information due to be included in the Budget in March.
- School spending per pupil is highest in Scotland and lowest in Northern Ireland. Total school spending per pupil was about £6,600 in Scotland in 2018-19, which is £600 higher than spending per pupil in England (£6,000), with spending per pupil in Wales £200 lower at £5,800. Spending is lowest in Northern Ireland, at £5,500 per pupil. Figures like these indicate the comparative nature of opportunities based on regions of the UK.
*All these statistics are accurate at the time of publication.
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