New to public procurement
Officers in their first year, and people moving across from the private sector, who need to get the basics right first time.
Applied training for public sector buyers
Practical procurement training for the public sector
Short, low-cost online courses built around the Procurement Act 2023. Every course is hands-on: you make the decisions, write the documents and score the bids, with feedback at every step.
- Price
- From £9.99 per course, no VAT
- Time
- 1 to 4 hours per course
- Format
- Online, at your own pace, on any device
- Certificate
- Verifiable online by your employer
How the courses work
You learn by doing the job
Every course follows a realistic, fictional public body through a real procurement decision. You read a little, then you do something with it.
Decisions with consequences
A colleague, a councillor or a supplier asks you to do something. You choose, and see straight away whether it would stand up to an auditor or a challenge.
Something to take back to work
Every course ends with a document you build yourself, such as a valuation record, a route decision or evaluator guidance, ready to copy into your own templates.
Feedback on every answer
Every test question is explained, right or wrong. You need 80% to move on, and you can retake as often as you like.
The Tender Ready pathway
Seven practical courses covering the key decisions in a procurement
Take any course on its own, or all seven for £69. Each one ends with something you can use at work.
Stage 1
Plan
Decide whether the Act applies and find out what the market can offer.
- Thresholds: Does the Act Apply?PSPA 101 · Valuing a contract, aggregation and the regimes that applyYou produce: A valuation record for a real requirement: the estimate, aggregation reasoning, threshold comparison and which rules apply£9.99
- Pre-Tender Market EngagementPSPA 102 · Shaping the requirement with the market, fairly and transparentlyYou produce: A market engagement plan and a draft market questionnaire, written from your own choices and ready to copy into your templates£14.99
Stage 2
Choose the route
Pick a proportionate procedure, or justify awarding without competition.
- Routes to MarketPSPA 103 · Choosing the right procedure, framework or dynamic market for the requirementYou produce: A route-to-market decision record: options considered, chosen route with reasons, risks and timetable implications, ready for approval£14.99
- Direct AwardsPSPA 107 · When you can award without competition, and how to justify itYou produce: A direct award justification record and draft transparency notice text, built from your own evidence£14.99
Stage 3
Build and evaluate the tender
Write the tender, set the criteria and score the bids defensibly.
- Developing a TenderPSPA 106 · From the specification to the assessment summaryYou produce: A tender timetable worked out from your own dates (minimum periods, standstill and notice deadlines), plus a tender pack checklist and specification checks£19.99
- Writing Award Criteria That WorkPSPA 104 · From precise questions to weighted scoresYou produce: An evaluation model summary (criteria, weightings, spec links, price formula, thresholds and rationale) ready to paste into tender documents or an approval paper£14.99
- Scoring with ConfidencePSPA 105 · Writing evaluator guidance: what each answer must evidence to scoreYou produce: Evaluator guidance for a quality question: evidence indicators and a descriptor for every score£14.99
Who it's for
Built for the people who run public procurements
No legal background needed. Courses are written in plain English and use fictional councils and bodies, so nothing depends on where you work.
Experienced buyers
Practitioners updating their practice for the Procurement Act 2023 who want to test their judgement on realistic cases.
Evaluators and budget holders
Colleagues outside procurement who sit on evaluation panels or own a requirement, and want to understand their part.
For organisations
Training a whole team?
We set up accounts for your learners and invoice your organisation, so you can raise a purchase order in the usual way. There's no VAT to add, and team prices are available.
- Pay by invoice against a purchase order
- Accounts set up for every learner
- Completion and certificate IDs confirmed on request
Written by a practitioner
Every course is written by Tim Young FCIPS: more than 25 years in procurement across the public and private sectors, a former CIPS examiner and assessor, CIPS tutor at Levels 3 to 6, AET-qualified and an IoSCM Ambassador.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Are these courses up to date with the Procurement Act 2023?
Yes. Courses are written for the Procurement Act 2023 as it applies in England, which came into force on 24 February 2025. Each course shows the date its content was last reviewed, and you keep access to updates.
How is this different from the free Procurement Act learning?
The Cabinet Office's free learning explains what the Act says, and it's worth doing. These courses sit alongside it: you practise applying the rules to realistic cases, make decisions and see the consequences, with feedback on every answer.
How long do I have access?
For life. Pay once and the course stays in your account, including every update we make to it, for as long as we offer the course. If we ever withdraw a course, we'll give you at least 12 months' notice.
Can my organisation pay by invoice?
Yes. For two or more learners we set up access and invoice your organisation, so you can raise a purchase order. See For organisations.
Is VAT charged?
No. The Academy is run by Young Procurement, which is not VAT registered, so the price you see is the price you pay.
Is this a CIPS qualification?
No. Each course ends in a certificate of completion with an ID that anyone can check online. It's independent training, not a formal qualification.
Is this a government website?
No. The Academy is an independent training provider. It isn't part of, or endorsed by, UK Government, the Cabinet Office or Crown Commercial Service.