Tender Ready Pathway
A practical learning pathway for public sector buyers.
Seven practical courses covering the key decisions in a procurement under the Procurement Act 2023: whether the rules apply, how to engage the market, which route to take, when you can award directly, and how to build and evaluate a tender that stands up to challenge.
- Pathway price
- £69 per learner, no VAT
- Separately
- £104.93 (you save £35.93)
- Courses
- 7, about 15 to 20 hours in total
- Access
- Lifetime, including every update
- Already bought one?
- What you paid comes off the price
Three stages, seven decisions
Each course stands on its own, so start with the one you need most. Direct Awards sits with the route decision: it's an alternative to running a competition, not a step after one.
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
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
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
Seven documents you can use at work
Each course builds one from your own answers, ready to copy into your organisation's templates. Together they cover the record a well-run procurement needs.
- Thresholds: Does the Act Apply?: A valuation record for a real requirement: the estimate, aggregation reasoning, threshold comparison and which rules apply
- Pre-Tender Market Engagement: A market engagement plan and a draft market questionnaire, written from your own choices and ready to copy into your templates
- Routes to Market: A route-to-market decision record: options considered, chosen route with reasons, risks and timetable implications, ready for approval
- Direct Awards: A direct award justification record and draft transparency notice text, built from your own evidence
- Developing a Tender: A tender timetable worked out from your own dates (minimum periods, standstill and notice deadlines), plus a tender pack checklist and specification checks
- Writing Award Criteria That Work: An evaluation model summary (criteria, weightings, spec links, price formula, thresholds and rationale) ready to paste into tender documents or an approval paper
- Scoring with Confidence: Evaluator guidance for a quality question: evidence indicators and a descriptor for every score
What the pathway covers, and how you're assessed
Every course is written for the Procurement Act 2023 as it applies in England. You can see exactly how a course works before you buy: try Module 1 of Scoring with Confidence free.
What's covered
- The Procurement Act 2023 and Procurement Regulations 2024 as they apply in England
- Contracting authorities buying goods, services and works, above and below threshold
- Good practice that holds whatever the regime
What isn't
- Scotland's procurement rules, which are separate
- Rules specific to Wales and Northern Ireland, which differ in places
- The NHS Provider Selection Regime for healthcare services
- Legal advice on a live procurement
How you're assessed
- A short test at the end of every module, with every answer explained
- 80% to move on; retake as often as you like
- A final assessment, then a certificate with an ID anyone can check online
Practical training from a practitioner
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.
About the pathway
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.
What does "including updates" mean?
When the law, guidance or thresholds change, we update the course and you get the new version automatically. Your progress is kept.
I’ve already bought one of the courses. Does it count?
Yes. Sign in before you buy the pathway and what you paid for courses in it comes off the price automatically at checkout. You’ll see your price before you pay.
Do I have to take the courses in order?
No. Each course stands on its own. The stages are there to show where each decision sits in a procurement, so start wherever you need most.
Is this for suppliers bidding for public contracts?
It’s written for public sector buyers: people who run procurements, sit on evaluation panels or own a requirement. Suppliers do find it useful for understanding how buyers think, but the exercises are from the buyer’s side.
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.