Workforce Development Services for Care Providers in Suffolk
Suffolk County CouncilEstimated Value
Up to £2,000,000
Deadline
2 December 2025
Published
3 November 2025
Type
Not specified
Overview
The overarching requirement of this service is to support the care market regarding the forecast of the future needs of Suffolk customers. To increase awareness of good practice, have a stable workforce, encourage a positive culture with increased staff retention.
To work with the council to identify and address gaps in the Suffolk social care workforce skills and training to enable them to deliver a range of care and support, from promoting independence to complex care. And work closely and positively, with all stakeholders to improve market capacity and better equipped to develop and be sustainable.
Suffolk County Council has joined the government's Devolution Priority Programme (DPP), a fast-track programme towards devolution and local government reorganisation. Under the DPP it is proposed that: a) a Mayoral Combined County Authority (MCCA) for Norfolk and Suffolk is established, with strategic powers and headed by an elected mayor ("Devolution"). b) the existing two-tier council structure in Suffolk is abolished and replaced with one or more unitary councils covering the current geographical boundary of Suffolk ("LGR").
Key points
- Organise and lead at least 2 large Care Market events alongside other smaller events and achieve at least 70% attendance capacity
- Ensure events are representative of the whole of the care market, including private & voluntary organisations. Achieving involvement of 70% of care providers across Suffolk
- Follow up on impact of activities at 3 and 6 months after event
- Promote care careers, including different care pathways
- Proactive support to care campaigns and branding, including iCare brand
- Engaging and promoting graphics and other materials on websites/marketing
- Active engagement and support to Community Catalysts / Personal Care Assistants
- Active engagement and support to micro enterprises
- Take active part in market need reviews and provide information for market shaping
- Identify themes and gaps for future development and focus
- Flexibility to meet fluctuating market needs and take advantage of new funding and proactively bidding for opportunities
- Care provider peer support and the promotion of good practice across recruitment, training, retention and organisational culture
- Work effectively across partner organisations and be a Suffolk representative on relevant regional and local events and forums.
- Provision of information / guidance / advice and signposting for the care market and create a comprehensive resource bank of information for providers across a range of accessible platforms
- Work in collaboration with other partner organisations.
- Active engagement and development with key performance indicators as the service progresses
- Incorporate regular (as determined by the local authority) reviews of market needs to provide information for shaping the support provided to and direction of the market, to meet fluctuations.
- Actively gather feedback on activities that care providers have attended, their challenges and concerns,
- Support all activities in Lot 2 where appropriate
Key points
- Delivery of a training portal that is accessible to the whole care market
- Maintain / upgrade and develop a training portal that is user friendly including a robust SLA, to be shared if requested
- Design and delivery of training programmes in a timely manner
- Delivery of face to face and online training and ensure other options are available for attendance
- Ensure access for care providers to learning and development opportunities, including the ability to have community-based training sessions across the County
- To use approved training providers including a verification of standard of delivery e.g. from Skills for Care or NHS approved trainer lists, including local SME providers with a proven track record of success
- Identify a range of training and source programmes to satisfy these needs in a cost-effective manner
- Support the use of SME training providers with a proven track record of success.
- Annual survey of the care market to identify training gaps
- Respond to training gaps and source the support for future needs
- Use feedback consultation and collaboration to make amendments of training programmes to best meet the market needs
- Gain feedback on training activities that providers have attended, the challenges and concerns
- Discuss with Suffolk County Council the results of training gaps and collaboratively shape training programmes required
- Flexibility to respond quickly to the changing needs of the care sector
- Proactive support to care campaigns and branding, including iCare brand
- Engaging and promoting graphics and other materials on websites/marketing
- Take advantage of new funding opportunities and evidencing bids for this
- Be a Suffolk representative on relevant regional and local forums / events
- Engaging and promoting graphic and other materials on websites/marketing
- Linking and following the county council on their own social media
- Work effectively across partner organisations with a focus on collaboration and joint working
- Achieving collaboration with 70% of care providers across Suffolk
- Training attendance rate to be reported and a minimum of 70% of full capacity
- To ensure full evaluations are completed / demonstrated including cost effectiveness exercises, for all commissioned training for the care market
- Collate post-training evaluations and attendee satisfaction rate
- Active engagement and development with key performance indicators as the service progresses
- Support all activities in Lot 1 where appropriate
Additional details
It is possible that both, one or neither of these changes will happen. These changes are declared as known risks as we do not yet know the implications of Devolution and/or LGR.
As a result of LGR and Devolution, contract modifications may be necessary to novate, transfer or disaggregate the contract from the one you entered into to one or more successor authorities or the MCAA. Impacts could include changes to geographical boundaries, significant increases and/or decreases in the goods and/or services required due to the change in size/scope of any successor authority or the MCAA. This may also change the scope of the contract Interested Parties should refer to the Invitation to Tender and Contract Terms for the Known Risks.
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Likely incumbents
Suppliers who won similar work from this buyer in the last 5 years.
- 1
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
2 contracts wonlatest 24 Sept 2026£942,930
total awarded
- 2
REALISE FUTURES CIC
£848,000
total awarded
- 3
TOTALMOBILE LIMITED
£10m
total awarded
- 4
Sophie Martin Consulting
2 contracts wonlatest 14 Apr 2025£288,000
total awarded
- 5
East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust
1 contract wonlatest 6 Oct 2026£224,811
total awarded
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is the most likely incumbent based on recency and category match. To win, bidders typically need a clearly differentiated proposition or a price advantage.
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Buyer Profile
SUFFOLK COUNTY COUNCILKey Dates
Published
3 November 2025
Submission deadline
2 December 2025
Notice type
tenderUpdate
Source
find a tender
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