How to procure employability services

Effective and efficient procurement is central to delivering high performing employability services; indeed, the quality of the procurement process is often directly related to the quality of the service which is then delivered to individual clients. Effective procurement requires several things to be put in place around finance, procurement and contracting methods, market stimulation and performance monitoring and evaluation.

Ingeus have produced a guide which identifies the features of good procurement practice which draws on their international delivery experience and on the expertise of staff who have worked on both sides of contracting practice.

The Scottish Government has also published Community Benefits in Public Procurement which sets out the use of Community Benefit clauses – in particular, targeted recruitment and training – in public contracts. It:

• Provides a toolkit of appropriate clauses and procurement procedures which can be used to achieve community benefit through public procurement
• Describes a range of Community Benefit approaches, identifies good practice, potential issues and evidence of impact