Accredited Training for Commissioners

June 8, 2010

Several training programmes have been made available to Commissioning Officers over the past two years the quality of these courses has varied considerably. TfC is now pleased to make its very successful OCN accredited Level 3 (with 6 crerdits) Tendering and Procurement Practice (TaPP) course available to Commissioning Officers. Although the course has some areas in common with CIPS level 3, it is not intended as a substitute for this long estalished and well respected training programme for Procurement Officers. The purpose of TaPPs is not to train Procurement Officers, but rather to provide a thorough, accredited qualification in the principles and practice of public sector purchasing as this applies to health, social care and voluntary sector services.

The TaPP course was piloted during 2009, has 21 graduates and is currently being delivered to 66 students all from service providers which include charities, companies and voluntary organisations. It is intended to help students to understand the Tendering and Procurement process in detail, the bases for legal challenge, how providers can be structured in order to tender successfully to manage a public sector contract, as well as the systems which apply to the appraisal, evaluation and award processes.

This course is now available to Commissioning Officers.It will provide them with accredited, level 3 recognition of knowledge and skills in the purchasing of services specifically from the health, social care and voluntary sector marketplace. It also addresses the offer which charities and voluntary sector organisations are able to make when tendering for contracts.

Course details, learning outcomes, fees and dates for courses specifically for Commissioning Officers starting in the Autumn can be downloaded from the right of this page.