Half of the 88 training providers to win funding in the government’s national adult education budget (AEB) tender did not hold a procured AEB contract last year, FE Week analysis has found. Outcomes for the delayed procurement were communicated to providers last month and the list of winners has now been released. A total of 208 independent providers previously held procured AEB contracts with the agency, but this number has been slashed by almost 60 per cent to just 88. They are sharing a £73.9 million pot. FE Week analysis of this latest procurement result and the ESFA’s allocations spreadsheet for last year shows that 44 of the 88 the winning bidders did not previously hold a procured allocation. And two of the winners are colleges which already receive grant funding for AEB from the agency. The contracts awarded in this latest procurement are for the 2021/22 academic year. The list of winners was first published by Carley Consult earlier today. Outcomes were originally supposed to be communicated on June 24. The ESFA then said they could not meet that deadline and bidders were told the outcomes would be ready for June 28, only for this date to be further pushed back. Results were finally communicated two weeks before the contract start date. Read the next edition of FE Week for further analysis of the results of this procurement, which will be published on September 10. The list of AEB tender winners and their allocation: Provider Name Allocation Child Care Company Old Windsor £2,999,959 Go Train £2,999,865 Skills Training £2,999,694 Capita £2,804,943 Acacia Training £2,479,420 Construction Skills People £1,999,740 GP Strategies Training £1,964,325 Axia Solutions £1,956,917 Plato Training £1,912,200 Specialist Trade Courses £1,829,605 Portland Training £1,742,743 Professional Training Solutions £1,683,116 Skills to Group £1,617,350 CT Skills Limited £1,422,105 Babington Business College £1,358,749 Academy Transformation Trust £1,333,278 Qube Qualifications & Development £1,235,568 Acorn Training Consultants £1,233,000 Learning Curve Group £1,229,462 Profound Services £1,226,339 Impact Futures Training £1,186,126 TRN Train £1,156,079 Back 2 Work Complete Training £1,132,777 Eat That Frog CIC £1,013,745 Resources N E £988,190 Community Training Portal £969,926 Seetec Business Technology Centre £926,228 SCL Education & Training £903,624 Mainstream Training £897,721 Strive Training London £882,053 SCCU £855,530 Aspire Sporting Academy £847,799 Acorn Training £821,259 South West Association of Training Providers £809,402 Kiwi Education £780,895 Futures Advice Skills & Employment £769,973 Eden Training Solutions £755,056 JBC Skills Training £742,936 Derby Business College £742,531 Voluntary & Community Sector LSC £727,000 Skills Edge Training £723,020 BCTG £696,418 B Skill £692,767 Antrec £676,941 Forward Trust £612,064 Think Employment £611,471 JGA £599,874 Train 4 £590,794 Waltham International College £589,210 Genesis Training Group £553,251 Northern Care Training £543,632 Fareham College £542,979 Functional Skills £506,406 Best Practice Training & Development £475,890 Education & Training Skills £452,100 North Staffordshire Engineering GTA £446,190 Workpays £433,908 Total Training Provision £419,428 Access Training East Midlands £411,393 Personal Trainer £398,796 Northern Regeneration CIC £365,865 Aspiration Training £353,831 Talented Training £346,018 Keir Training & Recruitment Ltd £339,326 Achievement Training £334,496 Fairway Training Healthcare £318,667 Citrus Training £310,153 E Training £309,215 Creative Process Digital £301,860 Bright Direction Training £299,680 Plumpton College £297,975 Thelightbulb £269,067 Finchale Training College £265,123 Train Together £260,742 ALM Training Services £250,889 Building Heroes Education Foundation £236,778 Nottinghamshire County Council £224,498 DTK Business Services £219,134 Development Manager £194,895 Evolve Your Future £188,137 Cedars Health & Beauty Centres £186,553 FC Training College £185,567 Mi Computsolutions Incorporated £172,256 Logistics Skills & Consultancy £172,136 Communicators Training Associates £162,344 Number 4 Group £151,068 Gateway Education London £150,678 JM Excellence in Training £150,147
Bob 30 August 2021 And learning curve group have 5 of these contracts through their various off shoots worth around £5m
Bob Smith 31 August 2021 No doubt they’ll be delivering their usual top quality online learning as well. Do any of these learners get a job as a result I wonder?
Brian Simpson 30 August 2021 One provider. Four companies in the group. Four identical bids. Four totally different scores. One big scandal.
David 1 September 2021 Yes, total inconsistency in scoring across similar bids, although that is par for the course with ESFA (and precursor organisation) tenders in my extensive experience.
Helen 31 August 2021 A minimum contract value was established to reduce the level of risk and possibly stop funding ending up in a small number of hands. Fifteen minutes on Companies House would have revealed that the same company (and the same directors) control four other successful bidders, totalling £5m of taxpayers money. Learning Curve must be delighted with themselves and you have to commend their foresight…and bid writing. But what’s to stop them buying more Trojan horses next year and doing more of the same? Not quite cricket! Feel really sorry for the quality providers that missed out.
Emma 1 September 2021 Would be interesting to see if these providers previously held contracts and how much of their previous allocations they actually delivered across what parts of the country and what qualifications.
Peter 1 September 2021 The biggest winner on here (Child Care Company Old Windsor) also own another big winner on the list – Impact Futures. Their websites are more or less identical. Is there really a different offer for learners/employers? They win over £4m between them. Unbelievable!