Council To Help Firms Upskill In Tendering & Procurement

Belfast City Council is setting out to upskill small businesses and social enterprises in tendering and procurement.

Over £280 billion is invested through public procurement each year in the UK and Ireland – with further tendered private sector opportunities in aerospace, aviation, construction, energy, health, marine, and other supply chains – but many small businesses are struggling to win contracts.

A new council project, part funded by Invest NI and the European Regional Development Fund, will give eligible businesses the chance to build their confidence in pitching for and winning new contracts through tailored workshops and hands on support from bid specialists.

The project will raise awareness of contract opportunities by sharing sources of information on bid pipelines and live bid events; helping companies make the right decisions about which bids to pursue; increasing business readiness to tender, improving bid content and ultimately bid outcomes.

Chair of Belfast City Council's City Growth and Regeneration Committee, Councillor Deirdre Hargey explained: "Tendering for contracts can seem pretty daunting – especially the first time you go through the process. Our new tendering support programme provides excellent, practical guidance to help smaller businesses develop their bids and make them a real success.

"Last year, Belfast City Council spent over £93 million with our suppliers. As we've outlined in our Belfast Agenda, we're keen to support local businesses and to ensure that as many of our quality services as possible are provided by Belfast suppliers, while continuing to deliver excellent value for money. I urge local firms to register for support through this new free programme and build their experience and expertise."

Businesses wishing to register can do so online, telephone the Economic Development Unit of Belfast City Council on 028 9027 0482 or email economicdevelopment@belfastcity.gov.uk.



(JG/MH)