OGC guidelines mean contractors must train to win public work

Contractors will have to agree to invest in training in order to secure any of the government's £7bn annual spend, under new procurement guidelines published by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC).
 
Skills Secretary John Denham said he hoped the practice would be extended to all areas of public sector procurement.

"We have to make every taxpayer's pound work as hard as we can, he said.

"Wherever possible government spending should not just provide good public services, it should also ensure young people are trained in the skills we need for the future. We would be doing this whatever the economic climate, but in these tough times it's even more important we do everything we can to get people into and on at work."

Mark Farrar, Chief Executive of sector skills council ConstructionSkills, said: “Upskilling employees during the downturn can put businesses in a stronger position to win new contracts from any clients, and retain existing ones. Taking on apprentices, and organising training and qualifications for more experienced staff, will not only increase the company’s skills levels as a whole, resulting in better quality work delivered, but investment in employees’ skills is also likely to lead to higher staff morale.”