How to Use Find a Tender (FTS): A Step-by-Step Guide

This guide is for training and L&D providers who want to see public sector training work as it is published, not after the deadline. Find a Tender is now the central home for UK public sector opportunities. The interface feels bureaucratic at first, but the steps are straightforward.

We build one search as we go: a provider of leadership, management and staff development programmes looking for council and NHS work on the Find a Tender service. Swap in your own subjects.

At a glance

• You can search without registering; you only need to register your organisation when you want to bid.
• Filter by keyword, CPV code (80500000 is "Training services"), notice type, suitability and location.
• Frameworks and DPSs have their own search, where much training work starts.
• Saved searches email you new notices at the frequency you choose.

Step 1: Search the notices

Go to find-tender.service.gov.uk and choose Notice Search. The filters that matter most for training are:

• Keywords, which search titles, descriptions, identifiers and organisation names. A space between words finds notices with any of them; a + between words finds notices with all of them.
• Industry CPV code, the standard classification for what is being bought.
• Notice type, to separate live tenders from early-warning notices.
• Suitability, including notices marked suitable for SMEs.
• Contract location, for the regions you deliver in.

For our example provider, a sensible first search is:

Keep the keywords broad. One council asks for a "leadership development programme", another for "management training", an NHS trust for "statutory and mandatory training". A keyword that matches only your own marketing copy will miss most of it. Our guide to CPV codes lists the training codes worth adding.

Step 2: Understand the notice types

The notice types training providers watch most are:

• Pipeline notice: a forward look at larger future contracts.
• Preliminary market engagement notice: the buyer wants to talk to providers before tendering.
• Planned procurement notice: early warning of a specific competition.
• Tender notice: the live opportunity you can bid on.
• Contract award notice: who won, published before the contract is signed.
• Contract details notice: published after the contract is signed.

A council's preliminary market engagement notice about its next leadership programme is your cue to prepare and get in touch. See prior information notices and market engagement for the full set.

Step 3: Spot frameworks and DPSs

A great deal of public sector training is bought through frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems: a buyer appoints a pool of providers, then runs further competitions among them. If you are not in the pool, you never see those competitions.

Find a Tender's separate Commercial tools search lists frameworks (under the Act and the 2015 regulations), the Act's dynamic markets, and DPSs set up under the old rules. Filter by CPV code, contracting authority and lot status (upcoming, active or closed), and save the search. When reading results:

• A new framework is advertised with a tender notice "generally the same as for other contracts, with some additional information". A council's training framework opening for applications is the notice to catch.
• Dynamic markets have their own notice types for establishment, modification and closure. Older DPSs that still run under the 2015 rules can stay open to new applications for their term.

The frameworks page lists the training frameworks and DPSs we follow, and training tenders in the UK explains how frameworks and open tenders fit together.

Step 4: Register on the central digital platform

When you find something to bid for, register your organisation in three steps:

1. Sign in through GOV.UK One Login and create your organisation account.
2. Enter your details: your Companies House number (or equivalent, such as a Charity Commission number) and registered address, then core supplier information such as connected persons, exclusions and finances.
3. Share your information with a buyer using a share code.

You enter your details once and reuse them for every bid. Our guide to the central digital platform covers the PPON and what a training provider should have ready.

Step 5: Set up alerts

Rather than checking daily, save your searches and choose how often you want an email. Set one alert for live tender notices and another for frameworks and DPSs in the Commercial tools search.

Set the alerts wider than feels comfortable at first. A too-narrow saved search is the most common reason a provider concludes there is "nothing out there".

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an account to search Find a Tender?

No. Searching is open to everyone. You only need to register your organisation on the central digital platform when you want to bid for a training contract.

What CPV code should a training provider search on Find a Tender?

Start with 80500000 Training services, then add narrower codes for what you deliver, such as 80532000 Management training services. Combine codes with keywords, because training notices are tagged inconsistently.

How do I find training frameworks on Find a Tender?

Use the Commercial tools search, which lists frameworks, dynamic markets and dynamic purchasing systems. Filter by a training CPV code and by lot status to see which are upcoming or active.

Can I get email alerts for new training tenders?

Yes. Save a search on Find a Tender and choose an alert frequency. Do the same on any other portal that covers you; alerts are set per portal.

Sources

• GOV.UK — Buyers and suppliers: how to use the central digital platform (enhanced Find a Tender)
• GOV.UK — Suppliers: how to register your organisation on Find a Tender in three easy steps
• GOV.UK — Guidance: frameworks
• Find a Tender — Notice search
• Find a Tender — Commercial tools search
• Find a Tender — Notice types
• legislation.gov.uk — The Procurement Regulations 2024, Schedule 1 (training services CPV codes)