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NHS Tenders for Training Providers: How to Win NHS Training Work

Finding training tenders · Updated 1 October 2026

If you run a training or L&D business, NHS tenders are a specific market with their own buyers, rules and expectations. NHS staff must complete statutory and mandatory training, and trusts buy some of it, along with leadership and coaching programmes, from outside providers. This guide is for providers who want to become an NHS supplier of training.

The first thing to get right is which rules apply. NHS tenders for clinical services follow a separate regime; NHS tenders for training do not. That decides where you look and which thresholds apply.

At a glance

  • NHS training covers statutory and mandatory training, leadership and management development, coaching, resuscitation and safeguarding.
  • The Provider Selection Regime (PSR) covers health care services, not training. NHS training is bought under the Procurement Act 2023.
  • Training services are light touch services, so the above-threshold figure for a training contract is £663,540 (from 1 January 2026).
  • NHS trusts count as central government for below-threshold notices, so advertised contracts from £12,000 go on Find a Tender.

What NHS training buyers buy

Healthcare staff must undertake statutory and mandatory training, and employers must be able to prove it. Skills for Health's Core Skills Training Framework, widely used as the standard for that training, sets out 11 core subjects for England:

  • Equality, diversity and human rights
  • Health, safety and welfare
  • Conflict resolution
  • Fire safety
  • Infection prevention and control
  • Moving and handling
  • Safeguarding adults
  • Preventing radicalisation
  • Safeguarding children
  • Resuscitation
  • Information governance

Beyond the core subjects, NHS organisations also buy leadership training, management development and coaching for their own staff.

Which rules apply to NHS training

The Provider Selection Regime came into force on 1 January 2024. It applies when a relevant authority (NHS England, an ICB, an NHS trust or foundation trust, or a local or combined authority) arranges relevant health care services, defined by a list of CPV codes in Schedule 1 to the PSR regulations. Every code on that list is a health services code; none is a training code.

So a contract to train NHS staff, whether resuscitation refreshers or a leadership programme, falls under the Procurement Act 2023, not the PSR. Training codes such as 80500000 Training services are light touch services in the Procurement Regulations 2024, with the higher light touch threshold. In practice:

  • Many NHS training contracts are below threshold. If a trust advertises one worth £12,000 or more, it must publish on Find a Tender first.
  • Above £663,540, the above-threshold light touch rules apply, for example to a large multi-year programme.
  • Some NHS training is bought through frameworks and DPSs. Call-offs are competed among appointed providers, so getting onto the framework is the entry point.

Who buys NHS training

NHS trusts and foundation trusts (acute, mental health, community and ambulance trusts), integrated care boards (ICBs) and NHS England each run their own procurements and publish notices on Find a Tender. The documents may sit on the buyer's own e-tendering portal, linked from the notice.

A worked example: the EEAST training framework

The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) operates in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. It runs a training framework awarded by category: an NHS buyer credential, with a lighter entry route for newer providers.

It shows one way NHS training is bought: one trust, one region, several categories. Our EEAST training framework guide covers who it suits and how to apply; the frameworks page lists the others we follow.

The credentials NHS buyers look for

Expect questions about your trainers and the data you will hold:

  • DBS checks. The type depends on the role; trainers working in clinical areas, or with patients, children or adults at risk, may need one. GOV.UK has an eligibility tool.
  • Safeguarding. A safeguarding policy, and evidence your trainers are trained to the level the trust expects.
  • Data security. Government policy (PPN 014) asks NHS bodies to require Cyber Essentials where a contract involves handling certain personal information, not on every contract. The Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) must be used by all organisations that have access to NHS patient data and systems; a training provider without that access will not normally need it.
  • ICO registration and insurance, as for any contract.

Our guides to Cyber Essentials for training providers and the insurance, ICO and DBS checklist go through each one.

How to win NHS training work

  • Map your courses to the trust's standards. For statutory and mandatory training, show how your content aligns to the Core Skills Training Framework.
  • Watch the low floor. With trusts publishing advertised work from £12,000, a smaller contract with one trust can be a realistic first step.
  • Get onto NHS frameworks. A place on a trust's training framework, such as EEAST's, puts you in line for call-offs you would otherwise never see.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Provider Selection Regime apply to NHS training contracts?

No. The PSR covers health care services, defined by health services CPV codes. Training NHS staff is procured under the Procurement Act 2023 as a light touch service.

Where are NHS tenders for training advertised?

On Find a Tender, the central digital platform, sometimes linking to the trust's own e-tendering portal. Some NHS training is bought through frameworks and DPSs, where only appointed providers compete.

What is the minimum NHS contract value that is advertised?

NHS trusts count as central government, so an advertised contract worth £12,000 or more must go on Find a Tender first. The wider public sector floor is £30,000.

Do I need Cyber Essentials or the DSPT to train NHS staff?

Not always. NHS bodies are asked to require Cyber Essentials where a contract involves handling certain personal information, and the DSPT is for organisations with access to NHS patient data and systems. Check each tender.

Sources

Not sure which framework fits you?

Lentora helps specialist training and L&D providers get onto public sector frameworks and win tenders, in their own name. Tell us what you deliver and we'll tell you honestly whether frameworks or tenders are worth your time.

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