€160 million tender for education and training services collapses over ‘anomalies’

Temporary arrangements being put in place to ensure no disruption for students and trainees in further education A €160 million tendering process for services used to educate and train tens of thousands of students and apprentices has collapsed.Interim arrangements are being put in place to ensure continuity of service following the discovery of “anomalies”, The Irish Times has learned.Further education and training services are provided by 16 Educational Training Boards that in turn make use of private suppliers for courses in areas including technology, food services, construction skills and hairdressing.Last September the Education Procurement Service (EPS) on behalf of Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) sought tenders from suppliers as part of a new multi-supplier framework agreement that would last up to four years.READ MORE‘I didn’t think I would get out’: First flight from Dubai since start of Middle East war lands in Dublin AirportAzerbaijan hit by Iranian strikes as crisis spreads; Irish citizens arrive at Dublin AirportCould Jessie Buckley’s ‘problematic’ anti-cat vibes scupper her Oscar bid?China Hunan review: This brilliant new restaurant is set to become one of Ranelagh’s most popularThe tender was designed to replace an agreement that was coming to an end and had a closing date of November 3rd.The tender was to establish “a multi-supplier framework agreement for the provision of contracted further education and training services”.However, on February 19th, tenderers were informed that, following a review, “some anomalies and inconsistencies” had been identified.“Therefore, in the interests of fairness and equal treatment of all tenderers, the contracting authority has taken the decision to cancel this competition with immediate effect.”A spokeswoman for the ETBI, when asked to elaborate on the reason for the cancellation of the tendering process, referred the query to the EPS.The EPS, a procurement service used by the Department of Education, said: “The decision to discontinue the competition was taken following the identification of issues within the process, which in the interests of fairness and transparency necessitated its cancellation prior to contract award.“As the matter remains within the formal standstill and post-decision correspondence period with tenderers, it would not be appropriate to comment in detail on specific aspects of those issues at this time.”It added: “Work is already under way to initiate a new procurement process ... In the interim, existing contractual arrangements remain in place in most instances. Where required, individual education and training bodies may put interim local arrangements in place to ensure continuity of service pending the establishment of a new national framework. Accordingly, no interruption to service delivery is anticipated.” The ETBI has now drafted transitional procurement guidance for contracting training services pending a new tender and an eventual replacement agreement.With the existing framework agreement for services expired and the replacement competition cancelled, the guidance said, “no national framework arrangement is currently in place”.Educational training boards must procure training services through stand-alone processes pending a new national framework, it said.“It is anticipated that establishing a replacement framework will take several months,” the guidance said.The purposes of the transitional arrangement, it said, was to ensure continuity of essential training provision, including apprenticeship delivery, and the maintenance of full compliance with public procurement law.The interim arrangements were also designed, the guidance said, to mitigate legal, audit and governance risk and avoid extending the expired framework.All new contracts must now be for no more than six months and cannot contain extension provisions.Procurements for more than €50,000 have to be put out for tender.The spokeswoman for ETBI said the services to be covered by the framework would cost an estimated €160 million, excluding VAT.“The services are for approved training activities funded under ETB Annual Further Education and Training Service Plans including generalist training provision and technical/specialist training provision,” she said.The ETBI, she said, was working with the EPS, member Educational Training Boards, and its funders, “to support continuity of service to ETB learners.”