Suppliers

Winning public sector work is a significant growth opportunity, but the tender process can feel daunting if you are used to private sector sales. Public Skills Hub gives suppliers the knowledge to bid with confidence.

Our procurement guides cover the full journey — from understanding how public sector buying works, to avoiding the most common tender mistakes, to preparing your business for its first bid. The Supplier Tender Readiness Checklist helps you assess whether you have the right accreditations, policies, and systems in place before you invest time in a response.

Use our Bid Compliance Checklist tool to run through the key requirements before you submit, and check your readiness with the Procurement Readiness Checker.

**Common questions you face:** Do I need Cyber Essentials? What about a Carbon Reduction Plan? How do I write a credible social value response? What changed under the Procurement Act 2023? Should I form a consortium? Each of these has a dedicated guide on the site, written for suppliers rather than buyers.

**Where to start:** Run the Supplier Tender Readiness Checklist against your business today — it surfaces the gaps that most often disqualify suppliers at the selection stage. From there, pick one of our certification guides (Cyber Essentials, Carbon Reduction Plans, Social Value) to tighten the area you're weakest on. When you find a live opportunity, use the Bid Compliance Checklist before submission.