Awarded 30 September 2026
Adult Skills Fund - Preparation for Devolution - PETA Ltd
Portsmouth City Council · South East
Adult skills fund tenders and contracts
UK public sector, covering 600+ buyer sites
105 contracts awarded in the 24 months to 12 October 2026
Get adult skills fund tenders every morningStart by seeing every adult skills fund contract we'd have matched you with last year. No card needed.
Updated 12 October 2026 · compiled by BidSkim Limited · How we count
Adult skills fund contracts ,
105 contracts across the UK, of any size
Recently awarded
The latest adult skills fund contracts awarded
Awarded 30 September 2026
Adult Skills Fund - Preparation for Devolution
Portsmouth City Council · South East
Awarded 29 September 2026
Delivery of 19+ Adult Learning Free Courses for Jobs Qualifications
East Riding of Yorkshire Council · Yorkshire and the Humber
Awarded 25 September 2026
Accredited Learning
Cheshire East Council · North West
Awarded 25 September 2026
Adult Skills Fund Course Delivery
East Durham College · North East
Who wins · 24 months to October 2026
The Skills Network won the most adult skills fund contracts
Learning Curve Group won the most by value. Each dot is one contract, coloured by who bought it.
CouncilsSchools and collegesOther public bodies
| Rank | Contractor | Contracts won, by buyer | Contracts | Value won | Buyers | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Skills Network Yorkshire and the Humber · SME · See every contract | 19 | £621k | 15 | ||
| 2 | Learning Curve Group North East · SME · See every contract | 15 | £7.3m | 13 | ||
| 3 | The Construction Skills People Ltd East Midlands · SME · See every contract | 11 | £419k | 9 | ||
| 4 | Think Employment Limited North East · SME · See every contract | 10 | £279k | 8 | ||
| 5 | Back 2 Work Complete Training North East · SME · See every contract | 9 | £1m | 9 | ||
| 6joint | Orangebox Training Solutions North West · SME · See every contract | 8 | £410k | 5 | ||
| 6joint | Staff Power Training Limited North East · SME · See every contract | 8 | £140k | 4 | ||
| 8 | MOMENTUM RECRUITMENT LIMITED East Midlands · SME · See every contract | 7 | £419k | 6 | ||
| 9 | Yuzu Training London · SME · See every contract | 6 | Not published | 4 | ||
| 10 | Realise Learning and Employment Limited North East · SME · See every contract | 5 | £6k | 5 |
243 more adult skills fund contractors ranked. See the full ranking →
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Who buys
Councils award 68% of adult skills fund contracts
Schools and colleges buy the bigger jobs, at a median of £196k against £100k. Contracts with a published value in the last 24 months, from the type of buyer to the size of the contract.
24 buyers bought adult skills fund more than once in the last 24 months
Each dot is a buyer, by how many adult skills fund contracts it awarded in the last 24 months.
See who they are and when they usually buy →
Few and big, or many and small
Each dot is a buyer: how many adult skills fund contracts it awarded against what they were worth. The busiest and biggest are named.
CouncilsSchools and collegesOther public bodies
Top buyers by contracts awarded
| Rank | Buyer | Contracts | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London Borough of Merton | 7 | £3.5m |
| 2 | East Riding of Yorkshire Council | 6 | £666k |
| 3 | Suffolk County Council | 4 | £5.3m |
| 4 | East Durham College | 4 | £695k |
| 5 | Brighton & Hove City Council | 4 | £672k |
| 6 | The City of Liverpool College | 4 | £638k |
| 7 | Somerset Council | 4 | £290k |
| 8 | Lincolnshire County Council | 3 | £3.6m |
| 9 | Hull City Council | 3 | £656k |
| 10 | Cornwall Council | 3 | £581k |
Prices
Half of adult skills fund contracts are worth less than £126k
Every contract with a published value, on a log scale, coloured by who bought it.
CouncilsSchools and collegesOther public bodies
The 10 biggest contracts hold 67% of the money
Coloured by who bought it.
- Inspire Education GroupLearning Curve Group · 21 Oct 2024
- Derby College GroupThe Construction Skills People Ltd, MOMENTUM RECRUITMENT LIMITED, Skills College UK Limited, Tempus Training · 20 Jul 2026
- Suffolk County CouncilRealise Futures · 24 Jun 2026
- Lincolnshire County CouncilLincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust, Lincoln College Group, TEC Partnership, DN Colleges Group, Steadfast Training, Realise Learning and Employment Limited, 3 Counties Accounts Training Service, The Construction Skills People Ltd, SHINE Lincolnshire, Boston College, Children's Links, Creating Positive Opportunity, Orangebox Training Solutions, Seagulls Reuse, Think Employment Limited, Abbey Access Training, AGANDI (UK) Limited, Choose ICT Ltd, Community Learning in Partnership (CLIP) CIC, Complete-Careers LLP, CURIOSITY GLOBAL EDUCATION LTD, East Lindsey Information Technology Centre, ESH Consultancy & Training Ltd, Gainsborough Trinity Foundation, Grantham College, Just Begin, Learning4life-GY, Lincoln City Foundation, Lincoln Pelican Trust Ltd, Momentum Technical College, Riverside Access and Training Centre, Soteria Solutions, TaylorITEX CIC, Teach Vocation Group Ltd · 21 May 2025
- London Borough of MertonTwin Group, Runway Training, HGV Training Services Ltd, Learning Curve Group, Work Works Training Solutions C.I.C., HIT Training, Yuzu Training, TEC Training (GB) Limited, 2MRW Training, Adult Training Network, CONSTRUCTION HELP LINE LIMITED, Global Solution Services, KBM Training and Recruitment Limited, Prevista Limited, Provisionmate, Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College, Rinova Limited, Strive Training, The Skills Network, The Training Place of Excellence, City College Stratford Community Interest Company, DB Investment Group, eTraining Limited, KBM Group TR, Kinara Training, LIBS UK, Rapid Improvement Limited, Ripe Enterprises, Train2Work Academy, UCRA, DB Investment Group, TA Find-Course, Uganda Community Relief Association · 15 Apr 2025
- Nottinghamshire County CouncilLearning Curve Group, Just IT Training Limited, Back 2 Work Complete Training, The Construction Skills People Ltd, MOMENTUM RECRUITMENT LIMITED, Access Training (East Midlands) Ltd, Orangebox Training Solutions, Think Employment Limited, Community Training Portal Limited, Pathway Group · 8 Aug 2025
- Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined AuthoritySteadfast Training, Back 2 Work Complete Training, Think Employment Limited · 9 Jul 2025
- City of York CouncilENTERPRISE MADE SIMPLE LTD, Back 2 Work Complete Training, SCL EDUCATION & TRAINING LIMITED, Academy Hair and Beauty Limited, THE PORTLAND TRAINING COMPANY LIMITED, The Skills Network, Think Employment Limited · 23 May 2025
- New College SwindonCity of Bristol College, The Construction Skills People Ltd, Yuzu Training, EDUC8 TRAINING GROUP LIMITED, Key Performance Training, VALUE GROUP TRAINING SERVICES LIMITED, Train with Pride Limited, Wimbledon Experience Limited, THE BIG ACT LTD. · 31 Jul 2025
- Capital City College GroupJust IT Training Limited, The Construction Skills People Ltd, Yuzu Training, KBM Training and Recruitment Limited · 31 Jul 2025
Where and when
London awards the most adult skills fund contracts. July and September are the busiest months.
Contracts by region and by month awarded. Click a region to filter the page.
FewerMore contracts
See the regions as a table
| Region | Contracts | Value |
|---|---|---|
| London | 16 | £3.9m |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 13 | £3.5m |
| North East | 11 | £5.2m |
| North West | 11 | £2.1m |
| South East | 11 | £1.2m |
| East of England | 10 | £12.3m |
| East Midlands | 8 | £10.4m |
| South West | 8 | £2.1m |
| West Midlands | 4 | £1.4m |
| Wales | 1 | Not published |
| Scotland | 0 | Not published |
| Northern Ireland | 0 | Not published |
Often bought with adult skills fund
Related services
Deadlines
Half of adult skills fund tenders close within 26 days of being published
Each dot is a adult skills fund tender published across the UK in the last 24 months, by how many days it was open. 77% closed within a month. Spot one a week late and 27% of the time to respond has gone.
Hear about new adult skills fund tenders the moment they're published →
Key findings
- 26 days
is how long the typical adult skills fund tender is open, from publication to deadline.
Median of 62 UK adult skills fund tenders published in the last 24 months. - 3
new adult skills fund tenders are published across the UK in a typical month.
74 in the last 24 months. - 67%
of the money is in the 10 biggest adult skills fund contracts.
Of 99 contracts with a published value. - 70%
of adult skills fund contracts are won by SMEs.
As recorded by the buyer, on 77 award notices. - 48%
of adult skills fund contracts are awarded in July and September.
50 of 105 contracts.
Questions
How many adult skills fund contracts does the UK public sector award?
105 in the 24 months to 12 October 2026, from 56 public buyers.
How long are adult skills fund tenders open for?
The median adult skills fund tender is open for 26 days from publication to deadline.
How much is a typical public sector adult skills fund contract worth?
The median is £126k, and 70% are worth less than £250k.
Who wins the most public sector adult skills fund contracts?
The Skills Network won the most (19). Learning Curve Group won the most by value (£7.3m).
Which buyers award the most adult skills fund contracts?
Councils award 68% of them.
What is included
Contracts and subcontracts to deliver publicly funded adult education and vocational courses for residents aged 19 and over, mainly under the Adult Skills Fund (formerly Adult Education Budget), Free Courses for Jobs and ESFA adult skills funding, awarded by combined authorities, council adult learning services, colleges and employability bodies.
- Devolved Adult Skills Fund contracts for services and subcontracts
- AEB or ASF subcontracting by council adult learning services
- Free Courses for Jobs and the Level 3 adult offer
- Accredited adult courses in employability, ICT, English and maths
- Combined-authority adult skills DPS and framework call-offs by subject
- Online adult education for priority learners
- Multi-lot vocational training frameworks for unemployed residents and jobseekers
What is not included
- Skills Bootcamps (edu.adult.skills-bootcamps)
- Multiply and stand-alone functional skills (edu.adult.adult-english-maths-multiply)
- Stand-alone ESOL (edu.adult.esol-for-residents-and-refugees)
- Non-accredited community and family learning (edu.adult.community-family-learning)
- Pre-employment training tied to named vacancies or sectors (edu.emp.sector-work-academies)
- Training for the buyer's own staff (the subject service, e.g. edu.lead.staff-training-unspecified)
- Skills strategies (csl.econ.economic-development-and-skills-strategies)