Small businesses across NSW now have access to free training and an informative guide to help them become “tender ready” and win NSW Government contracts, thanks to a new tender support program.
The NSW Small Business Commission has collaborated with TAFE NSW to deliver four online courses as well as a written guide to help small businesses understand the tendering and contract processes involved in working with the NSW Government.
The launch is the first major milestone in the four-year $5 million tender support program being delivered by the Commission and announced in the November 2020 NSW Budget.
The program is a key driver of the NSW Government’s commitment to sourcing more goods and services from NSW small businesses.
Finance and Small Business Minister Damien Tudehope said the NSW Government spends around $40 billion each year on procurement of goods, services and construction, with nearly half of that amount going to small and medium businesses.
“Small businesses make up more than 98 per cent of businesses in NSW. If we can generate more work for them through existing Government spending, we will support jobs, families and communities,” Mr Tudehope said.
“Tendering for Government work can take up valuable time and resources for small businesses, and larger businesses often have the edge.
“These new resources will help small businesses to bridge that gap and be more successful in not only winning government work but also in tendering for private sector contracts, which requires similar knowledge and skills.”
The training courses, Selling to the NSW Government, comprise four modules that help small businesses prepare for and navigate these major stages of the tendering and contract processes:
- Getting Business Ready
- Finding Opportunities
- Selling to Government
- Successful Supplying
It is complemented by the new Selling to the NSW Government: A Guide for Small Business, which includes templates for key tendering documents.
Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education Geoff Lee said it was great to see the NSW Small Business Commission working with TAFE NSW, the State’s comprehensive public training provider.
“These courses will help small business owners upskill and reskill their teams, and ultimately empower them to grow their businesses.
“TAFE NSW plays a critical role in helping deliver these micro-skills rapidly using its convenient purpose-built online education platform,” Mr Lee said.
NSW Small Business Commissioner Chris Lamont said the training and guide had been informed by a comprehensive stakeholder engagement survey undertaken by the Commission, which sought the views and experiences of small businesses and other key stakeholders on the Government’s procurement processes and how they could be improved.
“The survey identified key pain points for small businesses in tendering for Government work and what information and assistance was most useful in helping businesses to lift their capabilities so they can compete effectively,” Mr Lamont said.
The Commission’s tender support program aligns with the NSW Government’s refreshed Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) and Regional Procurement Policy, which allows Government agencies to buy goods and services directly from an SME for all procurements up to $150,000.
The training modules and the guide can be accessed via the NSW Small Business Commission website