Buyers from public bodies all over Tayside will gather in Dundee next week to meet businesses keen to bid for work.
The free Meet the Buyer event will give potential new suppliers the opportunity to talk informally about upcoming contracts, find out about tendering and the criteria for buying goods and services.
A wide range of goods and services are bought in by public bodies including personal care, building works, transport and catering.
Lynne Short convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee said: “We know that the procurement process can sometimes seem confusing so the aim of the event is to try to help local businesses be ready to bid for work from councils, health boards, universities and other public bodies when it comes up.
“Businesses can just turn up without the need to register, and meet the people involved in public sector procurement so that they can offer their help and guidance and we can get more local companies involved.
“Buyers are keen to meet potential suppliers to chat about upcoming contracts, how they go about tendering and what they look for when buying goods and services for their organisations, so come along, they don’t bite!”
Staff from organisations including Angus, Dundee City, Fife and Perth & Kinross councils, NHS Tayside, colleges and universities will be at the Invercarse Hotel on Tuesday (February 19) between 10am and 2pm.
Also at the event will be representatives of Robertson Construction and Hadden Group both private sector businesses with extensive experience of public sector contracts.
As well as free informal discussions which do not need to be booked there will also be short information sessions delivered throughout the day covering issues including support with the procurement process and understanding the Public Contracts Scotland website.
Dundee City Council
Dundee draws skilled workers from a 60-minute catchment population of 640,000 and has a local population of over 140,000. The availability of a large pool of highly skilled labour is a key feature in the Dundee economy. Flexibility in the labour force is currently more prevalent in Dundee than in Scotland as a whole. All forms of labour market flexibility - part-time, temporary employment, self-employment and shift work - are widely operational within the city. Labour force stability in the city is excellent, enabling companies to plan with confidence. Labour turnover levels are less than 5% and absenteeism averages 2%.
