Effective business practices can save the public sector millions of pounds to help protect front-line services.
Established in 2016, the Scotland Excel Academy consulted with the public sector procurement community to establish its very specific learning and development needs. It has since expanded to meet a wide range of development needs across the public sector and is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).
If you are looking to develop your knowledge and expertise in procurement or within the disciplines of management and leadership, the Academy’s upcoming one-day workshops are an excellent way to familiarise yourself with the essentials.
The first five sessions of a year-round programme of short courses are all detailed here, including information on how to book and what participants can expect from the Academy’s practical and time-efficient blend of face-to-face, work-based learning and virtual support via a web-based portal.
‘Introduction to Strategic Procurement’ on 18th September outlines the legal and policy landscape plus public procurement fundamentals including candidate selection and tender evaluation, and provides relevant templates, while ‘Contract & Supplier Management Fundamentals’ on 16th October goes into the specifics of the processes and tools for contract and supplier management.
If you are already an experienced procurement practitioner, you will know that effective management and leadership is essential to any team’s success. ‘Introduction to Management, Coaching and Mentoring’ on 6th August takes a look at how to get the best from colleagues, while ‘Personal Development as a Manager and Leader’ on 4th September explains how to use personal development to address skills gaps within teams and drive achievement of organisational objectives.
On 2nd October, the ‘Leadership Practice’ workshop will define the difference between management and leadership and highlights the importance of leadership in creating and communicating an organisation’s vision. There will also be tips on harnessing specific personal attributes in developing a leadership style and adapting that style according to “situational variables”.
The workshops are all being delivered by qualified Scotland Excel tutors with significant experience across various disciplines within the Scottish public sector. The aim of all Scotland Excel Academy courses is for employees and organisations to gain quick returns for their investment, and they are open to any public sector employee from any department or discipline.
The workshops will be held in Scotland Excel’s offices in Paisley, which are easily accessible by road, rail or air, and where lunch and teas & coffees will be provided as part of the £150 fee per learner for Scotland Excel members, or £165 for associate members and £180 for other public sector organisations.