New NHS Central Commercial Learning and Development Centre of Excellence launches

As you may know, the new NHS Central Commercial Learning and Development Centre of Excellence was launched at the recent HCSA Winter Conference by NHS England Chief Commercial Officer, Jacqui Rock.  The new Centre of Excellence is open to all NHS specialists in procurement, logistics, materials management, data analytics, and clinical procurement.

The primary aims of the new learning centre are to eliminate disparities in the quality of and investment in learning and development and to enhance capability. Moving away from generic courses, the programmes will be tailored to meet specific staff needs, offering a mix of professional qualifications and curated, NHS-specific modules delivered via e-learning or face-to-face.

The NHS E-Learning Hub will support this by:

• supporting clinical, digital, and other staffing groups
• directing learners to relevant content
• offering reporting capabilities for line managers and ICS directors
• connecting to external providers like The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Academy
• integrating with ESR for a unified learning platform in the future.

NHS – CILT (UK) Learning and Development Academy – logistics and materials management staff

The first element of the NHS Commercial Centre of Excellence has been launched – the NHS – CILT (UK) Learning and Development Academy.

The Academy will provide a tailor-made learning and development programme designed around NHS operations for NHS logistics and materials management staff. Working in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in the UK (CILT(UK)), the bespoke programme delivers a phased approach, bringing together different solutions to form tailored learning pathways and a programme for the NHS that supports the learning and development of our community.  

The CCF team has been collaborating with CILT for about 18 months, designing NHS-specific content and testing it through a 13-week pilot programme involving 197 learners across 77 NHS organizations and 33 ICS footprints.

Work continues with CCF’s strategic partners, including HCSA, CILT, and Multiverse, and will align approaches and offerings.

The aim of the new programme isto provide 62% of workforce with access to professional CILT training, with 22% of staff anticipated to achieve a Level 3 CILT qualification in three years following a three-phase training programme:

1. Recognition and Awareness – introduction pack and 5 modules: Focusing on the importance of tasks included in people’s roles and relating this to the wider supply chain.
2. Enhancing Capability, Theory and Application – 2 primary and 6 supplementary modules: Focusing on operational processes and how different systems and procedures work together to improve operational efficiency.
3. Advancing Capability, Interconnectivities of Activities – 4 modules and assessment module: Providing learners with tools to monitor performance and manage people, quality, and cost, underpinned by a focus on sustainable practices.  It will guide learners through the completion of two written assessments as well as preparing them for an exam to achieve the CILT(UK) Level 3 Practitioner Certificate in Logistics, Supply Chain and Operations Management.

Upcoming webinars

Webinars have been scheduled (see below) to provide further details about each of the training phases, the registration process and to answer any questions. Trusts will nominate learners onto the Academy from January, with pilot programme participants prioritised for phase two, to reduce the learning gap – the pilot finished in August.

Book your webinar place now

To learn more about the Academy, ask questions and get advice and guidance on the programme ahead of the registration process, opening in January 2025, you are encouraged to join the NHS England CCF team for one of the webinars on any of the following dates:

MCIPS Accreditation Programme – procurement and commercial staff

Details on this second new component of the Centre of Excellence, the MCIPS Accreditation Programme, will follow soon.  The tendering process for a provider is currently underway. It is anticipated the provider contract will be awarded in January. 

This centralised accreditation programme for our procurement and commercial workforce will increase the numbers of accredited staff, helping to provide further resilience and assurance, and build long term and sustainable capability.

The flexible, inclusive programme aims to provide greater, fairer access to professional qualifications and to increase Level 6 MCIPS accreditation within the workforce by 30% over the next three years. Different routes and different entry points to accreditation are planned, based upon individual learner needs, experience and existing CIPS journey.  This programme is scheduled to launch in March.

Digital Apprenticeship Academy – digital analytics staff

The Digital Apprenticeship Academy, an existing programme, forms the third element of the new Centre of Excellence. The apprenticeship programme recognises the vital role digital skills play in all aspects of commercial activity and offers a programme to equip learners with vital skills and knowledge to get the most out of NHS data and systems.

Registration links can be found on the NHS Futures Hub, with two cohorts available in April and November. The programme offers three levels of accreditation up to a BSc in digital technology solutions.  Current cohort projects include monitoring inflation, forecasting materials management activity and automating savings dashboards.

Take part in the Training Needs Analysis (TNA) to help develop NHS-specific training content

The TNA is set to launch in January.  Its purpose is to identify gaps in knowledge and skills not addressed by the accreditation routes or through HCSA or Government Commercial Function (GCF). The results of the exercise will inform a TNA Output Roadmap and development of NHS-specific training modules.  It will also prioritise identified training gaps for the different stakeholder groups, ensuring consistent quality and access to training.  

There are a variety of ways for you to participate in the TNA, including surveys, focus groups, and one-to-one sessions.

The TNA Output Roadmap is due to be published in June 2025.

You are encouraged to:

• sign up for learning and development programmes
• join CCS best practice hub, focus groups, and participate in academies and TNA
• engage with the community to build the NHS Commercial Learning and Development Centre.

‘Staff are our most important asset’

The new NHS Central Commercial Learning and Development Centre of Excellence will support the wider aims of the NHS Long-term Workforce Plan, to grow, retain and reform our workforce. When speaking about the new learning centre at the HCSA Winter Conference, NHSE’s Lois Shield, Associate Director of Commercial Capability and Best Practice, CCF, emphasised the importance of NHS staff in the commercial and procurement community, saying, ‘People are front and centre, our most important asset.’ Funding for the programme has been secured for three years.

Support from the Hub

East of England NHS Procurement Hub MD, Howard Rolfe, said: “The Hub welcomes the NHS Central Commercial Learning and Development initiative and the Training Needs Assessment (TNA) to facilitate it.

“The three focusses of Logistics and Materials Management, Procurement and Commercial, and Digital and Analytics, offer a broad spectrum of support which is important.

“The Hub will be active responders to the TNA and encourages everyone to take part in what is an essential element of our work – ensuring that our colleagues have the right training and experience for their role and their own development.”