Public Sector: BIS looks to boost further education

A brief sent out by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is calling for comms assistance for partner organisation the Skills Funding Agency.

The brief is believed to be wide in scope, worth £100,000 and set to last around six months.

It is also thought to have been put out to tender through the new procurement frameworks, which have replaced the old COI rosters.

A well-placed agency source said: 'It's quite a complex challenge because of the way that some media view further education. I'd see it as linked in with the current promotion of the skills agenda.'

The skills funding agency invests £4bn a year of public spending in colleges and training organisations.

It recently announced a simplified funding system for adult skills that is set to be introduced in 2013/14.

The brief comes in the wake of a report that found a shortage of blue-collar workers such as glaziers and plumbers might stop the UK from meeting its energy efficiency targets.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills had not responded to enquiries about the brief as PRWeek went to press.