Council / First aid training contract heads south
EMERGENCY first aid training for Shetland Islands Council (SIC) workers will now be delivered by a firm from the mainland after Train Shetland – which is operated by the local authority – failed in its bid for the two-year contract.
Train Shetland’s Anita Pottinger told a meeting of the Shetland College board on Wednesday that she was “quite saddened” that the training body had lost the contract.
The value of the contract is understood to be in the region of around £20,000 to £30,000, with the SIC buying over 300 places on the training.
Train Shetland offers one to three day first aid training courses which cost between £118 and £288 per person.
Board chairman Peter Campbell said it was “very disheartening” that Train Shetland, which is part of the council’s economic development service, did not win the bid after the contract went out to tender.
He likened it to the council “supporting with one hand and taking away with the other”.
But Shetland Islands Council’s development director Neil Grant stressed the local authority has to look at getting value for money when it comes to contracts.
“The council is coming under more scrutiny for getting best value services,” he said.
Grant added that Train Shetland has specific overheads at the moment – something which will change when it forms part of a new merged body which will also include Shetland College and NAFC Marine Centre.
The development chief said a key issue in the first aid contract was that the council was moving more towards “blended learning” where there is a combination of learning in the classroom and the workplace.
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