Delegates will hear about the range of opportunities available on the £200 million new Dunfermline Learning Campus and the £70m Levenmouth Rail Link.

Fife Council has partnered with the Supplier Development Programme (SDP), hub East Central Scotland, Fife College, Network Rail and main contractors BAM, Balfour Beatty and BAM Nuttall to deliver the session.

Businesses will be able to talk to all the organisations involved to find out what contract work is available on the projects and the requirements needed to be eligible to bid for them. They will also and receive expert advice and guidance on how to prepare tenders for upcoming work packages through the Supplier Development Programme.

Places for the event can be booked at the Supplier Development Programme website.

Gillian Cameron, SPD programme manager, said: “Alongside headline partners Fife Council and hub East Central Scotland, the Supplier Development Programme is proud to help small businesses in Fife and Tayside to learn how to be part of the supply chain and access our full suite of free tender training and support.  And no business is too small to get a share of public sector spending; even one-person operations can have something to offer.

“Though it continues to be difficult to organise engagement events in this new COVID-19 world, we know our model works: 86% of attendees at last year’s Fife Meet the Buyer virtual event said it encouraged them to bid for more public sector contracts!

“We hope to help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) put their name out there so that public sector bodies and large contractors offering these contracts know what they have to offer, and they can find out how to engage in an open and transparent supply chain. The quickest way to do that is to attend this free, virtual Meet the Buyer event on 4 November 2021 as part of Fife Business Week.”

Amanda Wright, community benefits and social value manager, hub East Central Scotland, said: “hub East Central Scotland is committed to working with local businesses within our communities to ensure that they have the best possible opportunity to bid on our projects. It is our priority that wherever possible our projects are delivered by local businesses that employ local people.  There is a wide range of opportunity available on these projects for every size of business and we look forward to supporting them at the event with advice and information to help them succeed.”

Hector MacAulay MBE, managing director, Balfour Beatty Scotland, said: “The Dunfermline Learning Campus represents a significant investment in Dunfermline and wider Fife. Through our delivery of the new college campus on behalf of Fife College, we want to ensure that we make opportunities available to local people and deliver a legacy of meaningful and measurable benefit by building wealth and resilience within the community.”

Martin Cooper, construction director, BAM Construction, said: “BAM are delighted to be supporting the Meet the Buyer Event as part of Fife’s Business Week on the 4th November. Dunfermline Learning Campus is an important project, and we want to engage and support the local business community as much as possible. At BAM, over 80% of our supply chain are SMEs and we take our commitment to working with local SMEs and Third Sector Organisations very seriously. We look forward to speaking to local businesses at the event.”