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JCS employment support: DWP request for information

7 April 20262 min read
News
JCS employment support: DWP request for information

A key enabler is to reform Jobcentre Plus (JCP) through the creation of a new single and universal Jobs and Careers Service (JCS). JCS will provide support for anyone who is looking for work, who wants to get on in work, or who wants to change their career or retrain. 

Market engagement:

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Commercial Directorate is undertaking preliminary market engagement to inform the future procurement(s) of employment support products (including Artificial Intelligence solutions) for use in the Jobs and Careers Service (JCS).

The market engagement involves various strands of activity and aims to: (i) help Suppliers understand DWP’s objectives and early design considerations; and, (ii) enable the market to provide evidence-based feedback that may help shape DWP’s procurement approach.

To find out more about the scope and background of the employment support products for JCS, including information about the other strands of market engagement activity, please click here to view the UK2 Preliminary Market Engagement Notice. DWP’s intended close date for all strands within this preliminary market engagement is 30 September 2026.

Request for information:

This article is to inform suppliers of DWP’s Request for Information following a supplier briefing event they hosted on 2 April. Please note that attendance at the Supplier Briefing Event was not mandatory. Suppliers who didn’t attend the Supplier Briefing Event are still able to participate in the RFI Questionnaire.

DWP will be issuing a Request for Information questionnaire to suppliers who wish to provide information relating to their products that address the high-level requirements of the JCS Employment Support categories listed below:

  • ES01 - Career advice

  • ES02 - Career planning

  • ES03 - Skills gap analysis

  • ES04 - Financial planning

  • ES05 - Career coaching

  • ES06 - Learning / Training / Provision

  • ES07 - Job discovery

  • ES08 - Job market insights

  • ES09 - CV support

  • ES10 - Job application support

  • ES11 - Application tracking

  • ES12 - Interview support

The RFI will cover themes such as: details of the products/services available from the supplier; route to market options; commercial models; etc. Suppliers wishing to complete a questionnaire should request a copy of the RFI no later than 17:00 on 17 April 2026 by submitting the MS Form.

RFI responses must be submitted no later than 17:00 on 1 May 2026 in accordance with the submission instructions that will be set out in the RFI. RFI responses received after this deadline will not be considered.

DWP may follow up with individual Suppliers to clarify the content of its RFI response.

Where further questions arise beyond those set out in the RFI, DWP may issue follow-up questions and request a further response to such follow-up questions from participating suppliers. The deadline for responding to any follow-up questions will be specified in DWP’s request.