By Vivienne Russell | 26 April 2013
A government business offering civil service-standard training and qualifications was launched today with the expectation of netting £500m for taxpayers over the next ten years.
In a joint venture with Capita, which will own 51%, the company will trade on the ‘Best Management Practice’ portfolio of professional standards developed by the civil service. The portfolio includes the Prince2 project management qualification and ITIL IT services standards, both of which are widely used in the private sector.
The Cabinet Office said Capita would bring the commercial expertise and investment needed to break into international markets. Exports are estimated to be worth £600m over the next decade.
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said: ‘The state is littered with potential businesses which could be bringing in revenue, creating jobs and driving economic growth.
‘It’s a great endorsement of the civil service that major companies use Prince2 and ITIL but business expertise and investment is needed to develop them commercially. The new joint venture is expected to save taxpayers half a billion pounds over ten years – none of which would have been saved if the government had left things how they were at the time of the general election. This partnership shows that business is ready to work with us in innovative ways and paves the way for many similar deals in future.’
Capita chief executive Paul Pindar said the company was ‘thrilled’ to have been selected as the government’s partner in the joint venture.
Plans were already in place to develop and broaden both the products and their markets in which they are sold, he added.
The new company will accredit exam institutes and training organisations running courses, as well as acting as an exam institute itself.
The deal was brokered by the Commercial Models Team, based in the Cabinet Office’s Efficiency and Reform Group. Cabinet Office civil servants William Jordan and Duncan Byatt are directors of the new company.
Capita is paying the government £10m upfront for its stake, and a further £4.9m in each of the company’s first three years. Projections show that the government’s share of the profits will triple to over £30m per year in just five years.
Employees of the new company will also benefit from a 5% annual profit share.
