The Supply Register wins innovation award for transforming further education recruitment

This award reflects the impact we are having in helping colleges tackle one of the sector’s biggest challenges, recruitment. The Supply Register’s award-winning managed service model is transforming the way Further Education providers recruit, manage, and retain temporary teaching and support staff.

At a time when colleges across the UK are facing increasing recruitment pressures, we have been recognised for delivering an innovative solution. Our innovative managed service model has already helped college groups reduce recruitment costs by up to 15%, improve workforce planning and recruit specialist talent more effectively.

The award comes as we celebrate our tenth year in business, and we continue to expand our award-winning managed service model across the Further Education sector.

We entered the Further Education (FE) market over a year ago, after identifying a gap in recruitment. Recognising that the proven MSP model, which successfully supports Primary and Secondary Multi Academy Trusts, could be adapted for the FE market to deliver value across the sector.

Initially partnering with NCG, one of the UK’s largest education and training providers, comprising seven colleges across Newcastle, Carlisle, West Lancashire, Kidderminster, Lewisham, and Southwark. Like many college groups, NCG faced fragmented recruitment processes, inconsistent systems, difficulties recruiting for specialist roles, and limited visibility into temporary staffing expenditure.

Since implementation, the partnership has streamlined recruitment processes, reduced administration, improved visibility through real-time workforce reporting and delivered faster recruitment. It has also reduced recruitment spend by 15% while saving more than £100,000 in permanent recruitment fees.

The Supply Register acts as an extension of each client’s internal resourcing function, embedding its team within the organisation to ensure alignment with operational needs and strategic objectives. By listening carefully to NCG’s requirements, the partnership established trust early and delivered a seamless implementation.

Baljinder Kuller, Founder and Director of The Supply Register, said:

“I am delighted that our partnership with NCG has been recognised with the Crescent Purchasing Consortium Innovation of the Year award.  As our first Further Education partnership, it was also the first large-scale rollout of tsr365 into the FE sector, delivering transformational results: 100% fulfilment, a robust supply chain, powerful data analytics and insights, and greater visibility, governance, and control.

This solution was designed and delivered by some of the very best talent in the sector, driven by outstanding technology. It’s incredibly rewarding to see the impact it has had, and since then, several more FE college groups have chosen to partner with us, demonstrating the scalability of the model.”

Vicki Hartley, Assistant Partnership Manager for Further Education at The Supply Register, has worked in the FE sector for 17 years, now heads the Further Education team, and was involved in the successful onboarding of all new FE clients.  She highlights the innovation’s competitive advantage.

“From my experience, what clearly differentiates this service offering within the FE market is the combination of deep FE sector expertise and a genuinely collaborative, partnership-led approach. By moving beyond traditional supply models and embedding regional insight with flexible delivery, we aim to provide a more sustainable, responsive solution that meets the evolving needs of Further Education.”

This award reflects the hard work and commitment of our team, and the innovation of our service model, but it also wouldn’t have been possible without the fantastic collaboration with our first Further Education client, NCG. Thank you for partnering with us and helping shape this exciting new chapter.

For more information on the NCG partnership, please read our case study.