Procurement Wales Conference

This session will examine how Wales's two landmark pieces of legislation, the Procurement Act 2023 and the Social Partnership and Procurement (Wales) Act, interact in day-to-day practice. Panellists will explore what genuine social partnership working looks like within procurement decisions, how socio-economic duties and well-being goals are being embedded into contracts, and the practical challenges public bodies face in applying both frameworks coherently across the Welsh public sector.

Community wealth building has reshaped how anchor institutions think about spending power. This panel will explore the principles behind the Preston Model and what it means for Wales: keeping public spend circulating locally, growing resilient supply chains, and using procurement as a deliberate tool for regeneration. Expect discussion of practical lessons transferable to Welsh public bodies, the barriers to scaling this approach, and what success looks like beyond the immediate community.

With procurement facing a widening skills gap, this session looks at how Wales is building the next generation of practitioners. Panellists will discuss apprenticeship and training routes into the profession, how employers and education providers are collaborating to develop capability, and what skills future procurement teams will need as the profession modernises. The conversation will also touch on making procurement a more visible and attractive career choice.