London, 6 August 2026 – Sopra Steria, the major European technology firm, has today backed the Government’s reforms that put job creation and skills at the heart of public procurement. The new rules will require companies bidding for central government contracts to show how they create good jobs, tackle local skills shortages, and support young people into apprenticeships and work placements.
Under the Cabinet Office changes, departments will double the weighting given to the impact on local jobs, skills, and community benefit when assessing bids for public contracts worth £5m or more. There will be particular emphasis on support for young people not in education, employment, or training (NEETs), care leavers, and people with long-term health conditions.
Commenting on the announcement, Craig Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of Sopra Steria UK, said:
“At the heart of every successful organisation and thriving economy are people. When people have the opportunity to work, learn and grow, the benefits extend far beyond the workplace to families, communities and society as a whole. We welcome the Government's focus on using public procurement to create opportunity, build skills and strengthen communities across the UK. Public procurement has the power not only to deliver services, but to create lasting social and economic value in every part of the country. Good jobs, skills development and pathways into work are fundamental to long-term prosperity and inclusive growth. As a major employer and long-standing partner to government, Sopra Steria is proud to support this ambition and help create opportunities that enable more people and communities to thrive.”
Sopra Steria employs more than 6,200 people across 21 UK locations, with 92% of those jobs sitting outside of London. Over 1,700 of these roles are based in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, and a further 2,200 are spread across sites in the North of England, including Manchester, Leeds, Blackpool, and Newcastle.
Sopra Steria has over 20 years of experience delivering large-scale transformation projects across 23 UK government departments, serving over 160,000 users as the largest provider of critical business support services for the UK Government, Ministry of Defence, and the Metropolitan Police Service.
Through its Resourcing business, Sopra Steria also has significant experience supporting people into sustained employment, having filled thousands of roles across the labour market. This experience has shown how data and insight can make skills, barriers and opportunities more visible, helping delivery partners and employers target support where it is most likely to make a lasting difference.
Sopra Steria uses a performance-based model where compensation is tied to efficiency improvements, successfully delivering over £1bn in savings across Whitehall in the last 10 years, which has been reinvested into frontline public services.