The Cordie Story
Cordie started from humble beginnings in 2003 in the back-room of a rented house in rural Hampshire UK, as a twinkle in the eye of founders Andrea Cordell and Ian Thompson.
As former senior commercial practitioners, we recognised the need for practical training solutions delivered in a friendly manner, and quickly grew our reputation for effective no-nonsense commercial training. Ever since, we have linked practical hands-on training with robust theoretical underpinning.
To support this we have written and published our own practical handbooks - the first in 2003 (Emotional Intelligence & Negotiation) and subsequently several others, including The Procurement Models Handbook (now in its 3rd Edition). More recently in 2022, The Negotiation Handbook (2nd Edition) will be published in Spanish for distribution across Latin America.
As early as 2004 we were engaged to work with CIPS, the world’s largest professional body of procurement practitioners and in 2006 we were awarded our first UK National Training Award.
Our first UK study centre was launched in the New Forest in September 2006, followed by centres in Henley, Bristol and Leicester. Since 2012, we have been accredited as a CIPS “centre of excellence” for our consistently high exam pass rates and our excellent customer service.
By 2006 we had started to deliver a series of public procurement training programmes for central and local government bodies. Over subsequent years, we have grown an in-depth expertise in public procurement - often being the ‘go to’ point for technical advice on regulatory and commercial matters, both in the UK government and within Europe.
In 2008, we started delivering customised training solutions across Europe and the Middle East, and we developed ISO 9001 accredited quality management systems that applied across all training and education services. These systems have since been audited and re-accredited on an annual basis since.
By now, the world of training was beginning to change with the acceptance of digital solutions. In 2013 we launched our first online learning tutorials. Soon we were being commissioned to design and develop stand-alone e-learning tutorials for clients throughout the public and private sectors. We now offer this service either as a stand-alone method of training, or as a complementary training resource alongside more traditional instructor-led training.
Also in 2013 we became approved as an exam centre for professional qualification exams, operating exam centres in the New Forest and Swansea. More recently we converted this capability online to run computer-based exams at our New Forest head office in the UK.
In response to the global coronavirus in 2020, we have opened up our corporate training and accredited qualification teaching to online delivery in the virtual classroom with great success. This has included a wide range of skills-based learning and educational packages delivered remotely to clients across the world including Latin America, South-East Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States.
Summer of 2022 has seen a return to many client requests for face-to-face training delivery. we were delighted to have our application approved by the UK Department for education to be a registered ‘main provider’ of apprenticeships. This builds on our recent work as a supporting provider and opens up many more Government-funded opportunities for learners to obtain education and qualifications in the procurement profession.