Training for contract management staff, however, varies considerably

2.8  Given the range of skills required for effective contract management and that, as yet, authorities have had only limited experience of managing PFI contracts, relevant training becomes very important. The results of our survey show, however, that although a high proportion of authorities thought that most of their contract management staff had the right skills, the amount of training that authorities give their staff varies considerably. Figure 13 (overleaf) shows two projects where the authorities have invested in significant levels of training in contract management. There were, however, many authorities which had provided little or no training in contract management skills either before staff took on contract management duties or in the form of follow-up training.

2.9  Contract management manuals can be useful, particularly to assist the training of new staff. Although only a minority of authorities had produced such manuals, our survey showed that authorities and contractors were more likely to view their relationship as very good where authority staff had been able to follow guidance set out in contract management manuals.