Terms of Reference Provision of Soft skills training to Jobseekers and Facilitating Employment Linkage

Terms of Reference

Provision of Soft skills training to Jobseekers and Facilitating Employment Linkage

 1.       BACKGROUND

 First consult PLC is contracted to provide management and technical support services to Mastercard Foundation to support close to 600,000 youth in work (80% women) and 15,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), with 300,000 unemployed youth trained through supporting Industrial Parks(IPs) job creation initiative and market linkage between IPs and MSMEs.

The BRIDGES Programme will address two fundamental, immediate, and complementary challenges to unlock the potential for job creation within IPs and their surrounding ecosystem. (1) Making the industrial workforce markets work, which through the Enterprise Partners Programme, First Consult have successfully piloted in a few IPs and is now ripe for scale-up. (2) Making the IP business linkages (MSME) markets work to enhance domestic manufacturing value-added (MVA) for every given dollar of export. This will be done by substituting the currently-heavy import-dependent operations – itself a constraint on the factories – via local suppliers (MSMEs) in a number of ways.

Labour Market: BRIDGES under Labour sector aims to achieve workers engagement and retention with in the IPs and other private sectors outside IPs through developing of standardized manuals and provision of soft skill training.

MSMEs market: BRIDGES will work with MSMEs to enable them to tap into major market opportunities around the 10 major IPs and Anchor Enterprises outside IPs. The work will involve major information, coordination, capacity development, and access to finance initiatives to be undertaken in partnership with key IP, AE, and MSME stakeholders at various levels including Demand (IP markets), Supply (MSMEs), Linkage (information, transaction and payment platforms) and Ecosystem (macro and other meso level actors).

Access to finance: this applies to both direct workers within parks as well as MSMEs that BRIDGES will be working with. A2F mainly focuses on bridging the supply and demand side gaps by facilitating linkages, bringing innovative means, building the capacities of both the demand and supply sides, and working on policy and rule changes to narrow the financing gap. A2F envisions increased access to finance to MSMEs through the improved capacity of financial institutions meeting the needs of the MSMEs market in outreach, products, and innovative solutions, resulting in increased access to finance and creation of dignified and fulfilling work for Ethiopian youth.

2.       BACKGROUND SPECIFIC TO THE ASSIGNMENT

The “Workers Engagement and Retention /WEAR/ Training program”, a standardize soft skill training for skilled and unskilled workforce at a national level is intended to address the “Soft” elements or qualitative imbalance of new workers or jobseekers Joining the industrial setup. The soft skills training is crucial for finding and maintaining a job and providing employers with appropriately screened and trained supply of workforce. The service provider will be commissioned to provide the training directly to jobseekers and facilitate employment linkage with different sectors in need of capacitated workforce. This will involve identification of employers in different sectors and industries and gauging their labor needs and matching with a supply of a trained workforce.

3.       PURPOSE OF THE TOR

The purpose of this TOR is to identify and hire a highly competitive, experienced and capable service provider to identify job seekers, deliver soft skills training and facilitate employment linkage in different sectors and industries of the economy. The training will target both the skilled and unskilled segments of the job-seeking population in the Dire Dawa and Harar region.  The firm is expected to train 3,000 job seekers and ensure their employment through continuous engagement with employers. Service Provider is also expected to identify employers’ labor needs and match accordingly with the available supply of trained job seekers. 

4.       MAIN OBJECTIVES

•  The main objective of the assignment is to address shortcomings in the area of soft skills within the jobseekers. (Both skilled and unskilled segments of the workforce)
• Empower jobseekers to unleash their full capacities and to seize employment opportunities on their own will
• Provide soft skills training and create Jobs for 3,000 Jobseekers
• Labour demand and supply matching

5.       SCOPE OF WORK

The service provider shall: –

 ·       Create a comprehensive action plan that includes learning theories, instructional design, materials, and other training elements; Sign MoU with relevant government stakeholder; Prepare soft skills training modules for both skilled and unskilled categories;

·       Identify job seekers and employers

·       Through sensitization workshops the service providers shall secure buy-in from government stakeholders and employer organizations

·       Conduct training sessions to Jobseekers; Provide Monitoring and support services; periodic reports on training and employment status of jobseekers; Conduct assessment of Impact; Collect and record Feedback from stakeholders

 6.       DELIVERABLES AND TIMEFRAME

The service provider shall deliver soft skills training to 3,000 jobseekers and facilitate their employment into different organizations

 7.       LOCATION AND DURATION

 This service is required to work for 8 months since signing of contract with a scope covering the whole of or part of Dire Dawa/Harar region to realize contractual objectives.

8.       WORKING ARRANGEMENTS

The selected service provider will have a contractual relationship with First consult/BRIDGES Programme and close working relationship with relevant government institutions and employers.

9.       EVALUATION

First Consult/BRIDGES programme will review the submitted proposals in accordance with the specific qualification and experience requirements and specific tasks stated above. The evaluation will be done in a two-stage process. The first stage will comprise the Technical Evaluation which will be based on the Technical Proposal, whilst the second Stage will comprise the Financial Evaluation which will be based on the Budget Proposal. It is the Bidder’s responsibility to ensure that it has responded to both evaluation criteria. Failure to meet the evaluation criteria may result in the Bidder being disqualified from consideration. Bidders must ensure that they have included all supporting documentation. Applicants should clearly indicate their experience and previous engagements in line with the specific requirements listed.

10.   QUALIFICATIONS

·       The service provider should be a licensed and qualified consultant with at least 3 years of prior work experience in the field of training and HR development and facilitation of employment

·       Demonstrated knowledge and experience in developing training modules/curriculum, training materials etc.

·       Demonstrated experiences and skills in facilitating stakeholder/working group consultations and training.

·       Strong network and linkage with different public private employers in the region

·       The company must be based in the Dire Dawa/Harar Region.