Public Call for Tender nb. 83440780 Assessment body for CBT modules for Health Inspection and Food Safety 18.2208.9-001.00 QuA-VET

1. Context

1.1 Brief information on the project

The project "Improving the Quality and Attractiveness of Vocational Education and Training in Lebanon" (QuA-VET) aims to increasingly align vocational education and training in sectors with sustainable employment potentials with the needs of the Lebanese economy.

Emphasis is placed on improving the partnership between vocational training institutions and the private sector, strengthening human resource capacity in vocational training institutions, and developing practice-oriented training programs. The target groups of the project are young people, unemployed and underemployed adults who want to improve their employment prospects through qualifications relevant to the labour market.

The implementing partner is the Directorate General for Vocational and Technical Education (DGVTE), which lacks capacity at various levels to involve the private sector in vocational education and training. This concerns curriculum development, teacher training and the expansion of practical elements in teaching. The project's advisory approach includes establishing and advising coordination bodies with representatives of the state vocational training sector and company representatives at the macro and steering levels, piloting cooperation models between vocational training institutions and the private sector, systematic human resources development in public vocational training institutions and testing competency-based, modularized training programs.

1.2 Background

The TS (Technician superieur) curriculum in Health Inspection and Food Safety (HIFS)

The public technical schools have existing BT and TS programmes, but the curricula are outdated and do not present a consistent content in terms of hourly distribution and type of subjects. Recently a tentative of standardisation was carried out by GIZ setting common general education subjects in TS1 and TS2 for all programmes and stating the number of hours for theoretical subjects and practical activities (Travaux Pratiques). The TP is delivered in a school workshop where the trainees practice the use of tools and materials typical of the occupation.

Currently the number of TP hours in the TS are not sufficient to develop the practical competences of the students. Eventually the project will propose a model to the DGVTE containing 2 to 4 in a year with 50 to 80 hours per TP.

The curriculum of a TP is designed in a way that the same curriculum can be used to deliver a short-term course named Competency Based Training (CBT) in the frame of continuous education.

The curriculum of a CBT module

A CBT module is a short-term course with 40 hours in the workshop in a school where the trainees practice the use of tools and materials typical of the occupation, the curriculum adopted is the same of the corresponding TP. At the end of this first in-school training a written assessment is carried out to issue a DGVTE certificate. Passing trainees will attend 80 hours of on-the-job training in a working site where they can practice in a working environment the skills acquired in the previous part of the course. At the completion of the experience in the workplace trainees’ skills are assessed by a professional of the sector and a professional certificate is issued in case of successful completion.

The curriculum of a CBT module is composed of the following documents:

Occupational standard:    A4 page describing synthetically the processes to be carried out by the job holder.

Competence standard:     A4 page defining learning outcomes grouped in competence unit (indicatively 4 Competence Units (CUs) per CBT module).

Assessment standard:      A definition of the conditions and the criteria for the assessment of the learning outcomes of each Competence Unit included in the qualification standard. The certification of competences is provided on the base of the verification of the criteria stated in the standard by an external professional assessor.

Education standard:          The document describing synthetically the topics covered in each classroom lesson (if any) and the practical activities in the workshop and in the workplace (internship) carried out by the trainee with the timing planned for each of them.

Training standard:             The training standard is a guidance for the teacher and the trainer to deliver the lessons. The training standard includes, the guideline, the list of tools and materials, the formative assessment and the summative assessment related to each competence unit.

Training guideline:            The training guideline is defining the topics covered in the lessons with some description for each topic and at the same time set the working procedure that are in line with best practice that should be implemented during the training program. The training guideline includes the links to tutorial videos (at least two) that were used for the development of the guideline.

Tools and materials:         An indicative list of tools and materials to be purchased for each Competence Unit to conduct the CBT training with a brief description and picture of the items, the quantities required per trainee, workshop, or CBT module edition, along with any further comments.

Formative assessment:    A definition of the conditions and the criteria for the assessment of each learning outcome of each Competence Unit included in the competence standard for improving the performances of the trainees.

Summative assessment:  A definition of the conditions and the criteria for the assessment of each learning outcome of each Competence Unit included in the competence standard to provide the trainees with the certification of competences on the base of the verification of the criteria by an external professional assessor.

1.3 Outline of the mission

In the frame of QuA-VET project, GIZ organizes training of trainers (ToT) courses, aiming to address the entire range of necessary competences to enable the teachers not only to gain skills in dealing with new technologies prevailing on the labour market, but also to develop practical experience in making teaching and training more responsive to the needs of the trainees and the labour market.

After certification of the teachers during the ToT, selected public VTE schools in different regions of Lebanon are considering offering practice-oriented competency based modular trainings in:

Sanitation and safety food inspector 

• Inspecting food storage 
• Identifying unsafe practices 
• Inspecting facilities to identify potential hazards 
• Monitoring pest control system
• Inspecting labels on materials and consumables

Food laboratory technician

• Performing chemical and microbiological lab tests on samples
• Registering and storing samples
• Performing physical lab tests on samples

and therefore, require an assessment body to certify the teachers trained during ToT and consequently the students trained during following CBT modules for the acquired competencies.

The description of the course and the Curriculum (occupational, qualification, assessment and training standards, Training documentation - in English, and Arabic), including the summative assessment determined for the certification will be provided by the QuA-VET team.

The assignment is related to the assessment of competences for occupations in the field of Health Inspection and Food Safety at TS level. The certification of the competences of the participants (trainees such as teachers or students of the TVET schools in Lebanon) to the CBT modules at the following school premises:

• The Orthodox Vocational Institute – Akkar
• Renee Mouawad Technical Institute (TI) – Zgharta
• National Institute of Nursing Care – Bir Hassan
• Bednayel TI – Bednayel
• Nabatiyeh TI – Nabatiyeh

The assessments will usually take place in the afternoon after the schools’ normal class activities. The exact schedule will be fixed in coordination with the schools and assessors a few days prior to the assessment depending on the situation.

The assessor’s role

The role of assessors is to observe learners in their school workshop, provide support and guidance by collecting evidence, assessing their abilities, and enabling them to gain their desired qualifications. They assess candidates’ performance and related knowledge in a range of tasks. They also ensure that the competence or knowledge demonstrated meets the requirements of the qualification. An assessor must demonstrate the necessary interpersonal and communication skills required in the assessment process. The external assessor selects items from the assessment standard and asks the learner to execute them. The external assessor collects evidence of a learner’s performance and compares with best practice according to the criteria and the qualifiers stated in the curricula. The external assessor fills in the corresponding checklist. The external assessor records the learning outcomes for each student on the assessment standard sheet (by marking Yes or No next to each outcome) by directly observing the trainee and checking the different records in the assessment standard; a trainee is competent if he/she is positively assessed in all the learning outcomes. For the case where the assessor is observing a teacher that has been trained to become a trainer, the assessor also provides graded results.

2. Tasks to be performed by the contractor

The contractor is responsible for providing the following services:

• Critical examination of relevant project documentation (curricula and other materials provided by the Project Team) including assessment criteria and conditions.
• Review and suggestions on potential scenarios to complete the existing ones on the summative assessment to carry the most representative simulation of the skills during the assessment.
• Structured meetings with Project Team Leader, Project Team Members, staff of the DGVTE and of other organisations involved in the project as considered necessary
• Plan and conduct assessment activities in coordination with QuA-VET team, schools, and trainers. QuA-VET will coordinate with the contractor on the dates, location and number of trainees to be assessed, depending on the implementation of the trainings. Indicatively, 5 or more trainees may be assessed in one day.
• Carry on all activities necessary for the accomplishment of the required output / results
• Regular information and consultation with the Project Team members
• Conducting and documenting the summative assessment of trainers and trainees as stated in the curriculum. Providing graded results in case the participants is a future trainer.
• Coordination with the trainer of the module and the school for the organisation of the assessment
• Provide 1 CV for the team leader and 2 CVs of assessors matching the ToR provided by QuA-VET to carry out the activities and assess the competences of trainees and trainers
• Record of up to 400 records of assessed trainees (including summative assessment) including certificates for the successfully assessed trainees
• Provide positively assessed trainees and trainers the certificate of competence (indicatively 400 persons assessed, certificates are consecutively numbered) stating the module and the competency units, (incl. abilities/learning outcomes and related knowledge) successfully assessed, the date and location of the assessment.
• Maintain a record of the trainees and trainers assessed and certified
• Provide a copy of the certificates of competence when requested by the certified trainees
• Writing of a comprehensive end of mission’s report submitted to team leader for revision and approval following the structure:

1. Scope and objectives of the mission (incl. preparation of training with the school and training itself)
2. Approach adopted for conducting the mission
3. List of outputs produced during the mission (including meetings and people met)
4. Description of the outputs produced during the mission
5. Problems and challenges encountered during the mission (incl. preparation of assessment with the school and trainer)

• Recommendations for the improvement of project implementation

Availability after the short term-mission through internet for follow-up discussion.

3. Concept

In the tender, the tenderer is required to show how the objectives defined in Chapter 2 (Tasks to be performed) are to be achieved, if applicable under consideration of further method-related requirements (technical-methodological concept). In addition, the tenderer must describe the project management system for service provision.

Note: The numbers in parentheses correspond to the lines of the technical assessment grid.

Technical-methodological concept

Strategy (1.1): The tenderer is required to consider the tasks to be performed with reference to the objectives of the services put out to tender (see Chapter 1 Context) (1.1.1). Following this, the tenderer presents and justifies the explicit strategy with which it intends to provide the services for which it is responsible (see Chapter 2 Tasks to be performed) (1.1.2).

The tenderer is required to present the actors relevant for the services for which it is responsible and describe the cooperation (1.2) with them.

Project management of the contractor (1.6)

The tenderer is required to explain its approach for coordination with the GIZ project. In particular, the project management requirements specified in Chapter 2 (Tasks to be performed by the contractor), more specifically the personnel assignment plan (1.6.2) must be explained in detail.

4. Personnel concept

The tenderer is required to provide personnel who are suited to filling the positions described, on the basis of their CVs (see Chapter 7), the range of tasks involved and the required qualifications.

The below specified qualifications represent the requirements to reach the maximum number of points in the technical assessment.

4.1 Team leader

Tasks of the team leader

• Overall responsibility for the advisory packages of the contractor (quality and deadlines)
• Coordinating and ensuring communication with GIZ, partners and others involved in the project
• Personnel management, in particular identifying the assignment of the assessors for each assessment depending on their specialisation in coordination with QuA-VET
• Technical lead of the assessment, in particular in the analysis of the curricula, support of the assessors for technical questions
• Regular reporting in accordance with deadlines

Qualifications of the team leader

• Education/training (2.1.1): Bachelor’s degree in food sciences, biology or any related subject
• Language (2.1.2): C1-level language proficiency in English, C2-level language proficiency in Arabic
• General professional experience (2.1.3): 10 years of professional experience in the Food Safety sector
• Specific professional experience (2.1.4): 10 years as a consultant, trainer or assessor in quality control, implementation of ISO standards, HACCP
• Leadership/management experience (2.1.5): 5 years of management/leadership experience as project team leader or manager in a company
• Regional experience (2.1.6): 10 years of experience in projects in the MENA region, of which 5 years in projects in Lebanon
• Other (2.1.8): Certification as FSSC auditor, ISO auditor or equivalent

4.2 Short-term expert pool with minimum 2, maximum 2 members

For the technical assessment, an average of the qualifications of all specified members of the expert pool is calculated. Please send a CV for each pool member (see below Chapter 7 Requirements on the format of the bid) for the assessment.

Tasks of the short-term expert pool

• Critical examination of relevant project documentation (curricula and other materials provided by the Project Team) including assessment criteria and conditions
• Conducting and documenting the summative assessment of trainers and trainees as stated in the curriculum

Qualifications of the short-term expert pool

• Education/training (2.6.1): All experts have a university qualification in Food safety or any related subject,
• Language (2.6.2): All experts have C1-level language proficiency in English and with C2-level language proficiency in Arabic
• General professional experience (2.6.3):

- All experts have 3 years of professional experience in the Food safety sector each

- All experts have 3 years of professional experience in an international organisation providing quality assurance each

• Specific professional experience (2.6.4): All experts have:

- 3 years of professional experience in assessment, audit or quality control each

- 3 years of professional experience in development and implementation of HACCP plans or alternatively 3 years of professional experience in food related laboratory activities

- Certification as ISO 22000 auditor or related certification

• Regional experience (2.6.5): All experts have 5 years of experience in the MENA region, from which 2 years of experience in Lebanon (country)
• Other (2.6.7): Proficient in use of MS Office (Power Point, Word, Excel, Outlook), Willingness to travel within Lebanon

The tenderer must provide a clear overview of all proposed short-term experts and their individual qualifications.

During the course of the project, the contractor may submit further CVs of assessors for approval.

5. Costing requirements

The following basic calculations for the contract for works are a reference value based on the acceptance criteria for each partial work/milestone specified in Chapter 2 (Tasks to be performed by the contractor).

Since the contract to be concluded is a contract for works, we would ask you to offer your services at a lump sum price. Therefore, please divide the lump sum price into the milestones described below. The price per milestone must contain all relevant costs (fee, travel expenses etc.).

In addition, the assessment of the financial bid is also based on the underlying daily rate. Please also provide the underlying daily rate. A breakdown of days is not required.