Expression of Interest nb. 83421466 Short term expert to map private sector companies around TVET schools Akkar, Arsal and Hermel areas - 18.2208.9-001.00 QuA-VET

The project "Improving the Quality and Attractiveness of Vocational Education and Training in Lebanon" 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 labor 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.

Context

Lebanon faces numerous political, economic and social challenges. Up until the civil war, the country was one of the most important commercial and financial centres in the Middle East. The vocational training system was well organized by regional standards: Skilled workers were trained with good practical competencies and the reputation of vocational education and training among the population was comparatively high. This tradition was not maintained after the war ended. Today, the vocational education and training system is almost exclusively limited to school-based training, with limited practical experience. In the National Social Development Strategy of Lebanon of the Ministry of Social Affairs, improving the employment situation in the country is envisioned as one of five objectives. However, the Lebanese labour market is currently characterised by a very low employment rate and a high influx of foreign workers (including refugees). For several years now, the level of economic growth has not been sufficient to absorb the growing supply of labour, namely young workers, especially amid the economic and financial crisis, the spread of COVID-19 and the repercussions of the Beirut explosion in August 2020.

Against this background, improving skills that increase the productivity level of workers—and ultimately companies—is an important prerequisite for a stronger absorption of the labour supply, an increase in productivity and ultimately the achievement of stronger, lasting growth and creation of more and better jobs. However, Lebanese vocational training institutes and schools cannot currently fulfil this role. The low labour market orientation of national Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is manifested in the fact that graduates generally do not work in the occupations for which they were trained, often enter the informal sector or even remain unemployed for a long time after graduation.

In relation to promoting the link between the public TVET system and the needs of the employers in the country, the Lebanese Minister of Education issued a resolution to establish a School Advisory Board (SAB) in technical schools and institutes. The National Strategic Framework for TVET in Lebanon (2018) also states the necessity of activating these boards as a tool to enhance cooperation between education and employers, being a vital link between vocational and technical education and the business and industry sector. In addition to establishing school advisory boards, the cooperation between the school and the private sector can be strengthened by offering work based learning (WBL) opportunities. The Work-based learning aims at supporting skilled workers in being trained on a practical level as part of a competency based training (CBT) by matching them with businesses where they will get trained for 80 hours within the business. In this period, WBL participants will be able to practice and acquire additional practical knowledge relevant to the sectors, they will work in eventually.

The osbtacles that hinder the progress and the proper implementation of the school advisory board and WBL opportunies are more challenging in remote areas such as Arsal, Hermel and Akkar where there seems to be a lack of available or accessible private sector entities. However to confirm this assumption reliable data regarding the number of businesses operating are missing.

 Outline of the mission

The purpose of the assignment is to conduct a comprehensive mapping in Arsal, Akkar and Hermel to identify existing private-led enterprises in the surrounding (within 30 kms) of the determined TVET schools for cooperation on SAB activities and/or practical training (WBL).

The specialization available in schools (attached A12.1 Akkar_Arsal_Hermel Majors) are of interest, with focus on “Maintenance of manufacturing machines” and “Health inspection and food safety”.

The contractor shall provide the following work/service:

• Developing a detailed business mapping excel tool of companies with more than 3 employees in the surroundings (within 30 kms) of the 3 TVET schools with questions and checklist capturing most necessary enterprise information including: 

• Enterprise location, physical and contact addresses, conduciveness and Safety of Workplace
• Observation of available facilities, workshops, machine, equipment and necessary premise for trainee practical learning
• Observation of enterprise gender sensitivity of workplace
• Observation of enterprise members of CCI or other associations
• Business working hours
• If the enterprise offers company based trainings

• Conduct desk-review mapping of existing enterprises from the chamber of commerce annual business directories, labour market studies of NGOs etc.
• Visit the regional chamber of commerce and trade associations (such as ALI) pertaining the selected occupational profiles in each region
• Visit at least 20 enterprises to document the business information as per the mapping instrument and desk review
• Analyze collected mapping information and document appropriately in the developed excel database
• Prepare enterprise mapping report capturing process, methodology and key findings along with database

GIZ shall hire the contractor for the anticipated contract term, From 15/10/2022 to15/04/2023

The contractor shall provide the following work/service:

• Critical examination of relevant project documentation
• Desk review of recent business directories by the chamber of commerce and labour market studies of NGOs
• Developing a detailed business mapping tool such as observation checklist to document key capacity elements of the enterprise such as workshops, facilities, human resource, contact and physical address etc
• Observations of working conditions such as conduciveness of working environment, safety and decent work conditions
• On-site trips to verify the veracity of data found on internet via meetings and interviews
• Regular information and consultation with the Project Team members
• All activities necessary for the accomplishment of the required outputs / results
• Writing of mission report and required administrative deliverables
• Availability after the short term-mission for remote follow-up discussion

Outputs/Results
The outputs / results requested to the Expert are:    

• An enterprise mapping report (maximum 20 pages) in English language capturing all key findings, process of identification of the companies in the surrounding (within 30 kms) of the TVET schools
• List of mapped enterprises using excel database
• Catalogue of interview questions for status quo analysis
• MoMs of interviews and meetings
• List of secondary literature and list of references

 Administrative Deliverables:

• A comprehensive end of mission’s report submitted to team leader for revision and approval following the structure:

• Scope and objectives of the mission
• Approach adopted for conducting the mission
• List of outputs produced during the mission (including meetings and people met)
• Description of the outputs produced during the mission
• Problems and challenges encountered during the mission
• Recommendations for the follow-up of the mission
• Recommendations for the improvement of project implementation