Public Tender nb.83499697 - Assessment body to assess trainees & teachers on agrofood competence-based training (CBT) modules - QuaVet: 18.2208.9-002.00

I.Context

a. Brief information about the project

The Multi-Donor Action “Improving the Quality and Attractiveness of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Lebanon for vulnerable social groups” is jointly co-financed by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The joint action is implemented by GIZ as a specific Action within the wider BMZ project “Improving the Quality and Attractiveness of TVET in Lebanon (QuA-VET)”. The aim of the action is to orient the vocational training towards the qualification needs of the labour market in sectors with sustainable employment potentials, therefore improving the employment capacities for poor and vulnerable social groups living in Lebanon. The implementing partner, the Directorate General for Vocational and Technical Education (DGVTE), requires further support in involving the private sector in vocational education and training. Thus, the project’s emphasis is placed on improving the partnership between vocational training institutions and the private sector. This includes developing modularized and practice-oriented training programmes in selected sectors, digitalizing e-Learning Lessons for the technical theoretical subjects of the promoted TVET programs and General Subjects and enhancing the quality of in-company training for employees and work-based learning for vulnerable individuals. The target groups of the project are vulnerable youth and young adults (aged 15-35), including Syrian and Palestinian refugees, individuals from hosting communities, TVET Lebanese students, unemployed or underemployed individuals (aged 17 to 35), and employees in Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) seeking to improve their employment prospects through relevant qualifications.

b.Background - The Baccalaureate Technique (BT) Curriculum

The agrofood sector plays a pivotal role in the Lebanese economy, combining agriculture with food production to meet the demands of a growing population. In line with current employment trends, the sector is rapidly evolving, driven by sustainability, innovation, and digitalization. As consumer preferences shift towards healthier, organic, and sustainably produced food, new career opportunities are emerging in areas such as food technology, supply chain management, and quality assurance. The agrofood sector remains a dynamic industry, offering diverse career paths that are increasingly aligned with modern workforce trends. Some of the public technical schools offer BT programs related to the agrofood sector, particularly in the “Hospitality - Food Production” specialization. These programs, along with others, have seen significant development through EU's VTE4ALL project, which introduced Competency-Based Training (CBT) modules in key areas such as dairy production, food preparation, packaging, export, safety, and social media marketing. These modernized CBTs, which are practice-oriented approaches, aim to enhance the existing curricula, reflecting the broader scope of the agrofood industry.

Currently, the BT “Hospitality - Food Production” program includes around 240 hours of Travaux Pratique (TP) annually, averaging approximately 6 hours per week. However, the program’s effectiveness varies, as some schools are equipped with modern kitchens and hospitality labs, while others lack such facilities, leading to inconsistent practical training. In such cases, students often rely on external internships at nearby hotels and restaurants to gain essential experience during their two-month internship per academic year. This approach, while valuable, may require updating to better align with current industry standards and practices, especially as new trends emerge. As Lebanon increasingly depends on locally grown products, there is a heightened emphasis on training students in sustainable practices and the use of local ingredients, which are becoming more integral to the agrofood sector. Therefore, by aligning the TP sessions with CBT modules, the curriculum ensures that students acquire practical, industry-relevant skills in a structured, competency-driven environment. These TP sessions, which are rooted in the principles of CBT, are conducted in school workshops, where students actively engage with tools and techniques directly applicable to their future careers. Modernizing the curriculum is crucial to ensure it meets the evolving needs of the Agrofood industry. Once updated, the curriculum will allow educators to provide higher-quality training, increase flexibility for site visits and collaborations with industry stakeholders, and allow short-term CBT modules to cover more subjects as part of continuous education. These enhancements are essential to facilitating the transition of TVET students to the professional Agrofood sector and ensuring that their training remains relevant in a rapidly changing field.

Tasks to be performed by the Contractor

Outline of the mission

In the frame of the QuA-VET project, GIZ facilitates Training of Trainers (ToT) modules, aiming to address the full range of necessary competences to enable 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 participants and the labour market.

After certification of teachers during the ToT, selected public TVET schools in different regions of Lebanon will offer practice-oriented, competency-based modular training (CBT) to vulnerable individuals, in the following agrofood occupations and competence:

Occupations:

• Kitchen helper ISCO 9412
• Food and related products machine operators ISCO 8160
• Fruit and vegetables and related preserves ISCO 7514
• Cook ISCO 5120
• Food Production: Bakers, Pastry Cooks and Confectionery Makers ISCO 7512
• Food service counter attendant ISCO 5246
• Waiter/Waitress ISCO 5131
• Environmental and Occupational Health Inspectors and Associates ISCO 3257

Modules to be Developed are clearly mentioned in the TOR Table

Therefore, the project is planning to contract an assessment body to certify the teachers trained during the ToT and consequently the participants trained during following CBT modules for the acquired competencies.

This mission consists of assessing competences in the above-mentioned occupations in the field of Hospitality - Food production at BT level. Certification of participants’ competences (both teachers attending ToT and trainees attending CBT) will be held at the following school premises:

• Al Saadeh Technical Institute - Akkar
• Halba Technical Institute - Akkar
• Douseh Technical Institute - Akkar
• Qobayat Technical Institute - Akkar
• Arsal Technical Institute - Baalbeck
• Technical Education and Training Institute - Hosh Al-Omara - Bekaa
• Machghara Technical School - Bekaa
• Hotel School (Dekwaneh) - Mount Lebanon
• Tebnine Technical Institute - Nabatieh
• Hotel School - Tripoli  North
• Mar Antonios Official Technical Institute - North
• Saida Technical Institute - South

The assessments 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 QuA-VET team will be providing 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.

The assessor’s role

The role of assessors is to observe the participants in their school workshop, provide support and guidance by collecting evidence, assessing their abilities, and enabling them to gain their desired qualifications. They assess participants’ 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.

While assessors may perform direct assessments by selecting items from the assessment standards, requesting participants to execute tasks, collecting evidence, and recording outcomes, the mission may also involve supporting the DGVTE in the assessment process, including assisting in evaluating teachers during ToT and/or students during CBT modules without necessarily conducting direct assessments themselves.

The external assessor selects items from the assessment standard and asks the participant to execute them. The external assessor collects evidence of a participant’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 participant on the assessment standard sheet (by marking Yes or No next to each outcome) by directly observing the participant and checking the different records in the assessment standard; a candidate 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.

The contractor is responsible for providing the following services:

• Critically examine the relevant project documentation (curricula and other materials provided by the QuA-VET Team) including assessment criteria and conditions.
• Revise and suggest potential scenarios to complete the existing ones on the summative assessment to carry the most representative simulation of the skills during the assessment. Assessors are expected to prepare additional assessment scenarios that make the evaluation practical and closely aligned with labour market requirements.
• Attend structured meetings with Project Team Members, trainer, staff of the DGVTE and of other organizations involved in the project as considered necessary.
• Plan and conduct assessment activities in coordination with the QuA-VET team, schools, trainers, and the DGVTE. QuA-VET will coordinate with the contractor on the dates, location and number of trainees to be assessed, depending on the implementation of the training. Indicatively, 5 or more trainees may be assessed in one day.
• Carry out all activities necessary for the accomplishment of the required output/results, including supporting the DGVTE in the assessment process. This may involve assisting or overseeing the assessment of teachers during ToT and/or students during CBT modules without necessarily conducting direct assessments.
• Regularly inform and consult with the QuA-VET project team members.
• Conduct and document the summative assessment of teachers and participants as stated in the curriculum. Providing graded results for both.
• Coordinate with the trainer of the module and the school for the organization of the assessment.
• Provide 2 CVs of assessors matching the ToR to carry out the activities and assess the competences of participants and teachers.
• Record of up to 650 records of assessed teachers and trainees (including summative assessment) including certificates for the successfully assessed participants.
• Provide positively assessed trainees and trainers the certificate of competence (indicatively 650 people 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 teachers assessed and certified.
• Provide a hard copy of the certificates of competence.
• Provide recommendations for the improvement of project implementation.
• Ensure availability after the short term-mission for online follow-up discussion

Certain milestones, as laid out in the table in the TOR, are to be achieved during the contract term.

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.

The tenderer is required to describe its contribution to knowledge management for the partner (1.5.1) and GIZ and to promote scaling-up effects (1.5.2) under learning and innovation.

Project Management for 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) must be explained in detail.

The tenderer is required to draw up a personnel assignment plan with explanatory notes that lists all the experts proposed in the tender; the plan includes information on assignment dates (duration and expert days) and locations of the individual members of the team complete with the allocation of work steps as set out in the schedule.

Personal 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.

Key Expert 1 & 2

Tasks of key expert 1 & 2

• • As stated in chapter 2: Tasks to be performed by the contractor

Qualifications of key expert 1 & 2

• Education/training (2.2.1): Bachelor’s degree in hospitality, agrofood, food production, or a related field.
• Assessment-related training certification in competency-based training is desirable.
• Language (2.2.2): C1 -level language proficiency in English and Arabic
• General professional experience (2.2.3): Minimum 5 years of professional experience in hospitality, food production, or agro-food operations (e.g., cooking, bakery, food processing, or food service).Specific professional experience (2.2.4): At least 2 years of experience in assessing or training staff or students in hospitality, agro-food, or food production competencies.
• Regional experience (2.2.6): At least 5 years of professional experience in Lebanon or the MENA region.
• Development Cooperation (DC) experience (2.2.7): Prior engagement in donor-funded projects (e.g., EU, GIZ, ILO, UN agencies) in Lebanon focusing on skills development, TVET, or employment promotion is an asset

Soft skills of team members

In addition to their specialist qualifications, the following qualifications are required of team members:

• • Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Ability to facilitate and mentor trainees or staff effectively.
  • Observation and analytical skills for evaluating practical competencies.
  • Teamwork and collaboration in multi-disciplinary and multicultural environments.
  • Adaptability and problem-solving in workplace or training contexts.
  • Ethical and professional conduct with impartiality in assessment.

The tenderer should provide a pool of minimum 2 experts, and maximum 4 experts with a clear overview of all proposed short-term experts and their individual qualifications.

Costing Requirements: 

Number of Assessment in Total : 550

Inputs of GIZ or other actors

GIZ and/or other actors are expected to make the following available:

• Training materials, including competency standards and training guidelines.
• Access to TVET school premises for preparation and implementation of practical assessments.
• Necessary equipment, tools, and consumables required for practical evaluations.
• Administrative and logistical support, including coordination with TVET schools and scheduling of assessment activities.

Requirements on the format of the Tender

The structure of the tender must correspond to the structure of the ToR. In particular, the detailed structure of the concept (Chapter 3) should be organized in accordance with the positively weighted criteria in the assessment grid (not with zero). The tender must be legible (font size 11 or larger) and clearly formulated. It must be drawn up in English.

The complete tender must not exceed 10 pages (excluding CVs). If one of the maximum page lengths is exceeded, the content appearing after the cut-off point will not be included in the assessment. External content (e.g. links to websites) will also not be considered.

The CVs of the personnel proposed in accordance with Chapter 4 of the ToRs must be submitted using the format specified in the terms and conditions for application. The CVs shall not exceed 4 pages each. They must clearly show the position and job the proposed person held in the reference project and for how long.

Please calculate your financial tender based exactly on the parameters specified in Chapter 5 Quantitative requirements. The contractor is not contractually entitled to use up the days, trips, workshops or budgets in full. The number of days, trips and workshops and the budgets will be contractually agreed as maximum limits. The specifications for pricing are defined in the price schedule.

The potential bidders are obliged to submit the following documents within the framework of the public tender:

• Financial Offer filled according to the template provided, “Annex 1 - Financial Offer Template
• Technical Offer Including:
  • Concept as per Chapter 3
  • CVs of the 2 (two) proposed experts
  • Company portfolio (Company name, focal point, contact details, exact location, available product and services, old experience, year of establishment, availability of product and services, average annual turnover for the last three financial years, and average number of employees and managers for the past three calendar years)
  • Company’s legal documents, company registration and MoF registration. 
  • Reference projects in assessment and certification in the field of agrifood/hospitality in Lebanon.
  • Official Registration document
  • Ministry of Finance Registration document
• Minimum Eligibility Criteria:
  • Official registration in Lebanon (minimum requirement)
  • Ministry of finance registration document
  • Proof of regional experience in agrifood/hospitality sector (minimum requirement)
  • At least 5 years working in Lebanon or MENA region (minimum requirement)
  • Average Annual Turnover for the last 3 financial years, at least 45,000 EUR.
  • Average Number of employees for the past 3 years, at least 5 Persons.
  • Minimum Commission Value for reference projects of 5,000 EUR.
  • At Least 1 reference project in the technical field of assessment and certification in the field of agrofood or hospitality.
  • At least 1 reference project in Lebanon in the last 3 years.
  • The bidder that receives 700 or higher in part B of the eligibility grid will be qualified for the technical evaluation