Consultant Qualitative Market Assessment (Street And Working Children Programme)

  The IRC Street and Working Children Project is starting a pilot Cash for Work and Apprenticeship program for Street and working children and their families in Mount Lebanon. An assessment of the beneficiaries’ (street and working children and their caregivers) educational and employable skill profile and community and municipality interest and needs for short term cash for work projects is required, as is a targeted analysis of potential employers for apprenticeships. The assessment will include the following : potential opportunities in the labour market for unskilled workers; the skill profile of program beneficiaries; identification of small-scale and non-infrastructure based projects of interest to identified municipalities or neighborhoods; potential apprenticeships and labour opportunities for adolescents and /or caregivers; areas for potential expansion and market linkages in Lebanon; Consultant Requirements The consultant is required to lead the study by: ensuring co-ordination with the IRC CP SaWC Project, consulting with the ERD Coordinator to adhere to Cash for Work standard operating procedures and IRC’s policies for Cash for Work and apprenticeships reviewing relevant studies (based on existing work conducted during the emergency and other sources already available); Defining tools to profile beneficiary skill levels, conduct focus groups, and profile potential businesses for apprenticeship matching; Conducting employability profiling for selected beneficiaries; Identifying potential employment sectors and employers both for unskilled and skilled workers; Identifying specific apprenticeship opportunities for youths15 till 18 years of age (in line with the Lebanese Labour Law; Identifying and meeting with business owners who could potentially be part of the program; Data collection through: focuse group discussions and individual interviews with prospective beneficiaries caregivers and youth 15 till 18 years of age; meeting with municipalities leaders and assessment of employers through individual interviews. Undertaking data analysis In addition, the consultant should: Review existing secondary data and literature to help identify which key questions need priority attention and which ones may require further research / primary data collection.  Review existing literature on child labour laws and good practice when linking street and working children/families to CFW/apprenticeship opportunities; Coordinate with the IRC CP SaWC Project and the CWG WG and sub-groups, to identify information required as well as to avoid duplication with similar initiatives; Where possible, take informal markets into account to ensure a complete picture of the market is obtained and all key linkages are considered. Scope of the Assessment As part of the tender the consultant should provide a brief outline of their proposed methodology and rationale for the process proposed (of 2 to 3 pages in length maximum). The market assessment should aim to answer the following key questions: Key Questions   Key Questions or Indicators What kind of job profile do selected beneficiaries match?    What skills of the selected beneficiaries could be an asset for accessing an apprentice programme? What kind of apprentice programme would suite SaWC beneficiaries? Are there apprentice opportunities that could be considered only for men or only for women? If so why?   What kind of cash for work programme opportunities would suite selected beneficiaries and host community?  What skills of the selected beneficiaries could be put at use for accessing a cash for work programme? What kind of cash for work activities would suite selected beneficiaries? Are there cash for work activities that could be well received and appreciated by the host community? Are there any cash for work opportunities that would be accessible only for men? If so why?   What are the main locations where the apprentice and cash for work programme could take place? Which are the key areas in Beirut/Mount Lebanon that we could target for cash for work programmes? Which are the key areas in Beirut/Mount Lebanon that we could target for apprenticeship programme? How will potential transport to these areas inhibit the participation of Cash for Work or apprenticeship beneficiaries?     Did the assessed employers show an interest in participating in apprenticeship programme? Are there ethnic, gender, or religious considerations that influence employers’ decision to participate in this programme? Did the prospective employers show an interest in training skilled workforce? Did the prospective employers show reluctance in engaging in such type of initiatives?   Restrictions / regulations What opportunities exist for adolescent’s apprenticeship taking into consideration and adhering to the national child labour laws?     Will the apprenticeship and cash for work programme affect the labour market? While the scale of activities is pretty small is it possible to consider that it will impact the local labour market? Will a scale up of a similar initiative produce this type of effects on the labour market? Have similar activities already been implemented in Mount Lebanon, with what results? What learnings? Deliverables Key deliverables and the proposed time frame for the consultancy are as follows: Develop the draft methodology and sampling framework (2 days) Develop and pilot the data collection framework for relevant stakeholders Data collection to be completed before mid December. Reporting in an agreed format, including : Timetable for frequency of data collection for different indicators. Draft report to the IRC Street Child Project within 2 weeks of completion of data collection (December 15 Decemberth) Feedback by 25th December Final report by 31th December Total consultancy days required: 30 Working days