Terms of Reference Employability training and job linkage for women in manufacturing, agro-processing and service sectors – First Consult PLC

First Consult PLC is a leadingmanagement consulting firm specialising in the design and delivery ofinterventions that support the economic development of Ethiopia. Working with premier global organisations in the private, public and non-governmental sectors, FirstConsult develops and implements customized solutions to achieve economic development.Headquartered in Addis Ababa, FirstConsult has three industry-leading specialised practice areas:

a)Economic Growth,
b)Financial Services, and
c)Investor Services.

The BRIDGES Programme aims to create dignified and fulfilling jobs for graduates, semi-skilled workers, and low-skilled youth through wage and self-employment opportunities. The programme works with public and private institutions to provide youth with the employability and soft skills training and information they need to choose whether to pursue wage employment, self-employment, or further education.

The Challenge: Many women jobseekers face a significant barrier in accessing and maintaining employment due to a lack of essential technical and employability skills.

The Solution: Technical and soft skills trainings are indispensable for young people to find and maintain jobs and provide employers with an appropriately screened and trained supply of workers. The BRIDGES Programme is looking for a service provider that contributes short-term technical and soft skills training directly to skilled and unskilled segments of women youth job seekers. The intervention also facilitates employment linkage within organizations by identifying and sourcing women youth job seekers, identifying employers in different sectors and industries, gauging their labor needs, and matching them with a supply of a trained workforce.

The Impact: The BRIDGES Programme has helped to create thousands of jobs for youth, and has improved the employability skills of hundreds of thousands more.  

The BRIDGES Programme seeks a highly competitive, experienced, and capable service provider/s to identify women job seekers, provide short-term technical and soft skills training and create employment linkage in manufacturing, agro-processing, and service sectors for 3000 women youth job seekers in each of the four region of Addis Ababa city administration, Amhara, Oromia, Diredawa including Harar and  Somalia Regions.

	Regions	Targeted Women to be trained and linked with employers	Remark
1	Amhara	3000	The target numbers might be distributed to multiple service providers in each region.
2	Oromia	3000
3	Addis Ababa	3000
4	Diredawa	3000
5	Harar
6	Somali Region

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this ToR is to identify and hire regional-level service providers with highly competitive, experienced, and capable skills to deliver the following:

• Source and screen 3000 women youth job seekers age 18-35:
• Source 3000 women youth jobseekers from each region of Amhara, Oromia, Diredawa ( Harar and  Somali) , and Addis Ababa 
• Screen the candidates to ensure that they meet the project’s eligibility criteria.
• Identify sub-sectors, industries and specific companies that demand women youth jobseekers only in the manufacturing, agro-processing and service sectors.
• Facilitate short-term technical training (one week) including soft skills training in manufacturing, agro-processing and service sectors for 3000 women job seekers in each specified region. 
• Perfom job matching between trained women and employers.

SCOPE OF WORK

The major activities will be:

• Source and screen women youth participants (age between 18-35)
• Identify potential participants
• Develop a screening process
• Recruit a diverse group of participants
• Organize a launching workshop to introduce the program to participants, stakeholders, and the public.
• Sign an MoU with the relevant government stakeholders to establish strong working partnerships with different government and non-government stakeholders.
• Customize a short-term (one week) technical and soft skills blended training in manufacturing, agro-processing and service sectors and prepare an employability training manual that fits the needs of women youth job seekers and employers.
• Select 3000 women youth job seekers and employers who can absorb them.
• Provide training for 3000 women job seekers and create employment linkage 3000 women job seekers for Amhara, Oromia, Diredawa, Harar, Somalia, and Addis Ababa.
• Develop and share weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports and success stories.
• Conduct an evaluation of the contribution of the training and collect feedback from employers and stakeholders.

DELIVERABLES AND TIMEFRAMES 

The service provider is expected to select, train, and link 3000 female jobseekers in the coming six months in each regions of Addis Ababa, Oromia, Diredawa, Harar, Somali and Amhara. A detailed work plan must be submitted along with the proposal, which will be used to assess progress.

The service provider is required to deliver the following:

Expected results (participants)	Timeframe	Target Number
women youth Jobseekers trained	1 week	3000 trained
Jobs created for trained women youth jobseekers	6 months	3000 jobs created
Develop two success stories on the women jobseeker’s linkage and large number of women employment hire		2 Success stories

• The selected service provider will work with the BRIDGES Programme of First Consult and in close working relationships with relevant regional and city government institutions, and other non-governmental stakeholders to undertake the assignment. Focal persons for communication shall be arranged between the BRIDGES programme and the service provider.

• Understanding of the ToR and assignment: This section should demonstrate the service provider’s understanding of the Terms of Reference (ToR) and the assignment. It should also identify any areas where the service provider believes the ToR could be improved.
• delivering the project. It should include a detailed description of the short-term technical training that will be provided, as well as the quality assurance mechanisms that will be used to ensure the quality of the training.
• Quality Assurance: Provide a quality assurance metrics and mechanism. 
• Project work plan: This section should detail the anticipated delivery dates of the deliverables defined in the scope of work. It should also include a contingency plan in case of delays.
• Company profile: This section should provide an overview of the service provider’s organization, including its history, expertise, and resources. It should also highlight the service provider’s experience in delivering similar projects.
• CVs of key team members: This section should provide detailed CVs of the key team members who will be responsible for delivering the project. The CVs should highlight the team members’ skills, experience, and qualifications.
• Office presence: The service providers need to provide a documentation for their physical presence in their respective region/ city administration
• References: This section should provide a list of references from previous projects that the service provider has delivered. The references should be from clients who can attest to the quality of the service provider’s work.

• Should disclose all charges that will be transferred to BRIDGES as a result of the services provided by the consultant. This includes all direct and indirect costs, such as travel, accommodation, and training materials.
• Quote an estimated total fee for completing all requirements outlined in this ToR. The fee should be in Ethiopian Birr (ETB) and should be inclusive of all taxes and other levies.
• The budget should include activities, unit costs, frequency, and total budgets. This will help the BRIDGES Programme to understand the breakdown of costs and to make sure that the project is delivered within budget.

The following weights will be used to evaluate proposals.

Item	Score
Team composition, competencies, and track record	35%
Proposed approach and methodology	45%
Financial proposal	20%