Consultant at International Labour Organization

TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR)

Development of Curriculum Guidelines for Upgrading Pedagogy and Mentorship Skills of Master Crafts Persons to Enhance Knowledge and Skills in Quality Apprenticeships Programing for Vulnerable and Marginalized Youth in Kenya

KEN/16/04/USA

Donor Agency: United States Department of Labor (USDOL)

Executing Agency: International Labour Organization (Country Office for Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi)**

Implementing agency: National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) **

Geographical coverage: Kenya**

Consultancy dates September to November 2020**

I. Project overview

1. The Better Utilization of Skills for Youth through Quality Apprenticeship (BUSY project) is a four-year initiative financed by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL), and implemented by International Labour Organization (ILO) in partnership with the Ministry of Labour, the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) and the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU-K).

2. The overall project goal is to increase decent job opportunities and employability of young people, thereby addressing unemployment, vulnerability and poverty in urban and rural settings. The project’s objective is to improve the capacity of Kenyan government, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and civil society organizations to establish and expand workplace based training programs with a focus on vulnerable and marginalized youth, in particular adolescents at or above the legal working age who are engaged in or at risk of engaging in child labor.

3. The BUSY project is expected to achieve the following three long-term outcomes:

· Laws or policies supporting quality workplace-based training opportunities for youth in Kenya, including vulnerable and marginalized youth, are improved and / or implemented by key stakeholders;

· Kenyan government, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and other stakeholders implement best practices related to workplace-based training for youth, including the most vulnerable and marginalized; and,

· The quality of existing public and private programs in Kenya that provide vulnerable and marginalized youth with prerequisite skills to enter workplace-based training programs is improved.

II. Background and context of workplace-based training programs in Kenya

1. Workplace Based Training, or Industrial training programs as referred to in the Industrial Training Amendment Act CAP 237, 2012 covers industrial attachments and apprenticeships. However, while industrial attachments are based on students being placed in formal enterprises to gain knowledge and practical skills, most apprentices in Kenya are trained under the guidance of Master Craft persons in the informal sector and expert workers in formal employment.

2. Currently, the formal TVET system in Kenya lacks the capacity to absorb the numbers of young persons coming into the labour market and lacks overall relevance to the labour market. Consequently, young women and men often obtain their training through the informal apprenticeship system. Ideally, apprentices gain practical skills under the instruction of the employer or Master Craft Persons. In this sense, the informal economy provides an easy access for a large number of youth to receive skills training in both rural and urban settings, linked to labour market demands. This allows for school dropouts to enrol in skill upgrading schemes that are less costly for both beneficiaries and government agencies alike. But there are challenges with this system of training, which is not geared to transitioning informal apprentices into the formal economy.

3. From the findings of BUSY Project Pre Situational Analysis (PSA) studies, conducted by FKE and COTU-K on employers and workers respectively, the quality of skills gained through informal apprenticeships may vary substantively from one provider to the other. This is attributed to lack of uniform training standards, variations in technology and facilities offered by the Master Craftspersons, lack of structure of training activities, differences regarding knowledge, skills and productivity of Master Craftspersons and lack of a mechanism / body that oversees / ensure the quality of training. Likewise, trainees’ learning is not certified upon completion, impeding the recognition of their learning by third parties, especially employers. This makes it difficult for youth to transition into employment in the formal sector. Consequently, informal apprentices are more vulnerable to exploitation thereby increasing their risk of being used as cheap labor, receiving incomplete knowledge that does not allow them to work efficiently in a specific trade. Hence, their “training period” may in some cases be extended indefinitely or “continue” on poor payment.

4. Further, the ILO BUSY project conducted a study on past and present, international and local, public and private, including community and faith-based WBT initiatives/programs for vulnerable and marginalized youth in Kenya. The Study revealed that most of the WBT implementers, especially MCPs do not have sufficient knowledge and pedagogical skills for training and mentoring apprentices. They therefore fell short in implementing quality [1]and effective formal and informal apprenticeships for vulnerable young men and women.

III. Rationale of the Assignment

1. The overall objective of BUSY project is to build the capacity of social partners and stakeholders to start or improve the quality of workplace based training programs for vulnerable and marginalized youth in the country. In this regard, it is obliged to offer training to targeted employers, workers, government and stakeholder organizations for purposes of enhancing their respective knowledge and skills for developing and offering quality and effective formal and informal WBT programs for vulnerable young men and women. BUSY project will work with NITA to develop guidelines to upgrade pedagogical and mentorship skills of MCPs as one of the recommendations that were made by the Pre Situational Analysis (PSA) studies carried out at the beginning of the project.

2. The pilot training program will be implemented in the three project implementation counties, namely Kilifi, Busia and Kitui.

Competence and Expertise Requirements of the consultant **

NITA in collaboration with ILO BUSY Project shall ensure that the consultant has the necessary educational background and professional experience to carry out the assignment.

The consultant should meet the following requirements;

Education:

University Degree in Education Technology or any other social sciences with a focus on training and education or related field. Advanced degree/ postgraduate training in Curricula development, Education Assessment is recommended.

Professional Training and certification.

A KICD recognised curricula developer will an added advantage

Skills:

Must possess good communication skills, both oral and written. Excellent writing/editing commands of English is an asset.

Experience:

• At least ten years of experiences working in curricula development, technical education setting as a trainer, assessor or examiner;
• Sound knowledge, understanding of pedagogical skills and
• Proven experience and expertise in adult learning methodologies

Expectable deliverables and timeline

The main deliverables of the assignment will be:

• An inception report detailing how to address all tasks in part 11 above
• The draft curriculum guidelines composed of training and mentorship modules as appropriate
• Final Pedagogy and mentorship training curriculum and guidelines to be used to train 150 MCPs
• A work plan for the Training in the Three Counties

All deliverables are expected to be complete within 2 months, beginning September 2020 and concluding by November 30, 2020.

VIII. Resources and Administration

ILO – BUSY Project will allocate a total of USD 10,000.00 to the service provider to undertake this assessment. An Implementation Service Agreement developed by BUSY Project team will give a detailed guidance on financial use and fund disbursement.

The tasks of the NITA / BUSY Project

• Shall ensure all relevant documentation is up to date and easily accessible (in electronic form in a space such as Google Drive) by the consultant from the first day of the contract.
• Provide transportation to counties;
• Provide logistical support for meetings, including MCPs participation facilitation;
• Printing of publicity and awareness materials;
• Through WBTCC support selection of MCPs; and
• Secure introduction meetings with the project stakeholders.

Consultant Selection Criteria

ILO / BUSY Project will evaluate the proposals and award the assignment based on technical responsiveness and financial feasibility. **

Incomplete and applications received after the closing date will be unqualified. The project will notify the selected candidate two weeks after the close of applications date.