Consultant – Diagnosis of the ACFPE’s Training and Professional Integration Support System – Central African Republic (CAR) At Mercy Corps

Background and rationale

The Central African State and its development partners recognise that Central African youth (15 to 24 years old), who represent 60% of the population, are going through major challenges related to vocational training and integration into the labour market. The difficulties encountered in integrating into employment and self-employment are all the more important for young women, young people living in rural areas and the most vulnerable populations (internally displaced persons, young people with disabilities, ex-combatants, etc.).

To address this concern, the consortium (Mercy Corps and Triangle Génération Humanitaire/TGH) has developed a proposal for a vocational training and youth employment project entitled: Maï-Ngo Ti A Masseka (youth empowerment) with funding from AFD working on the following three axes:

1. The professional integration of young people: through a labour market-oriented approach promoting systemic changes and the development and dynamisation of initiatives led by young people;
2. Vocational training of young people: The skills and capacities of training centres; the research and development function (curricula, pedagogical methodologies, etc.); the supervision and quality control function; the access to funding function (for young people and for training centres); and the information, communication and coordination functions in order to guarantee the sustainability of the project’s achievements in the long term;
3. Strengthening links and interactions between the key structures of the public operational system for the provision of training and professional integration of young people, in this case the Central African Agency for Vocational Training and Employment (ACFPE) and other public and private training actors/organizations.

The ACFPE is an economic and social institution that enjoys legal personality and financial autonomy. Its missions are threefold: the management and promotion of employment; the promotion of vocational training and the development of free enterprise. In view of these missions, the ACFPE appears to be both: a Public Employment Service (PES); a Vocational Training Fund (FFP) and a training centre since it carries out the training actions by itself. These missions, which it carries out throughout the Central African Republic through its regional agencies (ARFPE), would constitute for this project an important lever in the implementation of activities and in the strategy of perpetuating the achievements.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that many initiatives (company space, placement of young people in internships, orientation of young job seekers, …) have been developed by this agency with the support of several partners includingAFD. The current initiative is that of the PADA project, which will ultimately promote the integration of young people and strengthen links with economic actors, through the development of a work-study learning model. These initiatives will be promoted and disseminated as part of the implementation of the Maï-Ngo Ti A Masseka programme thanks to the harmonisation strategy that the consortium is promoting. It is for this reason that the ACFPE has been identified as a strategic partner for the contribution it can make in achieving the objectives of the project on the one hand, and on the other hand, for the direct benefit it will derive from certain planned interventions, aimed at strengthening its role as a bridge between the actors of vocational training and integration and those of the private sector.

While recognising the fact that these ACFPE initiatives have had an impact on youth seeking employment, it should be noted, however, that considerable efforts remain to be made to enable young people to be better informed about the dynamics of the labour market, better oriented and better connected to applicants/private sectors in order to integrate into it, and on the other hand, to enable the PUBLIC service and integration system to better meet the needs of the labour market to promote the employability of young people in the CAR.

Therefore,it is appropriate to seize the opportunity of this project to first clearly identify the needs in terms of capacity building of the ACFPE as well as the axes of improvementofits current system of training and integration of young people (awareness and vocational guidance, support in entrepreneurship, training of trainers, placem (in internships and apprenticeships, payment of allowances and coordination between statestructures, the private sector and training operators)and in addition, highlight the lessons learned and good practices resulting from the initiatives carried out by the ACFPE, which are able to contribute to the process of revision and harmonization of pedagogical skills standards, organization and management of the centers. Thus, theseaxes will lead to the development of a strategic plan for strengthening the capacities of the ACFPE which will allow and a better articulation of the interventions of the different actors according to their added value and the effects of levers identified, this can open the prospect of scaling up the initiatives.

It is with this in mind that a mixed diagnosis (internal and external) of the overall support system for vocational training and the integration of young people into the labour market, accompanied by lessons learned and recommendations for the strengthening of the ACFPE, is required.

The profile sought for this diagnosis is an individual consultant national, to facilitate and coordinate this analysis with the ACFPE teams.

Objectives:

Conduct a SWOT analysis of ACFPE’s support system for vocational training and integration of young people into the labour market in order to formulate lessons learned and recommendations for its strengthening and scaling up.

Specifically, it is a question of evaluating:

1. The organizational strengths and weaknesses of the ACFPE (a-Human resources capacities & management system, b- Monitoring and Evaluation system; c-Coordination of centers for the mobilization of financial and material resources/equipment; e-Partnerships/Cooperation with employers & national and international partners; etc);
2. The quality of the services provided by the ACFPE/ ARFPE [1] (business space, awareness and career guidance, entrepreneurship support, internship and apprenticeship placement, etc.) in relation to the expectations of young people and economic actors (training offer and programs; organization of teaching, preparation for employment and apprenticeship, etc.) ;
3. The methods used for the production and dissemination of the theoretical content produced and used by the ACFPE in the context of initial, continuing and alternance training as well as the methods used for the production and dissemination of such content
4. The decentralization of the ACFPE system to the regional branches: empowerment of structures, profit-opening and empowerment of staff; links with local private actors;
5. The synergy of action between the ACFPE and other national training structures (public, private and confessional);
6. The accessibility of services provided by ACFPE, particularly to vulnerable youth, as well as the capacity of ACFPE staff to provide services to marginalized populations. Particular attention will be paid to gender issues in a transversal way.[1] ACFPE regional agencies

Expected Results:

• The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the structure in connection with each of its missions are listed on a summary document;
• Lessons learned and good practices from the previous implementation of each initiative linked to the above sectors/areas are formulated;
• Clearrecommendations are made to assist in the strengthening and/or scaling up of initiatives;
• Priority actions for the strengthening or scaling up of each initiative are identified and evaluated financially. An action plan addressingthe problems identified, the appropriate capacity-building approach, the estimated cost of this activity, the time frame for implementation of this activity and the person responsible for the implementation of this activity.

Mission of the consultant:

For the realization of this diagnosis and for the expected results, it will be recruited an individual consultant whose work will consist in:

• Comprehensively identify the initiatives developed within the ACFPE to support vocational training and the integration of young people into the labour market in connection with the private sector;
• Develop a clear methodology for evaluating these initiatives including, among others, the data collection method, the targets, the tools to be used, the data processing method and the various expected products;
• Organize and coordinate data collection with ACFPE services and other resource persons;
• Ensure the processing of the data collected;
• Produce interim reports incorporating recommendations and an Operational Action Plan (AOP)
• Organize and facilitate the restitution sessions of the works;
• Produce the final report with recommendation and a DTP to be submitted to the consortium and the ACFPE.

Methodology

The consultant will propose a methodology for conducting this mission. However, the methodology will have to include, among other things:

• A documentary review: mandates of the services, annual objectives, activity reports and any other relevant documents;
• Individual interviews with directors, heads of departments, possibly heads of regionalagencies, representatives of the private sector, training and integration actors and with resource persons;
• Groups of young people in training and young job seekers (salaried or self-employed);
• Semi-structured interviews with beneficiaries of the initiatives concerned;

Duration:

The proposed duration is a maximum of 30 days.

The 30 days include the trip to the project area as well as the activities of preparation and analysis of documents, preparation of field surveys, interviews and information gathering, drafting of the report and the restitution/validation meeting of the study report.

While the consultant may make changes, the tentative and estimated timeline is as follows:

Calendar:

Activity:

Responsible persons:

3 days

Review the background and conduct a literature review

Consultant

3 days

Design and test qualitative and quantitative tools, develop survey protocols, and design survey databases.

Consultant in collaboration with the technical committee

1 day

Training of investigators on survey protocols, data collection tools and database if necessary

Consultant

10 days

Data collection and entry

Consultant

5 days

Data analytics

Consultant

3 days

Development of a DTP/Strengthening Plan based on preliminary results

Consultant

1 day

Restitution of the first results and DTP/reinforcement plan

Consultant

2 days

Draft of the study report with recommendations & PAO

Consultant

1 day

Validation of the report and the reinforcement plan/DTP

Consultant

1 day

Integration of suggestions and comments and final report

Consultant/

Consortium team

Available:

• A proposal for a methodology (study protocol) for the conduct of the diagnosis
• A plan and budget of priority activities for the strengthening and extension of initiatives;
• The full report of the diagnosis

Format of the report:

The baseline report should be structured in accordance with the following guidelines:

• Cover page, list of acronyms
• A table of contents that identifies page numbers for the main content areas of the report.
• The summary (1 to 2 pages) should be a clear and concise stand-alone document that gives readers the essential content of the 1- or 2-page diagnostic report, pre-visualizing the main points in order to allow readers to build a mental framework for organizing and understanding the detailed information contained in the report. In addition, the summary helps readers determine the main findings and recommendations of the report (DTP summary)
• Methodology: sampling method including the strengths and weaknesses of the method used, inclusion of stakeholders and staff, approximate schedule of activities, description of any statistical analysis undertaken, including rationale and software package used. The discussion of any random sampling (if used) should include details on how random respondents were identified and invited to participate. This section should also address the constraints and limitations of the data collection process and rigour.
• Results: Think about how best to organize this based on expected results and DTP;
• Annexes: data collection instruments in French; list of stakeholder groups with number and type of interactions. Statement of work, interview protocols developed and used, all datasets can be provided in electronic format, all required photos, participant profiles or other special documents needed.

Qualification and experience of the consultant:

• An in-depth mastery of the legal and institutional framework,business organisation, public administration organisation and a good knowledge of the socio-economic and political context of the Community;
• The consultant, identified, will have an academic training in the field and will be able to justify a university study in social and legal sciences or businessmanagement, public administration, or any related and relevant training;
• Proven/previous experience in the production of professional reports;
• Relevant and proven professional experience in carrying out similar studies;
• A command of French.

Application file:

Applications must include:

• A letter of intent.
• A technical proposal explaining the understanding of the TODs, the proposed approach and methodology for conducting the diagnosis including sampling if applicable, a detailed schedule of activities.
• A detailed budget in Excel format.
• The consultant’s CV with references.
• Annexes: similar work if possible.