TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR SERVICE CONTRACTING
Applicant Organizations / Private Sector and Non-Governmental Organizations (National / International)Assignment / To develop a pilot programme in order to reduce overall vulnerability of the most marginalized Syrian refugees and Jordanians youth (16-30 years) affected by the refugee crises with access to quality Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and facilitating meaningful and sustainable employment opportunities.
Location / Jordan
Duration / 9 months
Reporting to / Head of Social Inclusion and Policy, UNICEF
Second Reporting to / Deputy Representative, UNICEF
1. Context
Jordan is one of the youth countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and even in the world, with 70.7% of the population below the age of 30 years and 61.9% in the productive age between 15 to 64 years. Youth between the age of 10 to 24 and 15-24 years make up to 30.9% and 19.8% of Jordan’s population respectively (Census 2015). There is immense “demography widow of opportunity” with regard to reduction of the ratio of country dependent population compared with the adult productive age population.
Five years into the Syrian civil war, Jordan has accepted about 1.26 million refugees amounting to 13% of the total population (Census 2015), of whom more than 650,000 are officially registered (UNHCR) into its borders. Out of the registered Syrian refugees about 83% live in the host communities, approximately 45% are working age adults (18 to 59 years of age) and more than 19% are youth (15 to 24 years of age). This situation poses an opportunity as well as serious challenge depending on the investment made in all the young people living in Jordan.
In February 2016, the Jordan Compact is agreed upon between the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the International Community that outlines a new holistic approach to deal with the Syrian crises but also to build Jordanian’s resilience. The central pillar of “The Jordan Compact” is to turn the Syrian Refugee crises into a development opportunity that attracts new investments and creating jobs for Jordanians and Syrian refugees in Jordan. This provides unique opportunity to improve on youth unemployment situation in Jordan and provide livelihood opportunity for young Jordanians as well as Syrian refugees. Since April 2016, the Government of Jordan has announced a waiver of fees for work permits for Syrian refugees (including associated processing fees).The government has also agreed not to penalize refugees for working without work permits for the next months, to give employers time to legalize their workers. This is a positive indicator on how Syrian refugees can be included in all livelihood and employment activities in the future.
2. Situation of Youth Employment in Jordan
Generally, the labour market position of youth differs from adults. Youth are more likely to be among the working poor than adults, at higher risk of unemployment, underemployment, or working in jobs with low earnings. Pervasive unemployment remain critical in Jordan; over the last three years, it is averaging around 12.6%. Youth ages 15-24 years is almost half of the unemployed and youth unemployment rate is 31%, which is among the highest in the world.
Jordan has one of the lowest female labour force participation rates in the world. Because of cultural, as well as institutional factors (regulations), less than 10 per cent of women in their working ages are actually employed. Underemployment pose another challenge. In particular, well-educated youth find it difficult to enter the labour market. There is mismatch between the quality of jobs and the expectations of the high level education Jordanian that resulted in high number of voluntarily unemployed people and emigration to overseas. There seems to be a reluctance among the working-age population to enter the labour market (the so called ‘discouraged worker effect’).
The slowdown in the GDP growth is directly impacting the labour productivity growth and employment growth at the same time. While the unemployment rate remains high, the fall in the employed-to-population ratio is a major cause for concern. Most of the new jobs created by the growing economic sectors (construction, manufacturing) is tend to be low skill and low wage. Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is one of the most neglected sectors in Jordan. There is a huge skills mismatch and insufficient emphasis in education programmes on vocational training. Vocational training initiatives have gone undeveloped and lack of sufficient support of small and medium enterprise.
Considering high-youth unemployment in Jordan, it is critical to move beyond supply side interventions (skills training, job search and placement support, etc.) and focus on demand-side intervention including private sector engagement, increase spending on youth employment (Active Labour Market Programmes), access to credit and market etc. There is also need to conduct strong diagnostics to design interventions for youth in low-income groups or areas.
To date, there is no conclusive evidence that the influx of Syrian refugees is influencing Jordan’s formal employment or negatively impacting formal labour market outcomes. On the other hand, there is evidence that Jordanians are significantly crowded out by the Syrian refuges in the informal sectors i.e., construction, wholesale and retail sectors[1]. According to ILO study in three select northern governorates, there is increase in the unemployment rate of Jordanians from 14.5 to 22.1 percent between 2011 and 2014, and particularly the increase from 19 to 35 percent unemployment among the youth (15-24 years), which makes a case for ‘loss of opportunities” for Jordanians from possible employment opportunities in select occupations crowded by Syrian refugees. Having said this, Jordan’s unemployment has been a chronic problem and remains a structural rather than a cyclical phenomenon.
3. UNICEF engagement on creating sustainable jobs for Syrian and Jordanian Youth
Since 2014, UNICEF Jordan placed an increased emphasis on innovating to accelerate results and assist in reaching the most marginalized and vulnerable children and youth in Jordan. Integrated and cost-efficient approaches are being scaled up to reach more children in need despite limited resources available.
Youth employment is recognized as a key pillar in the Government’s strategic framework for employment in Jordan and is addressed in education, social protection and labour strategies. Most projects include interventions in skills development, school-to-work transition, foster job creation and work opportunities for youth. Considering high-youth unemployment for Jordanians and in order to improve the overall wellbeing of the most vulnerable Syrian refugee families, UNICEF will apply mix of strategies for youth employment opportunities through public and private partnership in the field of technical and vocational training, youth entrepreneurship, cash for work/entrepreneurship, sports for development and recreational infrastructure in select municipalities.
“UNICEF goal is to reduce overall vulnerability of the most marginalized Syrian refugees and Jordanians affected by the refugee crises with access to quality Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and facilitate access to meaningful and sustainable employment opportunities through public-private partnership that can be scaled through the use of technology. UNICEF aims specific sectors and industries that would be targeted over the next 3 years to train and place approximately 10,000 vulnerable youth (16-30 years age) in employment and livelihood opportunities – both Syrian (70%) and Jordanian with a target gender mix of 60% male and 40% female”.
UNICEF is engaged on:
§ Supply side interventions: Technical and vocational skills training through private sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs/INGOs), entrepreneurship capacity development, and scholarships for private and public colleges (targeting 70% Syrians and 30% Jordanians).
§ Matching related infrastructure and framework: Labour market monitoring and information system, analysis and studies, training database for private sector and job search and placement services, career guidance and coaching.
§ Demand-side interventions: Private sector engagement, job creation through engagement in selected sectors for most vulnerable Syrian and Jordanian youth, cash for entrepreneurship and incubation of start-ups, internships and placements.
The sectors prioritised to engage with private companies for job creation include engineering, construction, automotive, hospitality, catering and food processing, garment manufacturing and retail.
4. Objectives
In order to achieve UNICEF long term goal to reduce overall vulnerability of the most marginalized Syrian refugees and Jordanians affected by the refugee crises, UNICEF aims to develop a pilot programme for the 500 most marginalized and vulnerable youth (16-30 years age, 70 Syrians and 30% Jordanians) with access to quality Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and facilitate access to meaningful and sustainable employment opportunities through public-private partnership
5. Scope of Work
5.1 Mapping of jobs in select sectors
The partner is expected to analyse the local economy, and its existing network with the private sector and identify select industries and small businesses having potential to realistically absorb the number of 500 candidates provided with short term technical and vocational skills.
The following industries are proposed for the programme targeting for job creation; engineering, construction, automotive, hospitality, catering & food processing, garment manufacture and retail. Partner is expected to review and identify additional sectors and industries.
5.2 Targeting of most marginalized and vulnerable Youth (16-30 years)
To develop a targeting mechanism to identify the 500 most marginalized and vulnerable youth (16-30 years age). This system will be based on UNICEF targeting mechanism for Child Cash Grant programme, referral pathways through UNICEF partners (Maakani programme) and national partners (i.e., National Aid Fund, Ministry of Social Development, Zakat Fund etc.). UNICEF will facilitate with the list of most marginalized and vulnerable youth, however assessment for the eligibility will be carried out by the partner.
5.3 Short-term technical and vocational skill development programme
To develop short-term technical and vocational skill development programme for 500 candidates (youth aged 16-30 years) to operate safely and effectively in the workplace. These programmes will be 3 and 6 months duration. In the beginning, 90% candidates will be enrolled in 3 months programme and 10% in 6 months programme. On completion of 3 months programme, additional 10% will be provided with an opportunity to continue for 6 months programme. In total, 80% will benefit from 3 months programme and 20% from 6 months programme. Further, there will be quota for 60% male and 40% female in each programme. In addition to technical skills, individuals would have an induction with study skills as well as employability/team work skills integrated into the training to ensure that they are equipped with all the skills employers expect. Certificates (Local or International) would be issued after completion of the training programme.
Following programme duration, teaching hours and certificate outcome is proposed:
Programme Duration / Teaching Hours / Certification Outcome3 Month / 300 / City & Guilds Proficiency Skills Certificate or Local Training Certificate (BAU) or internationally recognized certificate
6 months / 600 / Local Training Diploma (BAU) or Level 2 Internationally recognized certificate
5.4 Facilitate access to meaningful and sustainable employment
Key Performance Indicator for the pilot project is 80% trained have meaningful and sustainable employment. Therefore, it is pivotal to ensure a match between the skills developed during the training programme and those required by the labour market (identified sectors, industries and small businesses) exist. Also, partner is expected to engage with industry representatives to review and develop meaningful curricula and pathways. UNICEF expects employers are included in the curriculum design to ensure both technical and soft skills are developed to the required standard during the training programme.
Employers will be encouraged to be involved with the trainees during the training period as this will give confidence to both the employer and the learner and facilitate a smooth transition into the work role. A web-based tool, Learning Pathway will be deployed to:
· support the candidates transition to the work place and ensure transfer of college based learning is effective
· support the first line managers at the company through the on-boarding process
· continue to drive learning in the workplace and embed desired behaviours
· gather data for ROI calculations
· provide visibility for all parties including monitoring of key milestones identified for the project
5.5 Learning pathway for higher level qualification
Considering that number of jobs available to trained candidates will be entry level and not necessarily seen as attractive, it is suggested that a pathway is provided that includes on-job-training and progression through to ‘higher’ level qualifications that could lead to the completion of a Level 3 programme after 3 - 4 years. This would allow them to access Higher National Diplomas and Degrees as well. It is not expected that many will actually take this pathway but the fact that it is available is likely to make the initial placement more acceptable, both to the youth and their parents. It will also fuel motivation and improve retention contributing to the overall success of the project. Further study would not be funded as such and partner organization is expected to support for micro finance or other scholarship opportunities. The progression pathway cost is expected to be minimized through the use of technology to drive learning in the workplace. The benefit is that the learners will continue to be engaged and develop their competence, there can be support for line managers, a cost effective coaching, mentoring and visibility of activity and results during the period on on-job-training. Certificates (Local or International) would be issued after completion of the wok based training to encourage retention and ensure they have sufficient time to develop competence.
5.6 Monitoring, Evaluation and Knowledge Management
UNICEF will develop a real time monitoring and evaluation system for documentation of the process of pilot project and possible scale up. UNICEF will directly implement this component, however expect partner organization to factor it in the proposed project. Also, partner organization has to develop M&E framework for the project.
7. Supervision
Head social inclusion and policy and Deputy Representative (UNICEF) will provide direct supervision on the assignment.
10. Official Travel Involved
Travel within Jordan will be required by the national partner.
11. Desired Qualifications, Specialized Knowledge or Experience
§ Private and Non-Governmental Organizations (National/International) with at least 8 years of experience in youth employment programme with focus on vocational and technical skill development.