Consultant (Labor Market Expert
-- Wage Employment) for
Workforce Development Program in Karachi

Relevant Experience:

 Labor Market Expert – Wage Employment should have the following qualification and experience: 

• He/she must have Masters degree in  MBA / Development Economics /Social Sciences or B.Sc. in Engineering
• At least 10 years of progressive professional experience related to sector development and / or labor market
• He/she must have vast experience and in-depth understanding of labor market and various business / service sectors
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills 

Job Description:

A.  General Summary & Objective of Consultancy. Karachi being the largest city with over 15 million residents faces a variety of complex challenges, resulting in a multifold increase in crime in the recent years. A major contributor to a diminishing security situation in Karachi is the unemployment of youth. It can be argued that the unemployment, in part, is due to lack of the right skills and not because of non availability of employment opportunities.  Once the youth is provided with the right vocational skills, it can help them in obtaining jobs, locally or abroad and they could also enter into self employment using these skills.

In this backdrop, USAID Firms Project intends to undertake a workforce development program in the following three troubled localities of Karachi to provide skills development opportunities to youth that can help them secure employment in various sectors facing shortage of labor.

• Sultanabad
• Lyrai
• Korangi

For developing strategy and implementation plan, the project intends to collect quantitative as well as qualitative information and data about the demand side and supply side through a structured study. The study will encompass the prevailing situation and quantum of unemployment, skills and education level of unemployed youth, and major restraining factor to acquire vocational skills. On other side, the study will identify the unmet needs of semi skilled / skilled labor of various industrial and service sector as well as available job opportunities in self employment sector and in labor market of other countries, especially Middle East.

This objective of this consultancy / SOW is to perform the demand side analysis of wage employment opportunities available to the youth of these localities in major industrial sectors as well as service sector of Karachi by undertaking secondary and primary research.

B.  Principal Duties & Responsibilities.  Under this consultancy, the consultant will perform all of the tasks and activities, clearly mentioned in this document or implied, which are required to complete this study in an effective way.

      The Consultant(s) shall use his/her education, experience, and specific understanding on the subject matter, to accomplish the following:

1. The consultant shall read, but are not limited to, the following material to fully understand the work specified under this SOW, to collect the necessary information and data, and to enrich the analysis and final report: 

• District Profile and Sector Assessment Report of USAID Firms Project (Karachi District)
• Reports of USAID Job Project
• Various organizations and government agencies undertook the sector studies, of various sectors in previous years, which must be consulted to gauge the sector’s employment current status and potential.

1. Estimate the employment opportunities for youth (men and women) in at least ten major industrial / business sectors of Karachi such as fisheries, leather, garment and textile, marble and granite, etc.) The list shall be finalized in consultation with USAID Firms Project. The consultant shall take into account the current and future growth of the sectors, export potential, government and donors policies about sector development with the ultimate objective of evaluating the labor absorption capacity.
2. Arrange and conduct the focus groups, at least one for each sector, with the sector players, sectors stakeholders, including office bearers of sector associations. In FGDs, the various issues of employment and its connection with workforce development shall be explored, including the performance of sector specific vocational training institutes. The objectives of FGD is to identify the job opportunities, where major industrial & business sectors are facing shortage of people with the right skill set, along with underlying reasons. In these FGD, the Expert will also explore the on-job training / apprenticeship opportunities available in the sectors
   1. A labor market expert (wage employment) is required to explore the growing trends in service sector for men and women, to identify emerging employment opportunities in various areas, including multinational, national and small scale enterprises.
   2. The expert will explore the emerging employment opportunities for women in formal and informal sectors those were once considered as men specific, but due to socio-economic changes in the country, now women are also employed there.
   3. For service sector, three FGDs shall be conducted, with the representation of respective associations, academia, and other stakeholders.Women will be given appropriate representation in each FGD. The team leader will assist labor market expert (wage employment) in arranging and conducting these focus groups.
   4. 7.      Labor Market Expert (wage employment) will interact frequently with Vocational Training Expert for sharing of qualitative and quantitative data & information in order to be on same page regarding employment opportunities and related vocational training opportunities.
   5. Write down a comprehensive report (section of main report), on the basis of secondary and primary research, addressing all aforementioned aspects of demand side of employment, along with findings, analysis, recommendations. 

Deliverables.  The substance of, findings on, and recommendations with respect to the above mentioned tasks shall be delivered by Consultant(s) in a written deliverable in the format presented to the Consultant by the Team Lead. 

• A report (section  of main report) encompassing the wage employment opportunities available for youth (men & women) in industrial / business /service sectors, where businesses are facing shortage of semi skilled / skilled labor with right skill set. The report will highlight the name of trades / areas, quantum of labor force shortage, underlying reasons of shortage, current skills development facilities, duration required, current gaps and deficiencies, scope of USAID assistance, and other facilitation which can help youth to acquire these job opportunities. 

The reports must provide findings, analysis and recommendations separately for men and women.