Consultant (Vocational Training Expert)
for Workforce Development Program
in Karachi

Relevant 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 in skills development sector / vocational training sector
• He/she must have vast experience and in-depth knowledge of skills development institutes working in government sector, private sector and development sector.
• Experience of conducting such skills development / vocational training related studies / research / survey is a prerequisite
• 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, study will identify the unmet needs of semi skilled and 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 supply side analysis of vocational training opportunities available to the youth of the aforementioned three localities in semi-government, private sector, philanthropy sector, and development sector, and categorize them to identify, with whom USAID can collaborate in workforce development interventions.

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 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: 

• ILO Publications for assessment of vocational training institutes
• Reports of USAID Job Project
• Vocational Training / Skills Development related studies / reports developed by various organizations

1. Identify and chalk out the available formal  opportunities of workforce development opportunities / vocational training opportunities for youth (men and women), which could include vocational training centers working in the semi government sector, private sector, industry, and in the development sectors, where inhabitants of the above three localities can avail this facility. The details related to vocational trades, number of seats, fee structure, location, current utilization factor, current staffing (technical), etc, will be required. (Since the inhabitant of these three localities can reach to the other end of Karachi in one hour (approx), all the facilities working in Karachi or in periphery shall come under the scope of this study. In order to conduct this study, the consultant shall contact Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority - TEVTA (former Education Department – Technical Wing), skills development council, and other registration bodies to get lists of registered and accredited training centers) for profit as well as not for profit) working in Karachi.
2. Explore the industrial and service sector organizations, where apprenticeship / on-job training services are offered under some structured arrangement, for men and women, combined or separately.
3.  The consultant shall categorize and classify all the available choices in consultation with USAID Firms Project, on the predetermined criteria, to finalize the training centers for USAID program assistance. The list of centers for men and women will be provided separately.
4. The consultant will identify the current skills development / vocational training opportunities, gaps, suggest training programs and possible avenues for home-based self or waged employment opportunities, where a woman can develop products or can provide any service, while staying at home.
5. Most of the women get employed in the informal sector such as embroidery, tailoring, food processing, beauty parlors etc. For such trades, identify the possible opportunities for skills upgrades, where women are trapped in low-skills-low-return employment.   
6.  Identify the needs of enterprise development training for women.
7. List down the NGOs/trust/other development sector organizations, who temporarily or permanently engaged in imparting vocational training services to youth (men and women). Moreover, chalk out the details of their training program.
8. Expert will conduct a FGD, in close coordination of team leader, with the representative of training service providers, to assess their major deficiencies and the reason behind the unwillingness of the youth (men and women) to join these training programs, and the facilitation that can help them to join vocational training program.
9. The consultant shall highlight the weak areas of the service providers and potential area of any possible support and facilitation by USAID to strengthen their capacity for better and increased utilization, effectiveness and efficiency.
10. Vocational Training Expert will interact frequently with labor market experts for sharing of qualitative and quantitative data & information in order to be on same page regarding employment opportunities and related vocational training opportunities.
11. The Workforce Development / Vocational Training Expert will write down a comprehensive report (section of main report), on the basis of secondary and primary research, addressing all aforementioned aspects of supply side of workforce development / vocational training along with findings, analysis, and 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)   List of documents, consulted for secondary research

b)   A report (section of main report)   that provide the detail of the workforce development / vocational training service providers of Karachi, offering courses for youth of poor and lower middle segments. The report encompass their current situation, infrastructure and facilities available, courses offered, gaps and deficiencies, suitability for the youth of three mentioned localities, scope of USAID assistance, and other facilitation which can help youth to join any skills development program.

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