Iraq: CfP Reforming Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Iraq

Call for Proposals from Individual Consultant

End of Project Evaluation Expert(s)

Project: Reforming Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Iraq

Reference:IRQ/CFP/19/21

Number of openings:One or more evaluation expert(s). A team may apply under one proposal but each individual will be contracted on an Individual Consultancy (IC) contract

Closing Date:04 December 2019 (time: 18h00 Baghdad local time)

Location:Iraq (missions to Baghdad and Erbil)

Type of Contract:Individual Consultancy (IC) Contract

Expected Start Date:Early December, 2019 (tentative)

Dear Sir/Madam,

UNESCO Iraq Office is inviting written proposals from experienced consultant for the work assignment described in (Annex A).

Your written proposal and any supporting documents must be in English and should include at minimum the following parts:

A Technical Proposal; should consist of:

a) A description of your proposed approach and methodology for undertaking the assignment (3 pages only);

b) Work plan, including description of key deliverables/ milestones (in Gantt chart)

c) An up-to-date curriculum vitae/s based on P11 form (Annex B);

Other documents:

· UNESCO's vendor information form (Annex C); and to provide us with official letter from your bank (to be stamped) with bank account details in order to create vendor for you in our system.

The bank account details to be included in the bank letter:

BANK NAME, ACCOUNT NAME, ACCOUNT NO, SWIFT CODE, IPAN, ACCOUNT TYPE, BRANCH CODE, BRANCH NAME

• Please send us clear copy of the passport.

· Declaration of Compatibility of the Professional Status (Annex D) - to be filled and returned to UNESCO as part of submission;

· Price Schedule Form (Annex E) – to be filled and returned to UNESCO as part of submission;

· List of work assignments and/or three (3) contacts as references (Annex F) – to be filled and returned to UNESCO as part of submission.

· Complete the BSAFE security training online link: https://training.dss.un.org/course/category/6

(the BSAFE training certificate to be submit with the proposal documents)

UNESCO places great emphasis on ensuring that the objectives of the work assignment, as described in the Terms of Reference, are met. Accordingly, in evaluating the proposals for the assignment, attention will focus first and foremost on the technical elements. From those proposals deemed suitable in terms of the criteria in the Terms of Reference, UNESCO shall select the proposal that offers the Organisation best value for money.

NB. UNESCO will evaluate the proposed fee against UNESCO’s standard rates for similar assignments.

Terms of Reference

End of Project Evaluation

Project: Reforming Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Iraq

1. Background

1.1 The Iraqi Technical and Vocational Education and Training system comprises both formal and non-formal components administered by different government ministries.

1.2 Vocational preparatory education is provided to secondary students by the MoE in Iraq and KR-I. Vocational education is offered in 3-year programmes (equivalent to years 10, 11 and 12) in vocational schools and institutes. Due to capped numbers, a very small percentage of vocational education graduates are eligible for entry to tertiary technical education in the polytechnic universities and technical universities. In Iraq, there were 315 vocational education institutions. The total number of all vocational students enrolled in specialist vocational programmes was just over 50,000 in 2016-2017. In the Kurdistan Region-Iraq (KR-I), there were 33 vocational schools and 28 institutes (for a total of 61 institutions). The total number of students enrolled in all three years of the programme in 2015-2016 was nearly 8,000.

The MoE is responsible for establishing and managing vocational schools and has responsibility for elaboration of the educational policy; planning and monitoring of implementation; curriculum development; management of teachers and other educational personnel; educational research and innovation; development of standards for vocational guidance and counselling; development of standards for assessment and examinations; and coordination and cooperation with local, national and international partners and stakeholders.

The General Directorates of Education in the 18 governorates are in charge of the delivery of educational services, teacher training and employment, rehabilitation and maintenance of schools, and coordination with the Provincial Education Committees. There are also Education Offices at the district level.

1.3 The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA) runs a large number of training centres in specialised centres all over the country. In Iraq, there are 38 MoLSA training centres with an average annual MoLSA cohort size of 16,659. In KR-I, there are 7 MoLSA training centres with annual enrolment of approximately 1,500 learners. It is responsible for all aspects of labour market training delivery and management in a large number of training centres workshops in specialised centres all over the country.

1.4 Technical Education is provided by Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR) through the Technical Institutes which offer two-year programmes leading to a technical diploma and the Polytechnic Universities which offer 4-year programme leading to a technical Bachelor (BA, B.Sc. and B.Eng.) In Iraq, there are four technical universities with 29 institutes and 16 colleges (for a total of 45 institutions) with an annual admission of approximately 30,000 students. In KR-I, there are three polytechnic universities with a total of 36 institutes and colleges, and a total estimated annual enrolment of approximately 12,000 students.

The MoHESR sets higher education policy and supervises the administration and organisation of the higher education system. In KR-I, the MoHESR also administers Polytechnic Universities and Technical Institutes.

1.5 A number of other ministries and institutions such as the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, and the Ministry of Oil either operate institutes or run vocational courses dedicated to different purposes and target groups.

1.6 The Government of Iraq has strongly established traditions and institutional arrangements that define how the different strands of the TVET system are managed. Government rules and regulations tend to be rigid and based on highly centralised approaches to management with little autonomy devolved to more local levels. Furthermore, management procedures often lack transparency and are not sufficiently well developed to serve the TVET planning and decision-making process. There is lack of coordination between the different ministries operating in the TVET sector with regard to policy setting and strategy development. The private sector, social partners and civil society are largely absent from the TVET sector and there are not appropriate mechanisms to facilitate their participation.

1.7 Besides a dysfunctional governance structure, the TVET system in Iraq suffers from many years of insufficient policy development and limited budget allocation. Some symptoms of the current situation are poor and obsolete educational infrastructure and equipment, irrelevance of curricula in relation to labour market requirements, lack of substantial practical training, fragmentation of responsibilities into different ministries, very low quality of teachers with no updated knowledge and skills, decreasing number of students, weak or inexistent vocational career guidance orientation and counselling, inadequate opportunities for youth and adults in life-long professional education and training, weak organizational structures and partnerships, and inefficient resource mobilization, distribution and utilization.

1.8 In order to address these issues, over the past few years the Government of Iraq (GoI) has shown renewed interest in improving the TVET system and adopted several national policies that support the expansion and improvement of TVET opportunities. In 2010, the Cabinet established the TVET Permanent Advisory Higher Committee headed by the Deputy Head of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Commission. This committee includes high ranking representatives of the line ministries (MoE, MoHESR, MoLSA, and MoP) and private sector but it plays only an advisory role with no decision-making power or authority and not allocated budget.

1.9 To support the GoI on these on-going efforts, UNESCO with funds of the European Union is currently implementing the project ´Reforming TVET in Iraq´ which aims at increasing access to and improving the quality, relevance and responsiveness of the TVET system to the needs of the labour market and transform TVET in a key driver for Iraq’s economic growth, increased employment and improved social cohesion.

TVET is a complex policy area, situated at the intersection of education, training, social, economic and labour market policies. It is expected to address a range of issues such as the present and future skill demands of the economy; individual citizens’ needs for short- and long-term training and lifelong learning opportunities, employability and personal development; and society’s requirement for active citizens among others. As such, successful TVET systems and their reforms should be based on the implementation of a whole series of interconnected policies, rather than a single-policy solution.

Accordingly, UNESCO has developed a multi-dimensional Reform Project with four specific objectives:

§ Specific Objective 1: TVET quality system improved and revised governance model operationalised

§ Specific Objective 2: a modern, demand-driven TVET curricula supported by comprehensive interpretation of the current and expected future needs of the labour market

§ Specific Objective 3: improved capacities and competencies of TVET stakeholders

§ Specific Objective 4: improved ‘school to work transition’ of TVET graduates.

The Reform Project was originally a 3-year project (2015-2018) but has experienced substantial delays in implementation however is demonstrably back on track resulting it being awarded a no-cost extension until February 2020.

Your proposal should be submitted by e-mail no later than close of business on or before 04 December 2019 (18h00 Baghdad local time).

E-mail size should not exceed 10 MB. UNESCO accepts receiving group (or series) of emails in case, the size of attachments may exceed 10 MB.

For submissions, these two e-mail addresses should be used: baghdad.proc@unesco.org and r.robertshaw@unesco.org

To ease the email tracing and facilitate quick processing, kindly use the following script “Submission of Individual Consultancy Proposal (IRQ/CFP/19/21): TVET end of project evaluation” in the email subject.

It is the individual’s responsibility to ensure that his/her proposal is received by the deadline.

Potential experts contacted should not treat this letter in any way as an offer. However, their proposal may form the basis for an eventual contract with UNESCO.

Any expert receiving this letter is requested to acknowledge its receipt and to indicate whether or not s/he will be submitting a proposal. For this purpose, and for any requests for clarification, please contact: Rory Robertshaw at r.robertshaw@unesco.org and Bilal Al Hamaydah at b.hamaydah@unesco.org

ONLY selected expert will receive further notification and correspondences.

Thank you for your eventual interest in this UNESCO assignment. We look forward to receiving your proposal.

Mr. Rory Robertshaw

Education Programme Specialist