Foundation For Partnerships Initiatives In The Niger Delta (PIND)- Request For Proposal For The Engagement Of Organizations To Conduct Technical Vocational And Soft Skills Training

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FOUNDATION FOR PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVES IN THE NIGER DELTA (PIND)
YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM (YEP)-GRANTS PROGRAM
REQUEST FOR APPLICATION-ENGAGEMENT OF ORGANIZATIONS TO CONDUCT TECHNICAL VOCATIONAL AND SOFT SKILLS TRAINING IN ABIA, AKWA IBOM, RIVERS & DELTA STATES

BACKGROUND
PIND is a Nigerian non-profit Foundation established in 2010 to support a portfolio of socio-economic development programs in Niger Delta in order to improve standards of living of communities in the region. PIND supports projects in collaboration with a diverse range of donor partners including bilateral and multi-lateral aid agencies, federal and state government agencies in Nigeria, private companies and foundations. With an overarching goal of increasing income and employment in the region, PIND’s strategy is hinged on 2 main programs supported by 3 key enablers and these are:

• Economic Development: Facilitate inclusive, sustainable and diversified economic growth enabled by improved analysis, advocacy and capacity building of market actors.
• Peace Building: Strengthen conflict management systems and capacities for enabling peace & economic growth, utilizing analysis & advocacy to address constraints to peace.
• Enablers: PIND’s program delivery is enabled by an integrated approach that encompasses capacity building, advocacy, communications, gender and social inclusion.

In response to the challenge posed by the very high rates of unemployment or underemployment in the Niger Delta, particularly amongst the youth population, PIND started the implementation of the Niger Delta Youth Employment Program (NDYEP) with funding from Ford Foundation in the last quarter of 2017. The pilot phase of NDYEP was implemented over two years in Abia, Akwa Ibom and Rivers States with over 4,000 youths trained in sector specific skills with most of them linked to employment or supported to start own enterprises. In 2020 with a labour market assessment (LMA), the program expanded to Delta state while scaling up beyond the pilot phase in the 3 states.

The Youth Employment Program (YEP) adopts the NDYEP piloted model and framework which seeks to map the ecosystem of skills development, analyse opportunities for employment creation and develop models of youth job readiness or workforce development. The YEP targets disadvantaged young men and women, develops their skills in specific sectors and provides them the opportunity to secure sustainable jobs or start own enterprises. The approach involves innovative and qualitative training that prepares selected youth with market-relevant skills, and supports their transitioning into waged employment or self-employment/entrepreneurship. The technical vocational training focuses on sectors such as Agriculture, Building Construction, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Services.

The priority sectors were among those strongly recommended from the LMA in the pilot states and in Delta State. In Delta state priority will be given to organizations that can accommodate special interests of youths from the coastal communities.

Against this background therefore, PIND is seeking to engage institutions/ organizations who are competent with requisite training facilities in any of the four (4) States stated above to provide technical vocational training and soft skills training under the Youth Employment Program in 2023.

Some of the identified skill areas for vocational training and enterprise development or job linkage are shown in the table 1 below:

Table 1: Sectors & Skill Areas

Note: Interested Institutions/Organizations are expected to apply for only one sector listed in the above table; however application can cover more skill areas within the organization’s competence.

Purpose of the Assignment
The engaged institution or organization will be required to provide technical vocational and soft skills training to selected youth participants under the PIND’s Youth Employment Program in any of the four States including youths from selected Coastal communities in Delta State. The technical training will be in their area of competence, Agriculture; Building Construction, ICT, and Services in skill sets not limited to those identified in table 1 above.

The organization will develop a structured vocational curriculum that will enhance the skillset of the participants. The selected institution should also have the capacity to deliver soft-skills training to strengthen participant’s mindset and behavior. At the end of the vocational and soft-skills training; selected institutions will be responsible to link successful participants with opportunities for employment or support them to start their own enterprise as this is a key component of the NDYEP model adopted on the program.

Scope of Work & Specific Activities
The key activities to be covered under the engagement are as follows:

(1) Curriculum Development & Work Planning: For any of the selected sectors (Agriculture; Building Construction, ICT or Services, the institution will develop or adapt already developed curriculum in the vocational trade area selected. The curriculum should meet minimum national trade skill requirement and should be sufficient to enhance capacity of participants and career development in the selected trade. The curriculum should span a training period of about 6 months and should include both classroom theoretical and hands-on practical training. The curriculum should be simplified for the understanding of young school leavers who will be part of the target participants.

(2) Technical Vocational / Soft-Skill Training: The institution should have the capacity (competent human resources and facilities) to undertake the technical vocational training for the specified period in the selected trade. The institution should be independent and in complete or significant control of the career development process of selected participants. The training team should also have the capacity to influence the positive formation of mindsets and behaviour of youth participants to support and enhance their technical vocational skills training in any of the four states. The training will last a minimum of 5 to 6 months depending on the selected trade area.

(3) Job Linkages and Enterprise Development Support: The implementing institution or organization will explore opportunities and link successful participants to waged employment. An alternate pathway for participants who seek to develop their enterprises will be supported by implementing organization through a structured enterprise development program. The program WILL NOT offer starter-packs to any participant or group.

(4) Report on the Assignment: The implementing institution or organization will make periodic reports on the progress of the assignment. Three (3) copies of the adapted curriculum, trainers’ manual and participants’ handbook for reference will be printed as well as 2 copies of report on the entire assignment.

Target group:

• Primary focus on young school leavers between ages 16 and 30, including the vulnerable and disadvantaged (rural, women and people with disabilities or from coastal communities).
• Existing (skills upgrade) and new youth entrants in the selected sector.
• Unemployed/underemployed youth interested in pursuing careers in the selected sectors.

The grant will support training and skills development initiatives that demonstrate current market relevance and addresses the need for certification of skills, and measurement and testing of competencies.

Who can apply? This grant is available to eligible organizations – technical and vocational education and training organizations (TVETs, Universities etc.) or others providing technical training for the selected sector, and operating in any of the 4 States in the Niger Delta region. Female Headed/Owned Organization are strongly encouraged to apply.

Proposals should demonstrate:

• Capacity/track record: Organization’s capacity, track record, networks, and other non-financial resources available to provide training and follow-on support for the selected youth including details of curriculum, assessment of competence and certification standards where applicable. Proposal should demonstrate that the proposing company/organization can handle the training and either have the requisite skills, manpower and equipment, or is linked to a partner that has.
• Linkages/partnership: Any existing or prospective connections with potential employers or programs to place youth in jobs or are able to help youth find income earning opportunities based on skills upgrade at the end of the training program.
• Outreach: The organization will propose a program to identity, profile, and train a minimum of 40 youth in selected skills, including hands-on assignments, team projects. Training will include soft skills which may be delivered by the organization or by any competent personnel hired by service provider organization.
• Organization will propose a mechanism that connects a portion of participating youth (top performers) to internships/work attachments, direct job placements and entrepreneurship.
• The organization will propose a Monitoring and Evaluation plan to track performance and impact on youth.
• Sustainability: how your organization intends to continue the program at the expiration of the grant. Organizations will be required to provide evidence of past conduct of similar projects with other partners or government institutions

Grant Size: YEP envisages that grant requests would range up to N14,500,000 (covering pre -training, training and post training support including placements) and depending also on the proposed outreach (number of youths to be trained) and proposed activities.

Please note: The grant sum for selected registered NGOs/Government Institutions will be exempted from Withholding Tax while the grant sum for Limited Liability companies and business names will be subjected to Withholding Tax.

Expected duration: We invite proposals for intensive training and post training support to youth that will be implemented with tangible results within a short period of time of 6 to 8 months.

Timeline of Work

The following timelines will apply:

DELIVERABLES

Duration & Location of Work
The institution will be engaged for a period of 6 months excluding the period for internships, enterprise development and job linkage. The selected institution will work alongside PIND Youth Employment Program team, who will be responsible for monitoring and maintaining vocational training standard.

The technical vocational training will be conducted in any of the 4 States. Candidates with technical capacity and facilities in more than one state can propose to implement the program in more than one state. Each state therefore requires a separate proposal.

QUALIFICATION
The proposed institution or organization should have experience in technical vocational training within the selected trade area with standard training facilities and competent certified facilitators.

The institution should demonstrate that the program management will be independent, and that allotted resources will be used for the project implementation without interference from existing organization structure. Experience of work in the Niger Delta region is important.

Institutions should have at least 5 years’ work experience with good analytical and report writing skills.

HOW TO APPLY
Eligible organizations are invited to submit a detailed technical and cost proposals AS SEPARATE DOCUMENTS using the template provided in the appendix 1 and 2 below, as a guide, to procurement@pindfoundation.org on or before 5pm, 3 February, 2023. Please use “Application for YEP Grant Sector Name State” (Example ‘Application for YEP Grant Building Construction Rivers State’) as the subject of your email. Note that organizations can only apply for one (1) sector; though the application could cover many related skill areas within the institutions competence. (Please refer to the table 1 on page 2).

• The technical proposal will have i) Narrative section outlining the project for which the grant is requested, the expected results and key activities (no more than 10 – 12 pages excluding attachments). Please refer to appendix 1 for guidance.
• Cost proposal (detailed budget (in Naira) and notes as applicable). Budget template is attached in Appendix 2. The financial section should also indicate any cost shares or contributions from the organization where applicable.

The proposal will be submitted electronically (in Word) while any support documents might be in PDF.

Timeline for Submission of proposals- All proposals for this round should be submitted on or before 5pm, 3 February, 2023. All applications received will be acknowledged. Any proposal received after this dateline will not be honored.

Proposal Review:
Proposals received in response to this call will be reviewed internally, and after due verifications, the most promising proposals will be selected and recommended. Successful applicants at this stage may be required to make adjustments based on outcome of the review. Successful proposals will then be recommended to the PIND Management for consideration and approval. They may approve or reject it.

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