Skills for Prosperity in South East Asia Programme (SfP-SEA) – Malaysia

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Terms of Reference (TOR) for

International Consultancy - Industrial Sectoral Situational Analysis

(Service Contract)

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1. Background

The Skills for Prosperity in South East Asia Programme (SfP-SEA) aims to contribute to increasing national capacity to achieve sustained and inclusive growth through the enhancement of skills development and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

To achieve this objective, the programme works with government agencies, employers’ organisations, trade unions, educational institutions and other partners in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines to facilitate review and reform of the countries’ skills development and TVET system strategies and policies. In the region, the SfP-SEA provides opportunities for mutual learning among the three countries and the other ASEAN nations, and beyond—not only showcasing the results of the pilots and lessons learned from the programme but also facilitating the sharing of best practices in the region and other parts of the world.

In Malaysia, the Programme focuses on increasing skills development and TVET systems’ readiness to meet the skills needs of the future of work and those of vulnerable groups, through enhancing four areas of the TVET system and delivery:

• Equity:  Inclusiveness in skills development and TVET systems
• Quality: Future-ready & coordinated skills development and TVET systems
• Relevance: Demand-driven skills and TVET/skills recognition
• Cost-Effectiveness: Improved skills/TVET financing models

The SfP Malaysia Project focuses on TVET inclusiveness, quality, relevance and readiness whilst addresses skills mismatch issues in the area of critical needs for skills development and TVET to support the industry development and socio-economic progress. It intends to assist national partners in improving policies to ensure industry-led TVET in public and private sectors and increase employment and career progress opportunities for TVET students at national and sub-national levels. The national and sub-national activities at two states, namely Sabah and Kedah, will target:

• The primary beneficiaries: youths (ages 16-25) and women; and
• Other beneficiaries (vulnerable groups):
  • Members of the B40
  • Persons with Disabilities
  • Individuals Not In Employment Education or Training (NEET)
  • Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
  • Workers in the informal economy
  • Self-employed individuals
  • individuals employed in the gig economy

Under the Relevance pillar, the SfP Malaysia Project will conduct industrial sectoral situational analysis, aiming to have in-depth understanding of business environment and labour and economic challenges and opportunities, including those related to gender quality and social inclusion, in the two selected sectors. The results of this analysis will be utilized to conduct visioning exercises to develop industry upgrading maps in close cooperation with industry partners and sector skills strategies at a later stage. These activities will contribute to establishing policy and institutional mechanisms to enhance industry engagement in TVET.

1. Objective

The objectives of the industrial sectoral situational analysis are to:

• Understand current business environment, business performance (e.g. at least in last 5 years) and growth prospects/potential of the selected sectors, namely the manufacturing (i.e., food processing industry) and construction sectors, based on several growth scenarios, including mechanization, digitalization and other technology adoption as well as green transformation in next 5 years.
• Understand the overview of structure of the respective sectors, in terms of composition of sub-sectors, the number of enterprises, supply chains, employment and occupational categories, including mapping of occupations/jobs and corresponding qualifications/certifications.
• Understand the overview of skills demand and mismatch in the selected sectors and sub-sectors.
• Obtain recommendation to fine-tune the implementation plan in order to develop effective policies and institutional mechanisms for industry engagement in TVET under the Relevance Outcome of the project.

1. Scope of Work

Under the supervision of Chief Technical Advisor and with guidance from Senior Project Officers, regional specialists of the ILO, the main responsibility of the contractor is to provide international perspectives based on experiences of other countries and lesson learned on forward-looking sectoral analysis in the research design, data analysis, and report drafting that will be prepared by national consultants and the SfP Malaysia team. The national consultants have been separately recruited to conduct field research at the national level and in two selected states, Sabah and Kedah.

The main tasks of the contractor include:

1. Initial meeting with the ILO and national consultants to agree on the overall plan and ways of working.
2. Review the interim report presented by national consultants and provide them with technical input for improving the quality of the report from international perspectives of forward-looking sectoral analysis.
3. Observe the predetermined interviews with key stakeholders.
4. Review the qualitative and quantitative analysis provided by the national consultants and provide them with technical input for improving the quality of analysis from international perspectives.
5. Review the draft strategic advice on the programme’s industry engagement plan and the implementation plan provided by national consultants and provide technical input for improving the quality of advice from international perspectives.
6. Review the preliminary draft of the final report submitted by national consultants and provide technical inputs for improving the quality of the draft report.
7. Review the draft final report presented by national consultants and submit the summary report, which include the written comments on the report and recommendation for the ILO in implementing relevant activities.

1. Methodologies

The study may apply multiple method as follows:

• Preliminary information gathering via desk / literature review.
• Quantitative research by analysing statistical data obtained from government agencies as well as survey data (if any).
• Qualitative research by engaging with industrial experts either via on-line or physical interviews.

1. Outputs

The contractor is required to produce the following outputs:

Interim Outputs (by 18 January 2021)

The written comments on the interim report submitted by national consultants in a suitable format which includes:

• Review of research method.
• Review of preliminary findings of industry and labour market analysis based on quantitative and qualitative analysis in selected industry-sectors at the national and sub-national level (Sabah and Kedah).
• Review of draft strategic advice and inputs on the project strategies.

Final Outputs (by 8 March 2021)

The final consultancy report in a suitable format which includes:

• Review of the structure of the final report
• Review of research method.
• Review of final findings of industry and labour market analysis based on quantitative and qualitative analysis in selected industry-sectors at the national and sub-national level (Sabah and Kedah).
• Review of strategic advice and inputs on the project strategies.
• Additional recommendation for the ILO in implementing relevant activities.
• Summary of technical guidance provided for national consultants at the stages of full data analysis, draft strategic advice on the programme’s industry engagement plan and the implementation plan, and final report drafting as annex.

1. Timeline

The estimated number of workdays for this consultancy is 35 days spreading over about 3 months tentatively from 4 January 2021 until 31 March 2021. The starting date and workdays will be finalized after completion of the hiring process.

1. Required Qualifications

The assignment should be carried out by the contractor who should have the following qualifications:

Education: Advanced university degree, desirably doctoral degree, in economics, social sciences, public administration or statistics, with expertise in the field of industrial development, labour market analysis, and TVET/skills development.

Experience:

• A minimum of 15 years of experience in working on industrial development and/or skills development and TVET.
• Experience in undertaking quantitative and qualitative research, especially for international comparative analysis of industrial sectors, and publishing research in the area of skills development or industrial development.
• Experience in producing high-quality reports in English.
• Experience in working for international organisations.

Qualifications:

• Excellent understanding of situations related to industrial development and/or labour market analysis, and TVET/skills development in area of skills development in Malaysia or Southeast Asia.
• Excellent analytical and writing skills in English.
• Solid understanding and skills on qualitative and quantitative research methods.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to engage with national consultants and stakeholders.
• Ability to use a variety of computer applications and software to carry out data collection and analysis

Languages: Excellent command of English.

1. Application

Interested companies or organizations must submit the following documents/ information to demonstrate their qualifications.

• Curriculum Vitae
• Technical proposal describing how a contractor will approach and conduct the work including the number of days (5 pages maximum)
• One writing sample, such as a research report or working paper.
• Estimated budget (financial proposal) in the USD, which include professional fees (daily rate and expected number of working days) and additional expenses for completing the work.

The interested contractors are requested to submit the above documents electronically to [email protected] and [email protected] by 23 December by 4:00 pm Malaysian Time. 

The short-listed candidates will be contacted for interview.

1. Contract duration

The contract will commence tentatively from 4 January 2020 – 31March 2021. The actual date will be finalized after completion of the hiring process.

1. Payment terms

Payment terms will be as follows: 

• 1st payment: 10% upon the delivery and acceptance of workplan.
• 2nd payment: 30% upon the delivery and acceptance of the interim output.
• 3rd payment: 60% upon the delivery and acceptance of the final output.

Attachment

• Terms and conditions applicable to contract for services