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

Terms of Reference (TOR) for

External Collaborator for Industry and Social Partnership Development

Duty Station:                           Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Languages Required:              English and Malay

Duration of contract:               45 working days over the period of 3.5 months (tentatively the assignment will commence on 19 July 2021 and ends on 2 November 2021. However, the date will be finalised after completion of the hiring process)

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 policies and systems. 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

The development of sustainable partnerships with industry, social partners, and government is critical to deliver all outputs of the SfP Malaysia Project. Under the Relevance pillar, the Project are providing national partners, which include government agencies and employers’ organisations, with technical assistance for: (i) establishing policy and institutional mechanisms for industry engagement in TVET to strengthen linkages between industry upgrading strategy and sector skills development strategy; and (ii) improving demand-driven TVET modalities piloted through a systematic industry-led approach. Furthermore, the Project also intends to cooperate with social partner, including workers’ organisations and civil society organisations (CSOs) to deliver outputs in particular under Equity and Quality pillars.

1. Objective

In order to assist national partners in developing the NSR, the SfP Malaysia seeks an external collaborator who has expertise in developing partnerships with industry and other social partners. The objectives of this assignment are to:

• Enhance or develop partnerships with industry to implement the activities under the Equity, Quality, and Relevance pillars.
• Formulate pilot activities with selected employers’ organisations to strengthen industry engagement in TVET/skills training and deliver industry-led TVET modalities.
• Enhance knowledge sharing of pilot activities with stakeholders.

1. Scope of Work

Under the supervision of Chief Technical Advisor and with guidance from Senior Programme Officers, regional specialists, and regional communication officer of the ILO, the main responsibility of the external collaborator is to attend, coordinate and conduct the programme activities, including consultation meetings, seminars, training sessions, and others, which aim to:

1. Design the on-line training and other inception activities with selected employers’ organisations.
2. Design implementation partnerships with selected emloyers’ organisations for the enhancement of the institutional mechanisms to enhance industry engagement in TVET.
3. Enhance the partnerships between industry, CSOs, other social partners, and TVET/skills training institutions for the effective implementation of subnational activities in Sabah and Kedah.
4. Develop partnerships with industry, government, and other social partners for the formulation and implementation of other project activities under Equity, Quality, and Relevance pillars.

1. Outputs

The external collaborator is required to produce the following outputs:

Output 1 – Work plan submitted

Output 1.1 Work plan developed.

1. Draft the Work Plan, which includes:
2. Detailed plan of activities with a timeline.
3. Names of external partners for relevant activities.
4. Monthly reporting schedule to the ILO.
   1. Draft the work logbook template, which indicate daily activities conducted to be submitted on a weekly basis during the progress review meeting with the SfP.

Output 2 - The partnership with the construction industry formulated and launched.

Output 2.1 The on-line training course for skills technology foresight and other inception activities formulated and implemented.

1. Coordinate and provide technical inputs to the development of the on-line facilitator training programmes for skills technology foresight, in close consultation with national partners, such as the Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM).
2. Coordinate and conduct the implementation and monitoring of the above on-line training course and other inception activities, in close consultation with national partners.
3. Organise the debriefing meeting for the on-line training course, in close consultation with national partners.
4. Draft the summary of consultation meetings and other related events to the formulation and implementation of inception activities.

Output 2.2 The implementation partnership with a selected national partner, which may contain the development of industry upgrading maps and sectoral skills strategies, pilot apprenticeship programmes, and/or recognition of prior learning (RPL) programmes, formulated and launched.

1. Collect, analyse, and summarise basic information about potential partners and their on-going activities.
2. Coordinate, conduct, and attend the consultation meetings with national partners to design the implementation partnership.
3. Draft the necessary documents to formulate an implementation partnership, including the concept notes, logical framework, the summary notes of consultation meetings, and other documents requested by the ILO.
4. Assist national partners to develop the necessary documents for an implementation partnership, such as the budget and work plans.
5. Draft and submit the monthly progress reports, which include achievements, challenges, and follow up issues. All outputs or products should be attached as annexes.

Output 3 - Monitoring reports for relevance activities drafted and submitted.

Output 3.1 Monitoring reports for relevance activities drafted and submitted.

1. Provide written inputs to project quarterly report regarding the following activities and others as needed by reviewing reporting documents provided by contractors and implementing partners, referring to the Monitoring, Reporting, Evaluation, and Learning (MREL) framework of the Project:
2. Subnational activities in Sabah and Kedah.
3. Activities for industry engagement in TVET and industry-led TVET modalities under the Relevance pillar.
4. Other activities related to industry and social partnership development under the Equity and Quality pillars, such as the integration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related generic skills into TVET and the development of career progression maps as per request by the SfP team.
5. Participate in meetings and conduct consultations with national partners, key stakeholders and the SfP team in order to develop item 5.1.1. 

Output 4 - The partnership with the food processing industry formulated and launched.

Output 4.1 The on-line training course for visioning exercise and other inception activities formulated and implemented.

1. Coordinate and provide technical inputs to the development of the on-line facilitator training programmes for visioning exercise, in close consultation with national partners, such as the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM).
2. Coordinate and conduct the implementation and monitoring of the above on-line training course and other inception activities, in close consultation with national partners.
3. Organise the debriefing meeting for the on-line training course, in close consultation with national partners.
4. Draft the summary of consultation meetings and other related events to the formulation and implementation of inception activities.

Output 4.2 The implementation partnership with a selected national partner, which may contain the development of industry upgrading maps and sectoral skills strategies, pilot apprenticeship programmes, training of TVET/skills instructors and others , formulated and launched.

1. Collect, analyse, and summarise basic information about potential partners and their on-going activities.
2. Coordinate, conduct, and attend the consultation meetings with national partners to design the implementation partnership:
3. Draft the necessary documents to formulate an implementation partnership, including the concept notes, logical framework, the summary notes of consultation meetings, and other documents requested by the ILO.
4. Assist national partners to develop the necessary documents for an implementation partnership, such as the budget and work plans.
5. Draft and submit the monthly progress reports, which include achievements, challenges, and follow up issues. All outputs or products should be attached as annexes.

Output 5 – Technical input for the enhancement of local TVET networks and information sharing in Sabah and Kedah provided.

Output 5.1 Industry and social partners listed up for pilot activities in Sabah and Kedah.

1. Identify additional industry and social partners, such as CSOs and workers’ organisations which will participate in local TVET networks and pilot training activities in Sabah and Kedah, in close consultation with the Sabah Skills and Technology Centre (SSTC) and the Kedah Industrial Skills and Management Development Centre (KISMEC).
2. Coordinate, conduct, and attend the consultation meetings with social partners to enhance local TVET network in Sabah and Kedah, which include:
3. Local TVET network meetings in two states.
4. Meetings to design and implement pilot training activities in two states.
   1. Provide technical inputs to assist SSTC and KISMEC in completing the lists of industry and social partners for local TVET networks and other pilot activities.
   2. Draft the necessary documents to identify industry and social partners, including the concept notes and summary notes of events and meetings.
   3. Draft and submit the monthly progress reports, which include achievements, challenges, and follow up issues. All outputs or products should be attached as annexes.

Output 5.2 The partnerships with industry and social partners formalised for pilot activities in Sabah and Kedah

1. Provide technical inputs to assist SSTC and KISMEC in refining the TORs for local TVET network.
2. Coordinate, conduct, and attend the meetings and events with social partners to enhance local TVET network in Sabah and Kedah and design pilot activities.
3. Assist SSTC and KISMEC in reaching the agreement on the TORs for local TVET networks with stakeholders.
4. Facilitate the development of partnerships between SSTS and KISMEC with social partners, such as workers’ organisations, CSOs, social entrepreneurs in order to design and implement pilot activities in a participatory approach.
5. Draft the necessary documents to enhance local TVET networks and implement pilot activities, including the concept notes and summary notes of events and meetings.
6. Draft and submit the monthly progress reports, which include achievements, challenges, and follow up issues. All outputs or products should be attached as annexes.

Output 6 - The end of assignment report submitted.

Output 6.1 The end of assignment report submitted.

1. Draft and submit the end of assignment report, which contain key achievements, challenges, lessons learned, and recommendation to develop and maintain the partnerships with industry and social partners in a sustainable manner. The listed deliverables should be submitted in soft copy.

1. Timeline

The estimated number of workdays for this assignment is 45 days spreading over 3.5 months tentatively from 19 July 2021 until 2 November 2021. The starting date and workdays will be finalised after completion of the hiring process.

Below are the targets dates to produce outputs:

Output

Work Days

Start Date

End Date

Output 1 – Work plan submitted

Output 1.1 Work plan developed.

1

19-Jul-21

21-Jul-21

Output 2 - The partnership with the construction industry formulated and launched.

Output 2.1 The on-line training course for skills technology foresight and other inception activities formulated and implemented.

5

20-Jul-21

11-Aug-21

Output 2.2 The implementation partnership with a selected national partner, which may contain the development of industry upgrading maps and sectoral skills strategies, pilot apprenticeship programmes, and/or recognition of prior learning (RPL) programmes, formulated and launched.

10

19-Jul-21

23-Aug-21

Output 3 - Monitoring reports for relevance activities drafted and submitted.

Output 3.1 Monitoring reports for relevance activities drafted and submitted.

3

20-Jul-21

28-Jul-21

Output 4 - The partnership with the food processing industry formulated and launched.

Output 4.1 The on-line training course for visioning exercise and other inception activities formulated and implemented.

4

20-Jul-21

20-Aug-21

Output 4.2 The implementation partnership with a selected national partner, which may contain the development of industry upgrading maps and sectoral skills strategies, pilot apprenticeship programmes, training of TVET/skills instructors and others , formulated and launched.

10

20-Aug-21

26-Sep-21

Output 5 – Technical input for the enhancement of local TVET networks and information sharing in Sabah and Kedah provided

Output 5.1 Industry and social partners listed up for pilot activities in Sabah and Kedah.

5

21-Jul-21

17-Aug-21

Output 5.2 The partnerships with industry and social partners formalised for pilot activities in Sabah and Kedah.

5

21-Jul-21

17-Aug-21

Output 6 - The end of assignment report submitted.

Output 6.1 The end of assignment report submitted.

2

26-Sep-21

8-Oct-21

Total Workdays

45

1. Required qualification

The external collaborator should have the following expertise/qualifications:

Education: Advanced university degree in economics, social sciences, public administration or statistics, with expertise in the field of industrial development, TVET/skills development, and rural development is preferable. 

Experience:

• A minimum of five years of experience in working on industrial development, skills development and TVET, and/or rural development.
• Experience in producing high-quality reports or project documents in English.
• Experience in working with industry, in particular employers’ and workers’ organizations.
• Experience in working with government agencies responsible for TVET/skills training and industrial policies.
• Experience in working with civil society organisations and/or target beneficiary groups.
• Experience in organising high-level consultation workshops.
• Experience in working for international organisations.

Knowledge/skills:

• Excellent understanding of situations related to industrial development and/or TVET/skills development in Malaysia.
• Excellent ability to coordinate activities with multiple stakeholders.
• Proven knowledge of gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) in Malaysia.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to engage with the SfP-Malaysia constituents and stakeholders.
• Flexibility to undertake tasks by dealing with various requests and comments from the ILO and national partners.
• Ability to use a variety of computer applications and software to carry out data collection and analysis.
• Ability to produce high quality reports and presentations in English in a timely manner.

Languages: Excellent command of English and Malay.

1. Application

Interested individuals must submit the following documents/ information to demonstrate their qualifications.

• Curriculum Vitae
• Proposal describing how he/she will approach and conduct the work (5 pages maximum).
• One writing sample related to this assignment, such as a report, paper, project design documents, and communication materials.
• Estimated budget (financial proposal), i.e., professional fees (daily rate and expected number of working days) and additional expenses (e.g., transportation costs), for completing the work.

The interested individuals are requested to submit the above documents electronically to [email protected] and [email protected] by 9 July 2021 by 4:00 pm MYT.

1. Contract Duration

The contract will commence tentatively from 19 July 2021 until 2 November 2021. The actual date will be finalized after completion of the hiring process.

1. Indicative Payment Terms

Payment terms will be as follows: 

• First payment: 10% upon the delivery and acceptance of Output 1.
• Second payment: 40% upon the delivery and acceptance of Output 2 and 3.
• Third payment: 40% upon the delivery and acceptance of Output 4 and 5
• Final payment: 10% upon the delivery and acceptance of Output 6.

Attachment

• Terms and conditions applicable to contract for services.