International Labour Organization (ILO)
Consultancy services for Mapping of existing Labour Market Information and Skills Anticipation systems institutions, data infrastructure, capacities, and approaches (Tanzania).
These Terms of Reference
- provide background information on the SIFA Skills Anticipation Project,
- outline the framework for the assignment,
- describe the specific inputs and outputs required from the consultant and
- list the terms and condition of the assignment.
Background and Rationale: Africa’s young population is rapidly growing and expected to double to over 830 million by 2050. If properly harnessed, this increase in the working age population has the potential to support increased productivity and stronger, more inclusive economic growth across the continent. However, even though several countries in the continent registered fast economic growth over the past decades, this has not kept pace with the growing numbers of new job seekers. While 10 to 12 million youth enter the workforce each year, only 3 million jobs are created, leaving vast numbers of youth unemployed. According to the World Bank, youths account for 60% of all of Africa’s jobless.
The large number of young people who are not in education, employment or training but also the lack of demand-oriented skills development leads to the fact that young people in particular do not find adequate employment. This is one of the greatest challenges for the socio-economic development of Africa. The skills development landscape in most African Countries typically consists of public and private providers and is often highly fragmented and poorly coordinated. Skills development programmes on the other hand normally lack demand-orientation and quality and neither meet labour market demand for skills nor social demand for accessible skills development that can lead to better employability.
The lack of accepted labour market relevant skills development outcomes and provision standards means that comparability and quality assurance of programmes and certificates is often not possible. This has a negative impact on the reputation of skills development, and also hinders articulation in the education and training system as well as labour mobility. As a result, a shortage of skilled workers and at the same time high unemployment, even among graduates from skills development programmes is a very common phenomenon in most African countries. This coupled with tensions between a rapidly growing young population and the relatively low
pace of job creation are cause for more determined action and partnerships for more informed skills development approaches and more and quality jobs for young African. The high number of youth not in education employment or training, and the estimated 95 million of youth in sub-Saharan Africa who are uneducated, unemployed or engaged in precarious jobs represent a serious challenge for African decision-makers and practitioners.
The tripartite representation of International Labour Organization (ILO) agrees that countries that have succeeded in linking skills to gains in productivity, employment and development have targeted skills development policy towards three main objectives:
- Matching supply to current demand for skills;
- Helping workers and enterprises adjust to change;
- Building and sustaining competencies (1) for future labour market needs. Such a strategy includes anticipating and delivering the skills that will be needed for future labour markets. Against this background, the African Union (AU) has adopted a set of strategies to address medium and long-term aspirations for a more prosperous Africa.
Notably, the Agenda 2063, the African Youth Charter (2006); the Continental education strategy for Africa (CESA 2016-2025); the Continental TVET Strategy (2014); and an initiative to boost education, technology and innovation (C10) Championing Education, Science and Technology. The Skills Initiative for Africa (SIFA) is a Project of the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) supported by the German Government and European Union.
It seeks to contribute toward the AU’s agenda for a more prosperous Africa. Under the EU Funded SIFA component on Skills for Youth Employability (SYEP), the AU is collaborating with the International Labour Organization (ILO) to implement Skills Anticipation capacity development interventions. The Skills Anticipation Component aims to facilitate identification and anticipation of skills as an integral part of national labour market information systems (LMIS). The main objective of this new component is to ensure more effective matching of skills supply to skills demand in the labour markets of targeted AU Member States. Interventions under this component will contribute towards the overall SIFA objective of enhancing the employability of the African youth. For interested and qualified candidates, please visit www.ilo.org\daressalaam under the employment opportunities portal. Information email: [email protected].
Proposals are hereby invited for the following: Consultancy services for Mapping of existing Labour Market Information and Skills Anticipation systems institutions, data infrastructure, capacities, and approaches (Tanzania). The overall objective of the assignment is to map the existing data sources/providers, review current practices, capacities, and institutional arrangements for labour market information and skills anticipation in Tanzania, and provide
concrete recommendations for improvement of existing systems and structures. Please confirm the closing time as it was not published.
Please note, the application deadline is on 23rd April 2021.
