Review the efficiency and effectiveness of Kenya’s Labour Market Information system towards supporting implementation of CBET in TVETs in Kenya

Review the efficiency and effectiveness of Kenya’s Labour Market Information system towards supporting implementation of Competency Based Education and Training (CBET) in TVET and Higher Education (HE) in Kenya

KEN/20/02/LCH

Donor Agency: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)

Executing Agency: International Labour Organization (Country Office for Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi)**

Geographical coverage: National**

Consultancy Duration: 45 days

Key State agencies: National Human Resource Planning and Development Department of the Ministry of Labour. TVET Curriculum Development and Certification Council (CDACC), TVET Authority (TVETA), Kenya National Qualification Authority (KNQA) and the Commission for University Education (CUE).

I. Project overview

1. Kenya Skills for Prosperity Project (KS4P) is a two and half year initiative financed by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and implemented by Leonard Cheshire (LC) in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO) Kenya, the Open University (OU), the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE), and the Forum for African Women Educationists (FAWE).

2. The project is designed to tackle youth unemployment by improving equity, quality, relevance, and cost effectiveness of higher education (HE) and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Kenya. KS4P therefore aims to enhance skills development systems, policies, services and institutions and to create an enabling environment for young people, especially from the marginalized groups to access job opportunities in industries key to Kenya’s national economic growth.

3. Over a period of 30 months, the ILO, within the consortium, will lead on providing evidence-based technical assistance to the Government of Kenya in the following areas of intervention:

· Review and strengthening of the Kenya’s Labor Market Information System (KLMIS),

· Institutional capacity building of key TVET Agencies and other national skills development systems and structures, and strengthening of their linkages with industries,

· Quality and relevant CBET implementation including technical assistance to targeted TVET institutions and support towards building the capacity of TVET teachers on effective pedagogical approaches as well as enhancing their continuous professional development.

1. The desired outcomes are:

i. EQUITY: Improved equity in access to the provision of TVET and HE in the public sectors and improved progression to employment for marginalized groups.

ii. QUALITY: Improved quality of learning outcomes from TVET and HE provision in the public sectors.

iii. Improved RELEVANCE of TVET and HE to the skills set needed by industry in areas key to national economic development.

iv. COST EFFECTIVENESS: Improved affordability of TVET and HE provision & a conducive environment for resourcing in areas key to national economic development.

1. The impact of KS4P is therefore to increase capacity for inclusive economic growth due to more productive and equitable skills sectors thus improving the employability, employment opportunities and the earning potential of beneficiaries and thereby contributing to poverty reduction in Kenya.

II. Background and situation of Kenya’s Labour Market information System in the context of implementation of Competency Based Education and Training (CBET) in Kenya

1. Kenya is one of the few African Countries committed to the development of labour market information systems. The Kenya Labour Market Information System (KLMIS) was established in 2017 to provide a diverse array of labour market services which include supply of labour market information to Counties, Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the education and training space in pursuit of addressing skills demand and skills gaps and mismatch challenges. However, the functioning of LMIS continues to be hampered by various constraints, including data limitations and weak coordination mechanisms between labour market institutions and industry.

2. The ongoing TVET reforms and efforts towards strengthening TVET systems recognises the pressures of the expanding Technical and Vocational Education which now has more specialties than ever owing to the ever changing and dynamic labour market. The role of a robust labour market information system can therefore not be over emphasised. Further, Government of Kenya (GoK) recognizes the role of quality and relevant education and training for all Kenyans as a critical success factor in attaining Kenya’s Vision 2030. In order to realize the national development goals, relevant and quality education and training is required to meet the human development needs of a rapidly changing and a more diverse economy. The major challenge remains in labour market data capture, data collaboration between relevant institutions and utilisation of the information by relevant authorities in enhancing quality and relevance of education and training standards especially in curriculum design in TVET and HE.

3. According to the sessional paper No1 of 2019 on reforming education and training sectors in Kenya, quality TVET programs across all the TVET providers must guarantee a strong link between skills learnt and the needs of the labour market, by producing graduates with superior employability. Section 4.79 (IV) of the sessional paper emphasizes establishment and strengthening of KLMIS as one of GoK’s strategy towards improving Quality and Relevance in TVET. Now as the focus shifts to implementation of competency based education in TVET and HE, labour market data generation, capture, sharing and utilisation in curriculum reviews and re-design especially for programs touching on industries key to Kenya’s national economic growth is more crucial than ever.

III. Rationale of the Assignment

1. To be competitive in the global market, industries need a labour market with relevant skills and training. TVETs and HE institutions play a vital role to support industries to have a skilled labour force. Besides partnerships between industries and training institutes, a coordinated labour market information system that facilitates real-time information sharing on skills needed by industries to curricula developing agencies for translation into training standards hence demand driven training programs can go a long way in resolving the gap and mismatch between skills demand and supply.

2. In this regard, the KS4P project through this assignment purposes to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of Kenya’s labour market information system specifically in the following elements

i. Data utilisation by Users (institutions, organizations, individuals);

ii. Data availability, data sharing protocol, and data interoperability between Data sources i.e. from producers (institutions, organizations);

iii. Data/Information collection mechanisms on the labour market itself i.e. Methodology of collecting, analysing and circulating data;

iv. Financial, material and human resources (HR) capacity

v. Sub-systems for training staff and system end-users,

vi. Feedback and assessment systems

vii. Research, methodology development and publication within the KLMIS department.

1. The main objective for this assignment is therefore to audit the current KLMI system and support the State Department of National Human Resource Planning and Development to develop a clear roadmap for its enhancement in terms of providing an accessible central repository of information with clear access protocols for skills demand, supply and other stakeholders in Kenya. This will involve identification of key information gaps and development of a roadmap to address them over the short- medium- and long-term by collecting information from key stakeholders and drawing on existing good practice, expertise and cost-effective approaches from a number of countries on how skills anticipation and developing effective LMI systems can serve TVET and HE

IV. Approach to the assignment

1. The consultancy will be expected to adopt a system audit approach. The analysis of the current system shall involve undertaking detailed investigation of the current reality in terms of its components. The successful analyst is expected to undertake a detailed study to understand the current system, collect information about the current reality using all the dimensions of Information, Technology, Processes, Objectives and values, Staffing and skills, Management systems and structures, and other resources available/not available for an optimal KLMIS. This has to be modelled and documented using appropriate techniques agreed on during the inception phase between the state department of NHRPD, Strategic research partner, Warwick University Institute for Employment Research (IER) and the ILO.

2. The aim is to describe the existing information system and recommend actions for technical assistance from KS4P as well as from other development agencies willing to support the strengthening of KLMIS in Kenya. The analyst is therefore expected to cover the following components of the system;

i. Functional : focussing on the activities supported and or yet to be supported for instance how frequently information is updated into the system, as well as methodology of data collection and analysis and sources of information

ii. Technical : focussing on the software components and technologies used and assess the effectiveness, reliability and accessibility

iii. Organisational: focussing on the needs and requirements served or ought to serve NB. Consider key needs and requirements from stakeholders responsible for CBET implementation in TVET, HE and private sector.

iv. Human: focussing on the people involved and or influenced by LMIS e.g. system managers, data gatherers, operators and analysts and the actual users of LMI.

v. Financial: Focusing on how the KLMIS is financed and how is it sustained?

1. The involvement of a broad range of stakeholders, with leadership from the State department of National Human Resource planning and development (NHRPD) shall be critical

V. Description of tasks

1. In order to get a good grasp of the area under investigation, the successful system analyst is expected to audit the current system and its environment. This will entail but not limited to:

i. Conduct Information and process analysis including sampling few users responsible for CBET implementation and documenting how their needs that can be addressed through KLMIS

ii. Determine the technology currently in use (or available but unused or desired for optimization of KLMIS),

iii. Identify pertinent staffing arrangements, skills being used or available or not available,

iv. Identify management and organisational structure including data sharing protocol/policy provisions etc.

v. Determining other resources available/not available for an optimal KLMIS.

vi. Carry our stakeholder mapping and their role in an effective KLMIS

vii. Carry out interviews, focus group discussions, data collection through questionnaires, observation and document the analysis

1. The other tasks for a successful consultant/ system analyst shall be to;

i. Submit an inception report that include but not limited to interpretation of the Terms of reference, detailed proposed approach and methodology, work plan and proposed budget (professional fee and logistical costs)

ii. Facilitate Validation workshops with key stakeholders.

iii. Develop draft reports which shall be reviewed by the ILO KS4P and LMI systems specialist,

iv. Based on comments from internal reviews and validation workshops, develop final report that should include but not limited to:**

a. Background information of KLMIS in Kenya within the context of CBET implementation in TVETs and HE

b. The status of KLMIS implementation in Kenya

c. KLMIS System Audit Findings

d. Conclusions and Recommendation to various Key Stakeholders

e. List of stakeholders involved

VI. Desired Experience and Qualifications

1. The consultant should meet the following requirements;

a. Education:

· Advanced University Degree in Information Technology, Management information systems, Computer engineering, Computer Science, Education Technology, Economics, or any other social sciences with a focus on systems development analysis and Audit

b. Professional Training and certification.

· Certification in Systems Audit and or professional training in design and development of information systems.

c. Skills:

· Must be analytical, technically but also people oriented.

· Must possess excellent social technical skills in system design and analysis

· Must possess good communication skills, both oral and written.

· Excellent writing/editing commands of English is an asset.

d. Experience:

· At least ten years of experiences working in information systems, client needs surveys, Systems Audits and development, Information Assessments, and development of data /information flows

· Sound knowledge, understanding of labour supply and demand dynamics**

· Experience and expertise in Labour market information systems will be an added advantage**

VII. Selection Criteria

1. ILO / KS4P Project will evaluate the proposals and award the assignment based on technical responsiveness and financial feasibility. Ensuring transparency, impartiality and neutrality as per below guide.

Criteria

Maximum Points

Technical proposal 35

Academic Qualification and experience 25

Experience in similar assignments 20

Knowledge of skills development and training ecosystem in Kenya 5

Analytical and report writing skills, (must attach three related tasks) 15

Total 100

1. Incomplete and applications received after the closing date will be disqualified. The project will notify the selected candidate two weeks after the close of applications date.