Workforce Development Advisor for Vocational Training – Tunisia JOBS عودة إلى الفرص

BACKGROUND 

Tunisia JOBS, financed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is delivering technical assistance to Tunisian SMEs to enable enterprise growth and employment. As part of this effort, JOBS’ workforce development (WFD) component is engaging the public and private sectors to reduce the gaps in skills and employment by, respectively, building youths’ readiness for the job market and filling employers’ job vacancies. These gaps have different implications in the short-, medium-, and long-terms, and they have mutually-reinforcing objectives. Sustainable impact requires reducing both gaps. 

As part of its Year 2 strategy, JOBS will reduce the gaps in a targeted, sector approach, complementing national-level and regional pilots in partnership with sectoral federations and leading employers. Activities will reach youth at three critical points in their career pathways: (1) before they enroll in an educational institution, either higher education or vocational training, (2) as they are building skills, and (3) as they are searching for their first jobs. Target sectors include ICT, electromechanics, textiles, and tourism in pilot regions of Tunis, Sfax, the Sahel, and the South. Pilot activities will be implemented in concert with JOBS’ enterprise engagement component to deliver strategic assistance that draws on a variety of resources (e.g. consultancies, training, job-matching events, regional career centers, etc) to reduce the gap in a particular region and sector. 

In Year 1, JOBS selected four target sectors – tourism, textiles, agriculture, and electro-mechanics –with the highest job creation potential based on its assessment conducted in September 2018. In these sectors, JOBS worked with CENAFFIF, the GOT agency responsible for curricula development in nationwide VTCs, and private sector federations – FTTH and FTH – to prioritize the specific courses within the textile and tourism sectors where JOBS will support reforms. Supporting this public-private sector dialogue was central to JOBS’ efforts. This process resulted in the selection of specific curricula for reform – two in textiles (machine operations and technician training) and three in tourism (quality control for tourist restaurants, hotel reception, and patisseries). JOBS began working with the federations to define specific curricula-reform needs. 

For the electromechanics sectors, CENAFFIF requested JOBS and the private sector federation – FEDELEC – to postpone the assessment until Year 2 while CENAFFIF completed related initiatives. 

As part of this curricula reform process, JOBS also made recommendations on transversal – for example, professional verbal and written communications are important for any sector – required for each of the three levels of any vocational employee (operator, technician, and high technician). Because these skills are transversal, CENAFFIF will use this work to benefit all curricula in VTCs nationwide. 

On a parallel track with curricula reform efforts, JOBS trained CENAFFIF’s master trainers to create curricula in an e-learning platform for broader accessibility by trainees. JOBS facilitated training for CENFAFFIF’s master trainers, who are responsible for curricula development and for training VTC trainers to deliver the e-content in target sectors. 

During its first year, JOBS also proposed creation of a steering committee with the many governing bodies within MFPE’s vocational training system to review progress on a quarterly basis and guide implementation. 

Based on recommendations from the steering committee, JOBS designed 12 VTCs’ career centers (AREs), grounded on its survey of private sector employers in the regions to better understand each VTC’s strengths and priorities for improvement to align with hiring needs. Based on their feedback related to hiring needs, JOBS developed an action plan for the 12 AREs, in line with international best practices. Specifically, the action plan focuses on governance and job placement functions of VTCs such as defining management roles, creating a standard ARE toolkit with templates to create internships for career development, and other key functions required by regional employers. In Year 2, JOBS will support the implementation of this action plan, endorsed by MFPE and the steering committee, and explore ways to expand beyond the original 12 VTCs. 

As part of JOBS’ Year 2 WFD annual work plan, JOBS will: 

• Facilitate national-level curricula reform and implementation. 
• Engage private sector employers in defining needs and training youth in apprenticeships. 
• Showcase the benefits of a career in vocational training as a career choice through development of career pathways and labor-market information. 

These goals require JOBS’ leadership to work closely with the pilot career centers and supervise human resources to engage the private sector in the process. 

OBJECTIVES 

JOBS is proposing a long-term Workforce Development Advisor for Vocational Training to create and maintain relationships with leading private-sector employers in target regions and nationally. The WDA/VT will promote activities of VTC career centers (AREs) and vocational training activities in the pilot regions with an eye towards promoting opportunities for private sector engagement with VTCs and in curricula reform activities. These activities will involve collecting information on industry trends within the pilot regions, engaging private sector companies in reviewing, updating, and developing curricula based on job market needs, coordinating events for  and with employers, and working closely with VTCs and AREs’ staff to assess and refine these employer relationships. 

DETAILED RESPONSIBILITIES 

The detailed responsibilities are outlined below: 

• Identify and create AREs’ business development strategy with private sector input. 
• Screen and identify qualified candidates for firms’ job vacancies in coordination with AREs staff. 
• Maintain a database of potential candidates for future job openings. 
• Contribute to formal partnership agreements – led by JOBS’ business advisors – with employers participating in JOBS employability events. 
• Collect information related to changes in the labor market and recruitment trends in pilot regions, including data on private sector’s hiring needs. 
• Engage and strengthen private partnerships, particularly within HR departments, to facilitate job placement and apprenticeship opportunities for youth following the completion of technical and transversal skills trainings. 
• Assists C2 team and ARE staff to organize events to reinforce collaboration between private sector and educational institutions. 
• Participate in regular work sessions with project colleagues nationally to share lessons learned and best practices and ensure coherence within the JOBS project. 
• Follow-up with candidates and companies participating in job fairs and career days to collect data and results (job interviews, recruitments, internship opportunities, etc). 
• Engage professional associations and private sector companies to contribute to the review and reform of vocational training curricula based on the needs of the market. 
• Contribute content to routine reporting (e.g. weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual, work plan, etc), as required by the component team leader. 
• Other duties, as assigned by supervisor. 

Key Performance Indicators 

• Achievement of metrics defined in JOBS’ annual work plan activities assigned to the C2 vocational training team. 

Workforce Development Advisor – Vocational Training 3 

• Completion of annual work plan activities related to implementation of the ARE strategy and private sector engagement. 
• Evaluation criteria established with supervisor in the annual performance-review process in the areas of (i) performance against scope of work, (ii) passion, patience, perseverance, (iii) team work/values, (iv) technical leadership, and (v) supervision, administration, management. 

REPORTING: 

The Workforce Development Advisor for Vocational Training reports to the Vocational Training Specialist.