Background

The Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment through the Department of Youth conducts a skills training programme which is run through a network of 42 Vocational Training Centres across the country under the Training for Enterprise (TFE) banner. The goal of the TFE programme is to provide competence based training in entrepreneurship and business management, with a view of increasing employment opportunities for youth through the establishment of various small businesses. The centres offer an array of disciplines which include motor mechanics, carpentry, welding, horticulture, cutting and designing, hotel catering and management, and computers etc. The disciplines are delivered either through short or long courses which are designed to cater for the individuals training needs.

The Ministry`s vision is to see fully empowered youths and indigenous citizens, who will exhibit the attributes of total empowerment and development; enhanced livelihoods, active and meaningful participation in the economy and all spheres of society, ownership and control of the means of production and cultured and patriotic citizens. Capacity building through technical, entrepreneurial and life skills development is central to achieving this vision and Vocational Training Centres (VTCs) have a pivotal role to play in that:

First, they should address the youth unemployment problem by providing the technical and entrepreneurial skills to enable youth to start their own businesses after training in strategic sectors such as Agriculture, Mining, Manufacturing, Tourism, etc, or find employment in industry as skilled technicians thereby help grow the economy.
 
Second, in addition to the Training for Enterprise (TFE) programme they offer, they should be the centres for the development of the communities in which they are located; the VTC should drive all community outreach skills programmes such as the Training for Rural Economic Empowerment (TREE) and Informal Apprenticeship (IA) programmes, Integrated Skills Outreach programme (ISOP) and Youth Build Zimbabwe programme. Furthermore, every VTC should establish a Youth Information and Career Guidance Centre for the benefit of young people in the community. Other facilities that VTCs are expected to have and open to members of the community include library, clinic, multi-purpose hall, sporting facilities, and amphitheater.

Third, all VTCs should be self-sufficient and self-sustaining both in terms of meeting food requirements, recurrent and maintenance costs. To achieve this status, Agriculture should be compulsory through which every VTC should produce vegetables, grow crops, rear domestic animals (beef and dairy cattle, piggery, chickens, goats, eggs, etc) for both student consumption and for sale to raise income for the Centre. In addition centres should establish commercial production (or business) units for every course offered.   

The Ministry further envisages that VTCs should transform themselves into becoming Centres of Excellence, innovative and providing relevant training programmes and capable of solving community development problems. They should be business centres at which we should see a massive increase in the number of youth being skilled and an increase in productivity at all levels.
 
Some of the key features of the institutional framework of VTCs operating under the TFE framework include the following:
  • The establishment of Provincial Centres in each province to spearhead the management and operations of various district centres. Provincial Centres are semi-autonomous entities operating with an Advisory Board primarily to guide the operations of commercial business units alongside the mainstream training activities;
  • Build towards self-sustenance by setting up economically viable business units at training centres that also act as incubators for young people under training so that they fully appreciate the concept of entrepreneurship and business management.  
In order to have a clearer understanding of the challenges confronting the centres, the Ministry intends to carry out a gap analysis which is aimed at identifying centre specific challenges as well as proposing mitigating strategies that enable the centres to improve on training delivery and subsequently increase enrolments. In this regard the Ministry with support from the United Nations Development Programme UNDP) wishes to engage the services of a consultant to carry out a baseline (gap Analysis) survey of the existing vocational training centres in the country

Duties and Responsibilities

The objective of the assignment is to carry out a needs assessment (gap analysis) of the vocational training centres administered by the Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment with a view of providing solutions aimed at enhancing their capacity and efficiency in delivering training to young people.

Specifically, the assignment is expected to determine the status and proposed direction of vocational training centres through evaluation of the following parameters:

  • Carry out a geographical analysis and base line survey on training needs in the 42 vocational training centres;
  • Appraise appropriateness of current curriculum in meeting the training needs identified above;
  • Research on the best possible training package for each course with a view of formulating course specific training modules;
  • Analyze the current status of infrastructural development of the vocational training centres particularly workshops, classrooms, staff and student accommodation, health facilities, transport and farming equipment; 
  • Evaluate current management and administrative systems including staff capacity gaps;
  • Identify economically viable projects for implementation at the centre;
  • Build the capacity of Ministry staff to carry out such a similar exercise.

Competencies

Functional Competencies
  • Excellent knowledge of the UN Reform particularly UN coherence, coordination, accountability and management system;
  • Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors;
  • Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
  • Ability to work under pressure and remains calm;
  • Demonstrates strong leadership abilities.
Core Competencies
  • Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
  • Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
  • Treats all people fairly without favouritism;
  • Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment;
  • Excellent communication, interpersonal skills, teamwork and adept in working with people of diverse cultural and social backgrounds;
  • An understanding of and ability to abide by the core values of the United Nations.

Required Skills and Experience

Education
  • The Consultant should have at least a Masters or Post Graduate Degree in Education and Vocational Training, Entrepreneurship Studies or MBA or equivalent. 
Experience
  • The consultant should have experience of at least 7 years of overall work/professional experience in education/vocational education and training;
  • Strong communication skills, to develop methodical and training materials;
  • Excellent analytical skills and strong commitment to sharing expertise and experience in order to develop capacity of others, and work as a member/ advisor of a team;
  • Able to work effectively in any environment;
  • Knowledge of Zimbabwe will be an added advantage.

Language

  • Written and oral proficiency in English is required;
Any other relevant information regarding the post
  • Follow the link for further instructions on how to submit the required documents:http://www.zw.undp.org/content/zimbabwe/en/home/operations/procurement/.