Education Sector

TERMS OF REFERENCE

NATIONAL EXPERT SUPPORTING THE ASSESSMENT OF THE

MOZAMBIQUE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT POLICIES AND STRATEGIES
(TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING, LIFE
SKILLS AND NON-FORMAL EDUCATION)

Sector Education
Duty Station Maputo
Type of Contract Consultancy
Eligibility Master Degree in relevant field. At least 5 years of experience in analyzing formal and
non-formal training systems, and in collaborating with government entities (including
ANEP, SEETP and SEJE) as well as other TVET stakeholders.
Duration 10 July 2024 - 01 October 2024
Deadline 27 June 2024
Application send to [email protected]

INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT

UNESCO is the only United Nations agency working at all levels of education, including
non-formal, technical, and vocational education and training (TVET) and higher
education. This holistic vision of education has made it the agency responsible for global
monitoring of the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4).
The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the associated
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the United Nations General Assembly in
September 2015 reflected a renewed understanding of development: one that
emphasizes interlinkages between social, economic, and environmental issues.
Education is central to the Agenda and is covered by SDG 4: “Ensure equal access to
quality education for all and promote lifelong learning opportunities." The Incheon
Declaration of the same year similarly calls on Member States of UNESCO to “ensure
inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for
all.”
UNESCO further supports Member States in implementing the 2030 Agenda through the
education sector and the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sub-
sector. The Shanghai consensus—adopted in 2012 and confirmed in 2017 at the
Shanghai+5 conference held in Tangshan, China—reaffirmed the role of TVET in
reducing poverty and inequality through tackling under-employment and
unemployment. These phenomena particularly affect young people and women
worldwide, especially in rural and deprived urban areas, the least-developed countries
and countries experiencing conflict or emergencies.
TVET not only helps realize SDG 4 but also SDG 8: “Promote sustained, inclusive and
sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.”
TVET is particularly crucial for middle-income countries seeking to improve their
competitiveness, make the public and private sectors work in complementary ways, and
reduce income inequality. But bolstering the TVET sub-sector is necessary in all
countries if they are to fully benefit from global trends like digitization, automation, the
emergence of knowledge societies, and the transition towards sustainable economies.
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TVET typically focuses on skills development, adapted to national and local contexts. But
successful programmes also contain broader components: learning to learn, writing,
reading and numeracy skills; transversal skills (for example, communication, problem-
solving, and organization); and citizenship skills.
UNESCO has recently adopted its 2022-29 strategy for TVET: "Transforming TVET for
successful and just transitions". This strategy reflects Member States' agreement that
TVET is key to recovering and building resilience in the post-pandemic era, and to
accelerating progress towards SDGs 4 and 8 across the next eight years. It was
developed in line with the UNESCO International Commission's 2021 report on the
Futures of Education, calling for a new social contract to redress injustices, address skills
gaps affecting inclusion in the labour market, and support learning and career
progression for young people and adults.
The strategy aims to support Member States in building ambitious TVET provision that
responds to their changing labour markets, economies and societies. It focuses on three
key pillars:
• Developing skills for all individuals to learn, work and live: To support
flexible lifelong learning pathways, the focus is on inclusion, targeted
measures and technical assistance to mitigate the impact of technology and
climate change on gender equality, marginalized communities, and those
most dependent on the informal economy and subsistence agriculture.
• Developing skills for inclusive and sustainable economies: To support job
growth, private sector participation and effective skills anticipation, the key
focus is on the transition towards a digital and green economy, STEM and
21st century skills, innovation, and strong governance and investment.
• Developing skills for inclusive and peaceful societies: To support rights-based
education for sustainable development, the key focus is on global and
participatory citizenship education, and TVET for social integration and
cohesion.
The strategy supports Member States in their efforts to improve the relevance of their
TVET systems, and equip young people and adults with the skills needed for decent
employment, entrepreneurship, and lifelong learning, and contribute to the
implementation of SDG 4 and the 2030 Agenda as a whole.

MOZAMBIQUE CONTEXT AND THE ROLE OF TVET

The Mozambican government attaches strategic importance to TVET because of the role
it plays in meeting the country's growing economic and social development needs and
as part of the government's efforts to reduce poverty and increase the income of
Mozambicans. This goal has been operationalized through the implementation since
2006 of a broad and in-depth TVET Reform to establish a Vocational and Professional
Education System that is integrated, coherent, flexible, and geared to the demands of
the labor market, promoting the participation of its social partners, namely the private
sector, trade unions, and civil society.

The main objective of the reform is to facilitate the transition from the supply-based
vocational education system to a demand-driven training system and to provide the
beneficiaries of the training with greater technical skills and professional competencies
relevant to the labor market and to improve the quality and relevance of vocational
education in Mozambique with a focus on institutions and programs in relevant
economic sectors.
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Despite many efforts to find sustainable solutions for the development of TVET, many
problems remain to be solved, for example: inequality in the geographical distribution
of school infrastructures, reduced access and retention, a small number of institutions
covered by the Technical Education Reform, gender disparity, quantitative and
qualitative insufficiency of teaching and non-teaching human resources; insufficiency
of teaching resources, financial resources, basic equipment and consumables; the
means to carry out practices and the weak participation of the productive sector in the
development processes of Technical Vocational Education and the sustainability of the
reform itself.

In this context, the government has set priorities and sought to implement vocational
education policies through the TVET Strategic Plans 2012-2016 and 2018-2024. As the
latest strategic plan draws to a close, UNESCO is willing to support the government of
Mozambique, through the Secretariat of State for Technical Vocational Education
(SEETP) and the Secretariat of State for Youth and Employment (SEJE), to develop a
new strategy for formal and non-formal vocational education, embodied in an
integrated vocational education and training mission, to consolidate a technically
capable youth to leverage the country's economic development, while creating
employment opportunities for all.

So, to set this process in motion, there is a pressing need to make an assessment of the
current state of skills development policies and strategies of Mozambique, including
non-formal education. It is in this context that UNESCO is looking for 1 national expert
with an integrated vision of TVET and non-formal education, as well as with very good
knowledge of the skills development context in Mozambique, including national
stakeholders in charge of formal and non-formal TVET domains.

GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF THE TVET AND LIFE SKILLS POLICIES

ASSESSMENT

The overall objective of this task is to comprehensively assess the effectiveness,

relevance, and implementation of the current TVET Strategic Plan 2018-2024 and other
existing TVET and life skills policy documents of Mozambique. The assessment aims to
provide insights and recommendations to enhance the TVET and life skills system's
contribution to the country's socio-economic development goals, including workforce
skills development, youth employment, and industrial growth. More specifically, the
assessment of the TVET Strategic Plan 2024 will serve as a fundamental instrument for
the development of a new TVET Strategic Plan for the next 10 years. Therefore, the
assessment shall be conducted by engaging in a strategic dialogue with the government
on its skills development system, to collect information, and qualitative and quantitative
data on the main inputs and outputs of the TVET and life skills policies.

Given the positioning of TVET at the interface between education and the world of
work, the assessment will also delve into the analysis of the TVET policy implications on
the labor market, to also shed light on the employability outcomes facilitated by the
policy itself. Attention should be also devoted to non-formal education, which
represents a key challenge with the Mozambican education system, and progress made
by the TVET system to integrate the needs of people outside education and work.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE TVET AND LIFE SKILLS POLICIES

ASSESSMENT

The specific objectives of the assessment include the following:

1. Evaluate Policy Alignment:
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• Assess the alignment of the TVET and life skills policies with national
development, including its capacity to promote socio-economic and human
capital development strategies.
• Analyze the coherence between the TVET and life skills policies and relevant
legislative frameworks, such as education laws and labor regulations.

2. Assess Policy and Strategy Implementation:

• Evaluate the extent to which the TVET and life skills policies have been effectively
implemented at national, regional, and local levels.
• Evaluate the extent to which the TVET Strategic Plan 2018-2024 has been
effectively implemented at national and local levels.
• Identify key stakeholders involved in policy implementation and their roles,
responsibilities, and capacities.
• Examine the adequacy of financial resources, infrastructure, and institutional
support for implementing the TVET and life skills policies.

3. Examine Stakeholder Engagement and Participation:

• Assess the engagement of relevant stakeholders, including government agencies,
private sector entities, civil society organizations, academia, and international
development partners, in the design, implementation, and monitoring of the
TVET and life skills policies.
• Evaluate mechanisms for stakeholder participation, consultation, and feedback in
TVET and life skills policy processes.

4. Analyze Policy and Strategy Impact and Outcomes:

• Investigate the impact of the TVET and life skills policies and the TVET Strategic
Plan 2018-2024 on improving access to quality technical and vocational
education, enhancing skills development, and promoting youth and adult
employment.
• Assess the relevance of TVET and life skills programs and curricula to industry
needs, labor market demands, and emerging technologies.
• Examine the inclusiveness of the TVET and life skills system in addressing gender
disparities, marginalized groups' needs, and rural-urban divides.

5. Identify Policy Gaps and Challenges:

• Identify gaps, challenges, and bottlenecks hindering the effective implementation
and outcomes of the TVET and life skills policies and the TVET Strategy.
• Identify data gaps in relation to TVET and the specific challenge posed by the
language (few really master Portuguese and qualified professors, materials etc.
are in national languages used in the education system)
• Analyze systemic issues related to governance, financing, curriculum
development, teacher training, and industry partnerships within the TVET
system [including the effects of poor TVET on the global quality education (Ref
1st National Conference on Quality Education)].

6. Provide Recommendations for Policy Improvement:

• Based on the assessment findings, provide evidence-based recommendations to
enhance the relevance, efficiency, and impact of the TVET Policy and Strategy.
• Propose strategies, actionable measures and a roadmap to address identified
gaps, strengthen institutional capacity, and foster multi-stakeholder
collaboration in TVET policy and strategy implementation.
• Propose possible options to consider for funding TVET at all sub-levels in
Mozambique.
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TVET EXPERT PROFILE

Requirements:

In this context, UNESCO is recruiting a national expert with in-depth experience and
skills on formal and non-formal TVET. The expert should have:

• Advanced university degree (Masters or equivalent) in education or related field

• solid experience (at least 5 years) in analyzing formal and non-formal training
systems, and in collaborating with government entities (including ANEP, SEETP
and SEJE) as well as other TVET stakeholders.

• solid analytical skills, with a track record of producing analytical and research
pieces around issues related to public policies and social sectors.

• proven experience in engaging government and non-government stakeholders

with focus on dialogue around policy reforms, as well as experience in drafting
and co-drafting relevant reports.

Tasks:

Working under the direct supervision of the lead expert, and with the overall support of
UNESCO, he/she will:

• Provide knowledge and skills for the analysis of the TVET policy (and related
strategies) in Mozambique and proposals for levers of action to make the
system more efficient.

• Be responsible for collecting data from the national stakeholders and drafting
inputs supporting the preparation of the TVET Policy Assessment.

• Lead the organization and management of the interviews, as well as participate

actively in the analyses and proposals that will later lead to the drafting of the
assessment report.

• Ensure the collection of comments from the national stakeholders, and support
the finalization of the Assessment document and its final presentation, under
the guidance of the lead expert.

• Provide inputs to support the drafting of recommendations on: addressing the

lack of appropriate technical, human resources and financial resources to
adequately address TVET (qualify professionals, up-to-date materials etc.); the
development of a Communication strategy to address the negative stigma
associated with TVET (traditional and e-based TVET) that would accompany the
transformative approach to TVET in relation to Quality Education, changing
environment etc.; the development of a strategy for better articulation and
alignment of TVET with the multi-sectoral demands from individuals, societies,
economy, and Mozambique in relation to the national, regional and
international markets.

Planning and productions

The national expert will submit the following deliverables to UNESCO Team:
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- Work plan outlining the planned activities, together with a timeline and an
accountability mechanism.

- Preliminary version of the skills development policies and strategies report

- Revised version of the skills development policies and strategies report

- Presentation material of the skills development policies and strategies report

The Assessment shall be conducted, including the drafting of the final deliverables
between July 10, 2024, and October 1, 2024. The national expert will be working under
the supervision of one international expert. The two experts will form a united work
team with the same deliverables. However, the first deliverable will differ: the
international consultant will provide an Inception Report, while the national consultant
will prepare a Work Plan.

The table below shows the activities that should take place during the work period:

Phase Activity Associated deliverable Indicative date of

submission
Work plan Work plan outlining the 1- Work plan outlining the
activities and timeline planned activities, together with a
July 17th
timeline

Data collection Consultations, data

and drafting collection and drafting +
phase submission to UNESCO 2- Preliminary version (DRAFT) of
of a preliminary version the skills development policies July 26th
of the skills and strategies report
development policies
and strategies report
Revision and Drafting and submission
final drafting to UNESCO of the 3. Revised version (ADVANCED
advanced version of the DRAFT), including an executive
skills development summary, of the skills August 15th
policies and strategies development policies and
report strategies report

Preliminary Technical session for the

validation preliminary validation of 4- Presentation and workshop
August 20th
the report report